Industrialized Radiation Processing in China
It is reported that radiation processing has gradually been industrialized in Ch ina for its strong market call.
At present radiation processing in China has two major approaches: cobalt source d radiation and electronic accelerator radiation. At the end of 1998, in China there were 45 industrial electronic radiation accelerators powered of 5 kw, 123 gamma radiation devices with a total installed source capacity of 13 million cu ries distributed in 28 provinces, municipalities or autonomous regions in the co untry. Of them, 48 are of a capacity of 300,000 curies or above. All but th ree are domestic made.
In China radiation processing technique is applied in agricultural and medical s ectors. As a result, the socalled "nuclear agriculture， nuclear medical science" and other new industries have appeared. Breeding new species with radia tion technique is a major application in nuclear agriculture. So far China has developed 513 new species for more than 40 kinds of plants with the help of radi ation, one fourth of the total applications in the world with an extended growin g area of 9 million hectares and increased yield of grains, cotton and edible oi l ranging of 3-4 million tons. In addition, radiation treated animal feeds may h elp to improve domestic animals reproduction capability and immune system. Th e technique has also played a big role in causing sterility of Drosophilia melan ogasters.China's medical instruments, medicine and artificial human
joints are all applied with radiation treatment. Some food when treated with ra diation can be well preserved without antiseptic. As shown by investigations, th e technique has become an effective means to process green food. It is of the fu nction of sterilization, slowing down the breathing of food and sprouting and pr olonging the storage time. And the public will be provided with more delicious a nd nutritive food.
Returned Chinese Scholars Become Backbones of China S&T University
It is reported that recent years have annually witnessed more than 30 Chinese scholars who had finished their doctorate studies abroad register their presence at China Science and Technology University. As shown by statistics, the return rate of visiting scholars sent out by the University has reached 80% and above. Approximately one hundred overseas Chinese scholars have been honored by the U niversity as visiting professors or senior scholars. Thanks to persistent effor ts made by the University management, 12 of the returned Chinese scholars have b een granted with the financial support by National Excellent Young Scientists Fo undation for their major projects at national or ministerial levels and16 others with the support of " Hundred Talents Program" sponsored by Chinese Academy of Sciences for nurturing transcentury academic leaders. In addition, 8 of th ese returned scholars have been selected by "national Millions of Talents Program" and 20 others awarded with national or CASs young scientists prizes.
In 1993, Dr. Zheng Yongfei who has made pioneering contribution to stabilizing i sotope earth chemistry in Germany returned to China Science and Technology Unive rsity based in his home town despite of high payment offered by other overseas r esearch institutions. The University allocated him Rmb 20,000 as research s tarting fees and 150 m2 lab space for his project. Under the assistance of the University, he was granted with support of "Nnational Excellent Young Scientist s Foundation" and was listed in the first group of CAS's "Tne Hundred Talent s Program" During his five year period after returning to China, he and his assistants have published 69 papers in major academic journals both at home and abroad.
Dr. Hou Jianguo who had studied in US has made unusual achievements in the field of structures and physical properties of solid materials. With the help of the University, he established his own lab for cluster compound materials and he wa s designated as the chief scientist for the collaboration with Tokyo University.
Of 94 "trans-century excellent young talents" screened out so far by the Univ ersity, 64 are returned scholars who have demonstrated their unusual capacity in their work. For example, 39-year-old Dr. Cheng Yi who used to study in UK has been promoted to the position of vice president of the university; 35-year- old Dr. Ye Xiangdong who studied in Russia was selected to serve as deputy dean of polytechnics and 40-year-old Dr. Zheng Yongfei designated as the Dean, Dept. o f Earth and Space Science.
Preliminary Industrialization of China's Agricultural High Technology
Chinas agricultural high technologies have seen a preliminary industrialization process with S&T contribution to the countrys agricultural se ctor reaching 42% last year, 8% higher than the 8th FiveYear Plan period.
