CHINA SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
NEWSLETTER
The Ministry of Science and
Technology
People's Republic of China
N0.324 March 10,2003
IN THIS ISSUE
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*
A Strong Call for Biotechnology
* China's Vigorous S
and T Development
* China Develops Key Genetic
Functions
* China's First Digital Woman
*
China's Advanced Satellite Measuring
* China's 10MW
Air Cooling Reactor
* China Launches Its Moon Project
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SPECIAL
ISSUES
A Strong Call for Biotechnology
Tqdhanks to its two-decade development, the
overall level of China's biotechnology has reached the
leading position among the developing nations, contributing
greatly to the nation's economic construction and social
development.
Biotechnology in the field of
medicine has played an increasingly important role in
improving people's life expectancy and health. As a result,
China's per capita life span has risen from 35 years in 1949
to 70.8 years in 1996, which has shown the strength of
biotechnology. Recent years have witnessed apparently
accelerated development of biotechnology in the field of
medicine, with more than 150 biotech medicinal products
entering clinic studies and 21 biomedicines such as genetic
engineering interferon being put into mass production. In
2000, China's biomedical products claiming a sale revenue as
high as more than RMB 20 billion, having landed a 100 -time
growth in a period of 14 years.
Biotechnology
also found abundant applications in agriculture, which made
a great contribution to improving the yield and quality of
agricultural produces and increasing farmers' income.
The hybrid rice invented by China has been
diffused to 20 and more other countries with an increased
grain output of 350 billion kilos on a cumulative basis.
Journal Science published a paper saying that China's hybrid
rice has filled Asian people's rice bow. On the said basis,
China's super hybrid rice study has landed its new
breakthrough by hitting the target of 12 tons per hectare,
which has for the first time realized the yield target for
the so-called super rice. China is also the second country
in the world that possesses the proprietary transgenic
cotton of pests resistance. In 2002, the new cotton species
over 40% of the total cotton growing areas in the country.
In the last five years, these biotechnologies have increased
farmers' income by RMB 5 billion.
Biotechnology has also found its extensive
applications in the fields of energy, environment and
industry with remarkable results achieved in developing
renewable and clean energy. For example, the technology
using grains such as corn to produce fuel alcohol has been
diffused to Henan and Heilongjiang provinces with an annual
capacity for several dozen tons. Ethanol gas technology has
found diffusions in some areas. An industrial enterprise
with a daily capacity for 20 tons of bio-diesel was
established in Sichuan in 2002, which has filled up a blank
in bio-diesel industrialization in the country. In addition,
China has completed its pilot study of biohydrogen making,
the first of its kind in the world.
China's
basic studies in the field of biotechnology also enjoyed
successive breakthroughs and laid a fine foundation for
biotech innovations and associated industrial process. Being
the only developing nation that participated in the
international human genome project, China has completed its
due of 1% gene sequencing mission. In addition, Chinese
scientists independently completed the working charts of
genetic sequencing for the hybrid rice of 9311 Chinese rice.
Chinese scientists have also for the first time in the world
positioned and cloned the genes causing some genetic
diseases such as high frequency nerve deafness, opalescent
tooth II and sweat bore keratosis.
Up to date,
there are about 500 modern biotech businesses in China with
a population over 50,000, of which 300 and more enterprises
are related to medical biotech applications. 20 and more
biotech parks have been established in Beijing, Shanghai,
Guangzhou and Shenzhen which have turned out a great number
of new biotech businesses that are playing leading roles in
China's biotech development.
China's Vigorous
S and T Development
Xu Guanhua, Chinese
Minister of Science and Technology disclosed at the press
conference sponsored by the News Office of the Chinese State
Council recently that in the last five years, China had
achieved historic breakthroughs in its S and T input with
remarkably improved working environment and conditions for S
and T activities. The state treasury has made a cumulative
input of RMB 267 billion in the nation's S and T activities,
or doubling the figure recorded five years ago. The nation's
R and D budget went up greatly from RMB 50.9 billion to
104.3 billion with its weight in GDP rising from 0.64% to
1.1%, materializing a historic breakthrough.
Xu expressed that China's high tech
industrialization has witnessed remarkable achievements and
has become an important component in promoting the economic
restructuring. In the past five years, the Chinese
government applauded major progresses in the fields of the
construction of national high tech parks, S and T businesses
incubators, pioneering parks for returned overseas Chinese
graduates, S and T parks and professional incubators on
software, integrated circuit design, biotechnology,
electro-optic technology and new materials.
