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CHINA SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
NEWSLETTER
The Ministry of Science and Technology
People's Republic of China
N0.279 December 10,2001
IN THIS ISSUE
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*
Scientific Quality of Chinese Population
* CAS Action
Plan for S and T Innovations
* China’s Digital
Land Resources
* China Completes Genome Sequencing
for Three Pathogenic Microbes
* China’s New
Seismological Prediction Method
* China’s Space
Database Network
* Refrigeration free Infrared Imager
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SPECIAL
ISSUES
Scientific Quality of Chinese
Population
On October 23, 2001, the Chinese
Science and Technology Association published the results of
the survey on Chinese population's public scientific quality
in 2001. In the past five years, Chinese population's
scientific quality has landed an average annual growth of
0.24%, or an increase from 0.2% in 1996 to 1.4% in 2001. The
said nationwide survey is the fourth of its kind following
the previous ones in 1992, 1994 and 1996 respectively
(excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan).
Focusing on
the major topics such as the basic scientific quality of the
Chinese population aged from 18-69, the major channels
through which Chinese people obtain their S and T
information and their attitudes towards science and
technology, the survey was simultaneously made among 201
observational spots for people's scientific quality watch.
The survey was completed on September, 2001.
The
results have shown that in 2001 the percentage of the
Chinese population who has been basically equipped with
scientific quality required reached 1.4%, and large
difference can be seen among those qualified in terms of
distributions of genders, occupation, education background,
age, urban and rural areas and economically developed areas.
For example, the male gender has made a portion of 1.7% with
female gender only sitting at 0.98%. Students enjoyed the
highest percentage for their scientific qualification
followed by professionals and technicians. The share of
urban residents is 3.1% with rural residents at 0.4% and
such proportion is seen gradually decreasing from the east
to the west with 2.3% in the east section, 0.85% in the
middle and 0.65% in the west. The results have also shown
the Chinese population believes that science and technology
has more favorable impacts on their life and work than
unfavorable ones and 72.2% of the investigated place strong
hope for addressing more issues by S and T means.
CAS Action Plan for S and T Innovations
On November 1, 2001, the Chinese Academy of
Sciences officially kicked off its action plan for
implementing S and T innovation strategies and initiated 5
major projects in the fields of basic studies, life sciences
and biotechnology, resources environment and high tech R and
D.
It is briefed that the said projects will
be practised with the system of project head or chief
scientists being responsible for the projects. Of these
projects, the study on rice genetic sequencing and
functional genomes of major agronomic properties will focus
on the development and applications of major functional
genes of China’s own independent intellectual
properties. It is planned to identify and verify 1000
functional genes and proteins closely related to the
improvement of agricultural species and obtain 50 to 100
patents for functional genes. The study on Qinghai-Tibet
railway system and the interactions of ever frozen layer and
associated environment effects will focus on global climate
prediction and possible changes of ever frozen layer
underlying the project and its implications for the
stability of Qinghai-Tibet Railway system, so as to adopt
relevant measures to protect the ever frozen layer and
ensure the stability of the 1118 km long rail lines.
The study on the industrial development of coal based
liquid compound fuel is supposed to develop the commercial
facilities annually producing a million tons of coal based
compound gas in a period
of 4 to 7 years, so as to
ensure the nation’s petroleum security. The study on
the budgeting of China’s land and offshore ecological
system will strive to formulate the substitution based
ecological reconstruction plan favorable for stabilizing the
climate.
China’s Digital Land Resources
Recently the Chinese Ministry of Land and
Natural Resources has published its plan on the information
process of China’s national land resources for the
10th Five-Year period. In the next five years, China will
launch a number of projects to build its geological and
mineral resources databases such as major nationwide
geological databases in small and medium scales,or large
scale for some selected areas, the database for basic
geological studies, national database for mineral resources
and national database for geological environment watch. In
addition, it will improve the existing national geological
database and create the national database on drill bores.
When constructing its land infrastructure database, China
will create infrastructure databases for the current status
of land use, land use planning, land deeds, land prices,
arable land classification, and databases on land for
construction purpose, land development and land reclamation,
and complete the construction of major infrastructure land
databases at national, provincial and cosmopolitan levels as
well as at prefecture and county level in economically
developed areas. China will continue its efforts in building
up marine infrastructure database, such as databases on
marine geological information, marine rights, marine
resources, marine ecology and environment, and marine
economy, and focus on completing the construction of
national infrastructure database in 1:250,000 scale for
Chinese territory water and in 1:50,000 scale for major
marine areas. China will also improve its basic geological
information database by completing grid maps in 1:50,000
scale for the whole country and in 10,000 scale for
developed areas, digital elevation model and digital
orthographic projector, and databases on core element
vector, land names and land coverage.