Up to date, China's agricultural high technologies has seen a preliminary indus trialization process in the following fields: quick growing of flowers, vegetabl e and tree saplings with tissue cultivation technique, transplantation of both f rozen and fresh sheep and cow fetus, acceleration of cows ovulation, fetus division, tobacco of anti-mosaic transgenetic genes and antipest rice and sing le cloning of Brucellae, swine fever and x and y viruses of potatoes. In additi on, a number of agricultural data bases and applications systems have stored ric h agriculture and land resources information and data collected from more than 2 400 counties and township since 1980 and resource data of 141 plant species with a total storage of 590M. Industrialization of agriculture has started its way in China and facility horticulture witnessed a fast development with introductio n of a complete set of new technological system featured with energy efficiency, simplicity and practicality.
Distribution Pattern of Contemporary Earth Plants Starting from Dinosaur Time
Chinese scientists have proved through their studies that the dis tribution pattern of contemporary earth plants had taken its basic shape during the dinosaur time.
Wu Zhengyi, a botanist and academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences said that the period from a time of 135 million years ago to today, especially the last 65 million years marked full formation of major plant distributions in the world. He added that in the same period, the position and structures of contemporary o ceans and continents were also fully grown.
He expressed that biological evolution process is associated with and restricted by the evolution speed of the earth. In terms of plants evolution, it is the r esult of extensive disastrous extinction of old colonies caused by the relative movement of ocean and continents and great booming of new colonies.
He also believes that during the period from more than 100 million to 65 million years ago, the shift and convergence of ancient ocean and continents triggered the competition and changes of old and new species and led to the second extensi ve evolution of plants, on the basis of which contemporary distribution of plant s took form.
In todays world, plant distributions may divide into 18 major types with 15 of them being available in China.
Paleobiological studies have shown that about 65 million years ago the dinosaur, a dominant reptile at that time, went extinct. Many scientists associate its e xtinction with the collision between a small planet with a diameter of 10 kilome ters and earth. However, Mr. Wu did not elaborate the direct relationship betwe en small planet collision and the appearance and distribution of plants. He thou ght it could be the external cause for the booming and radiating divergence of s pecies, though the external cause can play its role only through the internal on e.
It is worth noting that some scientists abroad believe that it is the change of plant species and distribution that made herbivore dinosaur declined one hundred million years ago and eventually went extinct 65 million years ago.
China's Internationally Leading Position for Water Level Sensing
An international puzzle that has long troubled the project divert ing the Yellow River into Shanxi Province was at last solved by the digital indu cing water level sensor invented by Ma Fuchang, Vice President of Taiyuan Polyte chnic University. The invention will save more than Rmb 100 million for the pro ject. Since the midMay 1999, Taiyuan Polytechnic University has received inqu iries from some companies of US, France, Germany and other countries on purchasi ng the technology.
In the winter of 1992, Mr. Ma started to work on a thorny problem affecting norm al heat supply of boiler: manual water feeding often cannot control the change o f water level and flow. He creatively proposed a nerve imitation system and eve ntually invented the digital inducing water sensor.
As shown by the onthespot experiment made at Wanjia Village, Shanxi Province , it will only take an investment of Rmb 100,000-150,000 to set up a mo nitoring station equipped with the sensor. In this context, the total investmen t of the project will be Rmb 15 million, 90% less than the originally budgeted. It is worth noting that the highly automatic sensor is able to directly tell and control the change of water level and the technology and also can be extensivel y applied to water level monitoring for different kinds of rivers, water reservo irs and water conservancy projects.
Major Progress in Understanding Origin of Feather
Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chine se Academy of Sciences, announced on May 27, 1999 that its young scientists Xu ' Xing, Tang Zhilu and Wang Xiaolin have solved several most controversial issues in the studies of dinosaur with animal feet on the basis of a fossil preserved a kind of new dinosaur with animal feet unearthed in Sihetun area, Beipiao City, Liaoning Province, a renowned place for its Mesozoic fossils. Their latest inves tigation results were published in Nature on May 27, 1999.