China has established its preliminary
supporting and service system for high tech
industrialization mainly made up of industrial enterprises,
S and T research institutions and universities. Now China
has 460 S and T incubators for different industrial sectors,
ranked the number 2 in the world, with 15,000 businesses
under incubating process and 4000 and more having come out
from their incubation. In addition, China has established
865 productivity promotion centers and nearly 80,000 S and T
service businesses, which created 480,000 job oppotunities.
China Develops Key Genetic Functions
Li Xueyong, Chinese Deputy Minister of Science
and Technology expressed at the Forum on Life Sciences in
the New Century held on Feb. 18, 2003 that in the next 5 to
10 years, China would give priority support to its basic
biology studies and strive for breakthroughs in some key
technologies related to functional genome.
Referring to China's basic policies on
developing biotechnology and associated industry, Mr. Li
said that China would strengthen its research and
development, advocating for vigorous but steady industrial
process and ensuring the safety of bio-products so as to
improve people's health and their diet composition while
addressing the demand of ecological environment for
biotechnologies. He also added that the development of these
priority fields and key technologies would further enhance
China's S and T originality and innovation capacity and make
biotech industry one of China's new economic growth points
and industrial pillars.
China is one of the
countries in the world enjoying the richest biological
resources and diversities. As is shown by the incomplete
statistics, China possesses 260,000 and more animal, plant
and microbe species, of which plants come to 30,000, animals
200,000 and microbes 30,000. China now has established
nearly 200 key biotech labs financed by the state, the
goveromental agencies or local government with a population
of technology and product researchers over 20,000. Many
Chinese universities have majors or courses on life sciences
and biotechnology.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
China's First Digital Woman
China's first digital woman recently made its
debut at No. I Military Medical School, which
marked China's eventual possession of its proprietary visual
digital human platform after mastering the key technologies
of digital human making. The said development has created
conditions for developing related application software and
future international cooperation and competition in the
field.
Chinese scientists have developed a
number of key equipment and techniques such as a cutting
tool with a high accuracy to 0.1 mm, and vertical freezing,
embedding and cutting techniques, which have made the
maintaining and demonstration of the shape and position of
human organs as thoroughly as possible and avoided data
losses caused by repeated loading. In the meantime, Chinese
scientists developed the new techniques for collecting human
sectional images, realized automated consecutive cutting and
image collection, the obtained data's geometric color
correction and high fidelity. Chinese researchers also
applied blood vessel forming techniques in the construction
of digital human database, a solution that was found only by
Chinese scientists in addressing the internationally
unsolved difficulty of blood vessel displaying. The digital
woman database set up so far has collected altogether 8,556
slices with only 0.2 mm for their sections.
It
is briefed that the first digital woman database has found
its application in domestic research institutions.
China's Advanced Satellite Measuring
Chinese scientists have for the first time
equipped Shenzhou IV orbiter with a laser transmitter, which
successfully completed its accurate laser ranging mission.
It is briefed that the laser device measuring the spacecraft
orbit as high as several hundred kilometers only produces an
error about 1 centimeter.
Composed of 9 laser
rear reflectors of a diameter of 30mm, the laser reflector
developed by Shanghai Observatory was installed at the
bottom of Shenzhou IV orbiter. Each laser reflector is a
four-side prism with its three sides vertically parallel
against each other. The pulse laser transmitted from the
ground will reflect successively through three right angels,
the outgoing light running parallel with the incoming one
but in adverse directions, which makes the ground laser
station able to detect the laser echoes reflected from the
satellite, accurately measuring the time interval between
laser pulse round trips and deducting the accurate range of
satellite.
After the launch of Shenzhou IV
spacecraft, Sheshan Laser Station of Shanghai Observatory
and Changchun Satellite Observation Station of the National
Observatory, both under the Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Beijing Fangshan Laser Station of the State Measuring and
Mapping Bureau, and Wuhan Jiufeng Laser Station sponsored by
both the Seismology Institute of the State Seismological
Bureau and the Institute of Measuring and Geophysics of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences made their 3-day consecutive
observation of the onboard laser transmitters. The
observational results have shown that the onboard laser
reflectors got succeeded in accurate laser ranging, which
indicates that China's laser satellite ranging technique has
reached the internationally advanced level.