On the basis of
the said efforts, China will relentlessly develop and apply
computer based supporting system to promoting the
information process of its mainstream national land
resources evaluation and survey system, start the full
fledged construction of administrative management
information system, realize government office automation,
establish information service system in different forms,
promote social services for national land resources
information process, and formulate criteria for information
process construction so as to accelerate the establishment
of China’s national land resources information
exchange system.
INTERNATIONAL
COOPERATION
China Interrupts AIDS Spread
UN Children’s Fund, the Chinese Ministry
of Health and Henan Provincial Department of Health under
the Chinese Ministry of Health have recently decided to
launch the project on prevention and control of AIDS spread
between mothers and their babies in Shangcai County,
Zhumadian, Shihe Prefecture, Henan Province, for the purpose
of collecting scientific evidence for formulating
China’s guideline for checking the spread of ADIS
diseases from mothers to their babies through practices and
studies of this project.
It is briefed that
the project has defined 5 types of populations as
interference targets: the pregnant women who had commercial
blood donation around 1995, the pregnant women whose husband
had commercial blood donation around 1995, the pregnant
women whose husband has been diagnosed for HIV positive, the
pregnant women whose family member has been diagnosed as HIV
positive, and the pregnant women who had extramarital
affairs, operations or blood transfusion that may lead to
AIDS infections. The project requires to establish reporting
and consultation network at county and village levels and
organize professional training to medical and family
planning personnel at such levels. The implementing plan has
made detailed arrangements for discovery and reporting, AIDS
testing, control of pregnant women with HIV positive and
their hospitalization for treatment and pregnancy
termination and tracking mechanism for infected pregnant
women.
It is reported that the project will organize
AIDS testing and consultation among target populations,
provide medicine based termination and care for the infected
pregnant women and visit the babies born by the infected
women with artificial feeding.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
China
Completes Genome Sequencing for
Three Pathogenic Microbes
Chinese scientists have recently completed the
full genetic sequencing for three major human and botanic
pathogenic microbes, namely Leptospira,
staphylococcus epidermidis and yellow monocell bacteria, and
achieved internationally leading results. To share the
results with all the other scientists in the world, Chinese
scientists had on October 29, 2001 officially released the
full genetic sequencing information on the said pathogenic
microbes to the international public database.
It is
reported that the genome sequencing for Leptospira has led
to the first identification of 4700 and odd base pairs
maintaining the life activities of Leptospira, of which 95%
are newly discovered genes. In the meanwhile, they have
identified 30 and odd genes causing diseases and a dozen of
new targets that may possibly be developed into diseases
treating vaccine. The said result is of important
application value to promoting human genome studies and
looking for new techniques and drugs for diagnosing and
treating these diseases.
Chinese scientists have also
made genetic sequencing on staphylococcus epidermidis and
completed the full genetic sequencing and assembling of 2.49
million of base pairs and achieved a number of results that
may improve cloning of functional genes. The said study has
made a new stride towards developing new strategy for
preventing the infection of staphylococcus epidermidis in
clinic practice.
In the process of full genome
sequencing on yellow monocell bacteria that cause black
rotten disease to plants, scientists have discovered that
the said bacteria is composed of 5,119,497 base pairs
possibly containing 4600 and more genes. They have obtained
2,500 and more genetic mutants, screened out 170 mutants
that will not cause diseases and 147 xanthic glue
mutants, and identified 50 genes that may cause
diseases. It is briefed that the said sequencing is the
fourth of its kind in the world for full genome sequencing
of plant pathogenic bacteria. It has laid a solid foundation
for in-depth study of disease causing mechanism of the plant
pathogenic bacteria and creating safe and efficient
approaches to plant diseases prevention and treatment.
China’s New Seismological Prediction
Method
On the basis of more than a decade
studies, Prof. Gao Houxiu with the Institute of Materials
under Tianjin University has for the first time in the world
discovered the phenomena of 3-D oscillation movement on some
micro areas of Yuhua pebbles. Like a flowing liquid, the
said movement keeps appearing and disappearing with
occasional spinning. The said new discovery has led people
to a deeper understanding of material world and
provided a new method for seismological prediction. The said
study has reached internationally advanced level.
In 1989, Prof. Gao discovered in her study by
accident that there appeared a mysterious oscillation in the
solid alloy. The said movement showed apparent flowing
features in some micro areas, appearing or disappearing
alternatively, shrinking this time or swelling that time
with occasional breaking. The said phenomena are also
accompanied with spinning of surface crystal in the process
of oscillation. A V-shaped crystal was miraculously seen for
making a turn of 64 degrees. Prof. Gao has been working on
the phenomena for more than a decade and discovered similar
oscillation phenomena in other solid materials such as
copper, aluminum, steels, alloy cast iron, compound
materials, natural Yuhua pebbles, crystals and marbles and
recorded massive documentaries and videos with the help of
microphotographing technique so as to prove the existence of
such phenomena with sufficient evidence.
Soil
Conservation Resin
The proprietary
polypropylene sulphonic acid sodium based soil moisture
conservation resin developed by Shanxi Chuangyi S and T Co.