The new type dinosaur with animal feet is of feather like derivants on its skin. Dr. Xu Xing et al named it as YiwaiBeipiao Dinosaur for its unique form. Thei r research has shown that YiwaiBeipiao dinosaur represented the primitive sickle dinosaur with animal feet. Up to date, four kinds of "feather growing" dinos aurs with animal feet has been unearthed in this region.
Xu Xing et al believed that such feather like stuff was skin derivant which may represent a primitive phase of feather evolution towards birds. In other words, the structure tells the same origin as feather does. They also proposed that th e evolution of feather may start from such simple feather like structure and gra dually develop into the feather sophisticated enough to support birds flying . Another importance of YiwaiBeipiao Dinosaur is that it provides new evidence for the classification of sickle dinosaurs. They believed that sickle dinosaur belonged to a kind of advanced dinosaur with animal feet and their strange form showed the result of convergent evolution.
These young Chinese scientists have also for the first time in the world work ed out the family chart of sickle dinosaur.
Multiple-Cell Tissues 1.8 Billion Years Old Being Discovered
Chinese scientists, Zhu Shixing and others, recently discovered fossils of red alga cells, a kind of earliest living in creatures on the earth with multiplecell tissues and sexual reproduction organs in XinglongKuancheng area, Hebei Province. The discovery has marked an eramaking page in the history of earth life evolution and placed China in the advanced position in the world for the studies. At a seminar on Precambrian and earlier Paleozoic strat a concluded on May 29, 1999, Mr. Zhu made a detailed presentation on the discovery.
Earth life evolution is one of major research topics of international scientific communities. The red alga cells discovered by Zhu Shixing, a research fellow with Tianjin Institute of Geology and Minerals, Chinese Academy of Geology, and others have split into skin cell and medullocel, nurse cell and reproductive cell and its male and female reproduction part is composed of antherid and cystocarp respectively. Some micro structures can be viewed clearly on the pictures enlarged by 2500x electronic microscope and 600x optical microscope. These red alga fossils were acquired from mud rocks and silt rocks aged at 1.8 billion years in the middles section of Yanshan mountain reno wned for its paleobiological fossils. Up to date, thread shape red alga fossils dated back to 900 million years ago were discovered in Canada and relatively sop histicated multiplecell red alga fossils of 600 million years old discovered i n Wengan County, Guizhou Province. However, it is for the first time in the wor ld to discover such clearly viewed multiplecell tissues on fossils of Precambr ian age. The discovery has provided new train of thought of the early earth lif e evolution laws and new evidence for studying changes of early earth geology a nd advanced the geological record of sophisticated multiplecell tissue with se xual organs from 600 million years before to 1.8 billion years before. The discovery also made China in the leading place in the world in this field.
Peking University Discovered Mystery of "Biological Missiles"
Why a beautiful lady is unable to keep her youthful look forever? Why the immune system of the middle aged cannot prevent declining? Why old peopl e cannot get rid of their wrinkles? All these are attributed to free radicals th at are easy to kill or injure human tissues and cells. Recently scientists in Peking University have discovered the mystery that metal sulfur protein nicknamed as"Biological Missiles"protects cells. The missile is able to trace after fr ee radicals until attack them accurately.
It took 13 years for the Protein Composition Group of Academy of Life Science, P eaking University, to complete this biological project listed in National 863 Pr ogram under the leadership of Prof. Ru Binggen. Meantime, it is also a project supported by China National Natural Science Foundation.
Being a protein combined water molecule rich in cysteine, the socalled metal sul fur protein is available extensively in human and mammal bodies. Synthesized in liver, it is involved in storing, transmitting and metabolizing trace elements. When one feels tired, hungry, cold or other unusual symptoms, metal sulfur pro tein may serve as a shapeless protection fence. Such matter is of many function s as anti radiation and anti tumor. It is also of certain effects in treating s ome genetic diseases caused by abnormal metal metabolism, senile dementia, Parki nsonism and cardiac diseases.