China is Doing Well on Crop Genome
Thanks to its one decade long efforts, the
National Key Lab on Crop Genetic Improvement under Huazhong
Agriculture University has applauded for its major
progresses on crop genome study. The Lab has created a
systematic technical platform for crop genome and genetic
breeding in line with the latest international developments
in the field. Up to date, it has established a number of new
and definite study topics such as on genome charts, major
genes positioning and associated separation and cloning,
functional genes, male infertility and hybrid strength,
seeds resources innovation and the new techniques for
screening new varieties. Some of the Lab's findings and
results have reached the internationally advanced or leading
level. It is briefed that these findings will be of profound
implications for crops' genetic improvement and create
valuable opportunities for the improvement of most crop
species and their quality improvement.
China's
Remote Sensing Data Processing Software
The
Institute of Geography and Resources Environment under the
Chinese Academy of Sciences has recently made the debut of
China's first MODISoft, a medium resolution data processing
application software of numerous merits such as
comprehensiveness, practicality, series and interfacing. The
successful development of the said software has made China
in the world-advanced rank with its series proprietary
multi-functional software.
The study of ground
ecological system is a key component of resources
environment study and its quantitative study has become more
and more dependent on the accumulation and analysis of the
long-term consecutive observational data. The MODISoft
software jointly developed by the Institute and Beijing
Digital Space R and D Center is able to work on 17 of 22
atmosphere and land related modules issued by NASA's
standard products. The software has demonstrated strong
international market competitiveness in terms of function
designing and processing results of some of its modules. The
product now has been registered for its
copyright.
NEWS BRIEFS
China's 10MW Air Cooling Reactor
On the basis becoming part of the power grid
on January 7th, 2003, the 10 MW high temperature air cooling
reactor developed by the Institute of Nuclear Energy Design
under Tsinghua University has recently realized a full load
running for 72 consecutive hours and become the world first
module based spherical high temperature air cooling reactor
in operation.
In the decade long course of its
painstaking development of the said reactor, the Institute
has successfully developed the techniques for manufacturing
the component of covered spherical fuel elements of the
world advanced level, the domestically first key helium
equipment and other series of technical innovation results.
So far China has mastered all the technologies and
techniques necessary for designing, constructing and running
the said advanced nuclear system and laid a foundation for
its future industrialization.
China Launches
Its Moon Project
Chinese National Space Agency
announced recently that China would kick off its
Chang'e moon project in 2003. At present,
Chinese scientists are working on the evaluation part of the
project, associated key technological development and the
establishment of the project.
Chang'e moon
project will be implemented in three phases: circling,
landing and returning. Phase I project is expected to
complete the following missions: acquiring the 3-D image of
the moon surface, analyzing the distributions of useful
elements on the moon surface, their concentration and matter
types, exploring the moon soil depth and exploring the space
environment around the moon.
Chinese moon
scientists briefed that at the Phase
I stage
China would launch its moon satellite that would fly around
the moon, conducting remote sounding activities. At the
Phase II stage China's moon walker would materialize its
soft landing on the moon. When coming to Phase III, China's
moon walker would not only be able to land on the moon but
also able to return to the earth safe and sound.
China's Woman Scientist Won the UNESCO Award
Not long ago, UNESCO-L'Oreal World
Outstanding Women's Scientists Award conferring
ceremony was held at UNESCO headquarters. Prof. Li Fanghua,
a Chinese woman scientist of the Physics Institute, Chinese
Academy of Sciences is one of the winners of the Award.
Jointly sponsored and founded five years ago
by French L'Oreal Company and UNESCO, UNESCO-L'Oreal World
Outstanding Women's Scientists Award is currently the world
only award in honor of women scientists who have made
outstanding contributions in the field of basic studies such
as biology, physics and chemistry. This year is its fifth
conference.
Each winner of the Award is
granted with a bonus of USD 100,000. While continuously
running the Award each year, the French L'Oreal also
established a Women Scientists Program with UNESCO, which
provides a subsidy worth USD 20,000 for each winner to
improve their working environment, appreciate their
outstanding contributions and encourage young women
scientists to be part of the major S and T programs and
those S and T activities of great perspectives. This year
has witnessed 71 women scientists from 45 countries becoming
the recipients under UNESCO L'Oreal - Women Scientists
Program.