Ltd. has announced its final success after its 16-year
tireless efforts and experiments. The said result is of
great importance to addressing the issues on water
conservancy, storage and efficiency over arable land and
forested areas in arid and semi-arid regions and changing
waste mountains and deserts. Applied with a unique formula
and self designed device, the moisture conservation resin is
of originality in terms of both its structure and process,
which greatly simplified the production process, reduced the
costs and realized clean production. The said efforts have
made extensive diffusion and application of efficient water
absorption resin possible. Last year the said product found
its experiments in a number of provinces such as Shanxi,
Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Shaan'xi and Gansu and over 55,000
mu(1mu=0.0667ha.) of afforestation recorded with a survival
rate as high as 96%. It is estimated that it only needs 3.5
kilos of the said product (worth RMB80) for growing trees
per mu, or 3 kilos for arable land with the same size at a
cost less than RMB 45, much lower than the imported
counterpart.
China’s Space Database
Network
China’s new clients’space
data network independently developed by Xi’an
Satellite Control Center has recently passed its technical
verification checks. The said development marks a major
progress on China’s technology for data exchanges
between the space control center and its clients.
Once the new space data network is put into
operation, distant subscribers will be able to view the
satellite data received by the satellite control center,
enjoying retrieving, searching and downloading historical
data on satellite measurement and control. Clients may also
submit their applications for on-board payload measuring and
control through e-mails. The said network is able to support
the simultaneous visits of 30 and more clients, and handle
real time data reception, storage and forwarding for 50
satellites. People may have access to space measuring data
in the primary time through the network so as to allow joint
diagnosing among a number of clients when meeting failures
of spacecraft and improve the time efficiency and failure
fixing capacity of spacecraft.
Refrigeration
free Infrared Imager
China's first
refrigeration free infrared thermal imager developed by
Huazhong Optics and Electrics Institute recently called a
success and was put into mass production on October 28,
2001, The said thermal imager is a high tech product
integrated with a number of sophisticated technologies such
as infrared optical design, coating and processing,
sophisticated machinery, signal and image processing, LCD
and infrared applications. The new thermal imager is able to
work under normal indoor temperature without refrigeration
and with numerous merits such as long life, high
reliability, easy operation, portable power source, smaller
size, lighter weight and lower power consumption.
China’s High Illumination Blue Diode
Recently Shandong Yingkelai Group and Tsinghua
University have jointly worked out the blue light diode of
high illumination, which literally announced an end to
China’s full dependence on imported high illumination
blue light diode.
In October 1999, Shandong
Yingkelai Group and Tsinghua University inked an agreement
on research and development of the said technology with an
investment amounting to RMB 30 million. On the same day,
Shandong SandT Venture Capital Co. also signed an agreement
with them for investing more money into the
industrialization process of the said project and
establishing a shareholding company for the purpose. The
Venture Capital will take 20% of the equity and Tsinghua
University 25% of the new business. It is reported that with
a total investment of RMB 120 million, the said project will
develop an annual capacity for producing 80 million diodes
with an expected annual sale revenue for RMB320 million.
NEWS BRIEFS
China's
World Largest Seeds Bank
The project on the
evaluation of major agricultural plants and tree seeds
resources and associated utilization sponsored by the
Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology has recently seen
its successful completion. Being a project under the
National Key Projects R and D Program, the said study has
led to the addition of 34 crops with 22,000 seeds at the
bank, which have made the total number of seeds stored at
the bank for long term preservation reaching 333,000. Up to
date, the resources possessed by the bank has expanded to a
level claiming the world first. In the meanwhile, the
species seeds kept in the national resources garden climbed
up to 38,000 in number, which made China’s total seeds
resources thus kept amount to 370,000 in number. The said
National Seeds Resources Bank has also collected and rescued
a number of rare, endangered and fine species and near wild
plants over Three- Gorge area, the southern section of
Jiangxi and the northern section of Guangdong. A number of
rare ancient species such as octahedral towel gourd, purple
cracking corn and white hemp of important exploitation
values have found their safe home at the bank. On the basis
of their screening and verification, Chinese scientists have
produced a number of improved species of great importance to
seeds breeding.
Mail Experts
The
software package invented for receiving and sending e-mails
by Zhang Duo, a senior student pursuing his degree study at
the Department of Chemistry, Fudan University has landed a
speed 6 to 8 times faster than that developed by Microsoft's
Outlook version for the same operation.
The
said mail expert software won the first place at Shanghai S
and T Contests for Higher Learning Institutions held not
long ago. Even when used in the rush hour for receiving and
sending e-mails, the said software shows an improved speed 5
to 6 times that of Outlook by using the same modem, or 6 to
8 times faster when it entertains its users on broad band
network. In addition, it is of the functions of fending away
others' peep-in and attacking viruses, so that the online
privacy can be better protected.
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