Li Xia, an assistant to Prof. Ru said that transgenetic plants and blue alga of antiheavy metal functions can be used to treat soil and water polluted by heav y metal. To most people it could be another comfort for their life when such me tal sulfur protein be used in cosmetics, health keeping products and medicines.
NEWS BRIEF
No Further Appraisal of Achievements for 9th Five-Year Plan
Xu Guanhua, Vice Minister of Science and Technology disclosed at planning meeting on attacking major S&T issues that Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology has decided that it would practice the objective assessment approach in accepting S&T achievements defined by the 9th FiveYear Plan according to co ntracts rather than holding appraisal meeting.
It is reported that the reform plan on S&T awarding system dished out recently by Ministry of Science and Technology has proposed extensive modification of the exsiting S&T awarding system, which includes the establishment of national top awards for S&T achievements, discourage of setting up ministerial or local award s, different standards for different awards and encourage market oriented awards for achievements in the fields of applications and development.
China Increases the Area of HighQuality Eorly Rice
It is reported from the sources of Chinese Ministry of Agricultur e that this year has witnessed an increase of 530,000 hectares of highquality early rice planted in the country though the total area of early rice planted we nt down by 200,000 and more hectares than last year. Agricultural experts believ ed that the development has shown Chinas increasing attention to the quality o f grains.
It is estimated by the Ministry of Agriculture that China has grown 7.6 million hectares of early rice, of which 2.8 million hectares have been grown with high-quality species, 530,000 hectares more than the same period of last year. The statistics registered a fastest growth record in recent years.
China has in recent year stressed the improvement of early rice quality. Grain bumper harvest for several consecutive years has made China's total grain outp ut in a relatively overproducing manner, which in turn laid a solid foundation f or optimization of grain quality.
Started from 1997, under the instruction of Ministry of Agriculture on improving early rice quality, Chinese Research Institute of Paddy Rice, Hunan Provincial Institute of Agriculture and other research institutions have worked out a group of improved species through import, breeding and screening. On the other hand, some new techniques such as dry breeding of rice shoot and rice shoot casting h ave provided technical support for the extension of high quality early rice.
Studies of Shipboard Aircraft Erosion and Fatigue
Life span determination for 5 types of aircrafts of Chinese navy forces chaired by Prof. Duan Chengmei of College of Navy Aviation Technology has been completed with 6 major achievements made during the 8th and 9th FiveYear Plan periods. The dedicated studies have created 9 firsts on shipboard air craft fatigue in a period of 3 decades and made China reach the international ad vanced level in the field of engineering applications for the studies.
Aviation fatigue study is a tough systematic engineering project measuring and m odifying flying life, takingoff and landing life and calendar life of aircraft s with scientific approaches. Prof. Duan screened out different parts of aircra fts vulnerable to fatigue on the basis of painstaking calculation efforts and te sted the coefficients of associated primary vulnerable parts and components. As the result of several hundreds of airborn testing, Prof. Duan worked out Chin as first chart for aircraft fatigue and payload.
During the period of almost a decade, Prof. Duan successfully chaired the compil ation of shipboard aircraft flying chart and fatigue chart and life span deter mination of shipboard aircraft erosion and fatigue and created 9 firsts in dom estic studies of aircraft fatigue with 22 achievements conferred with national o r military awards for S&T advance. With the assistance of remote sensing instru ment and jet flow circle technique, he effectively solved the difficulty measuri ng helicopter's highspeeding components such as rotors and tailpiece in the a ir and worked out Chinas first helicopter fatigue and payload chart on the bas is of large quantity of data being collected and processed.
At present, Prof. Duan is working on creating two labs on fatigue testing and la ser. Together with his students, he is planning to treat aircraft erosion and p rolong its life span with a number of new techniques such as laser surface treat ment, compound materials and glue treatment.
