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  Rice gene map to enable breeding of improved varieties BEIJING -- Chinese scientists have devised a detailed map of wild and cultivated rice genes, providing resources for the development of superior and more productive crop varieties to tackle global food shortages and environmental challenges. Published in Nature this week, the study compiled 145 representative rice samples, most of which were wild species. Using advanced gene sequencing technology and computational methods, researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences completed a comprehensive analysis of rice genes. They established a "pangenome" collection -- a map that covers nearly all of the rice plant's genetic diversity, including tens of thousands of genes specific to wild rice. Lead researcher Han Bin believes that the development of such a large data set is worthwhile, as previous studies of rice genes relied solely on a single reference genome that c...

  Chinese and other global scientists jointly solve genetics mystery of Mendel's peas A team of international scientists, mainly from China and the United Kingdom, has jointly identified the genetic variants behind all seven traits used by Gregor Mendel more than 160 years ago to discover the basic laws of inheritance, solving a long-standing mystery in biology. The findings were published this week in the journal Nature. The study, titled Genomic and genetic insights into Mendel's pea genes, was led by Cheng Shifeng, a professor of the Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, alongside Noam Chayut and Noel Ellis, who are professors at the UK-based John Innes Centre. By combining modern genomics, high-throughput phenotyping, and computational biology, the team revisited Mendel's landmark 1865 experiments with garden peas. Mendel's work led to the discovery of genetic inheritance and the laws of segregation and independent as...

  China embraces next-gen solid-state battery revolution with tech breakthroughs SHANGHAI -- In a significant advancement that could reshape the future of electric vehicles, Chinese researchers have identified a mechanism behind solid-state lithium battery failures. It came as China has risen to become a global leader in the lithium battery industry. The country is now racing with its international rivals, particularly those from Japan and the Republic of Korea, to embrace the next-generation battery technologies. Solid-state batteries, widely regarded as one of the most promising solutions in the coming decade, could revolutionize energy storage. However, overcoming their technical hurdles remains the greatest current challenge. FINDING ROOT CAUSE Unlike liquid electrolytes used in conventional batteries, solid electrolytes struggle to absorb the stresses caused by lithium expansion and contraction during charging cycles. These stresses can cause cracking or the formation of dendr...

  Major rice producers have world’s worst heavy metal pollution, Chinese scientists warn Some of the world’s leading rice-producing countries are sitting on a vast belt of pollution caused by heavy metal, according to a new study that has raised urgent concerns about global food safety. The Chinese team behind the research used machine learning to analyse hundreds of studies based on soil samples taken from around the world and concluded South and Southeast Asia’s most fertile rice regions were suffering from severe cadmium contamination. Up to 1.4 billion people worldwide are affected by toxic heavy metal pollution and 17 per cent of arable land is contaminated, according to the study led by Hou Deyi, a professor at the School of Environment at Tsinghua University. The findings, published in Science this week, suggest regions crucial to global food security are also hotspots for pollution linked to kidney damage, bone disorders and respiratory diseases. Cadmium is a carcinogen and...

  Oh rats! Did Zheng He’s Ming era Treasure Fleet help spread rodents around the world? Ancient silk paintings dating to China’s Ming dynasty have yielded new clues about the domestication of brown rats, which according to researchers, could have spread to the rest of the world while the treasure ship fleets of explorer  Zheng He  ruled the oceans. The artwork could be the earliest evidence of such domestication, shedding light on the taming of an animal that is vital to biological and clinical research. “The imperial paintings,  The Silk Scroll of Three Rats , depicted domesticated brown rats with coat colour variation in China during AD1425–1435,” the team wrote in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal npj Heritage Science on April 12. “It was more than two centuries older than the known record in Japan, presenting the earliest evidence of brown rat domestication.” The researchers said that based on the inferred pattern of the introduction of wild brown ra...