Well Balanced S&T Contingent
China's national strategy for talents has achieved applaudable results and the long existing broken echelon of S&T contingent has been solved, said Mr. XU Guanhua, Chinese Minister of Science and Technology, at a national conference on S&T activities held on Feb. 22, 2004. Mr. XU added that an S&T contingent mainstreamed with young and middle aged scientists under a rational age echelon has been basically formed.
Mr. XU noted that national S&T programs have made personnel training a major task. For example, the National Basic Research Program, or 973 Program, have turned out more than 3,000 Master and Doctorate graduates and more than 900 post-doctorate graduates in the last couple of years. Young scientists have taken half of the researchers who involved in the National 863 Program. The average age of 200 and more researchers who are working for 306 topic, a study team dedicated to information technology, is less than 30 years of age. This age composition creates the first international standard in China's century-old communication history.
Of the chiefs who are in charge of the projects under the China National Natural Science Foundation, 69.8% are under 45 years of age. In addition, more and more Chinese graduates who returned from overseas joined the contingent at an ascending annual rate of 13%. Some overseas Chinese graduates serve the nation in the form of research team. Mr. XU said: “S&T development shall change the old concept of 'paying more attention to activities but less to personnel', and find the expression of 'people is the base of everything' in all S&T activities.” He furthered that China would readjust its policies concerning S&T development, making personnel training and mobilizing the innovative enthusiasm of S&T personnel the basic targets of S&T activities, and creating better innovation environment favorable for personal improvements.
China's Top Ten Campus S&T Developments
The Chinese Ministry of Education on Feb. 25, 2004 unveiled the top ten S&T accomplishments made by Chinese universities in 2003. They are:
1) “Study of Fossilified Earlier Axolotl” by the Peking University
2) “Discovery of Human Auricular Fibrillation Gene” by the Tongji University
3) “10-Megawatt High Temperature Air-Cool Experimental Reactor” by the Tsinghua University
4) “The Theory of Integrated Steel Performance Control and Associated Applications: Basic Techniques for Consecutive Sheet Casting and Rolling, and a Study of Material Performance” by the Beijing S&T University
5) “Discovery of DNA Repairing Switch Genes and Associated Identification” by the Zhejiang University
6) “Diagnosis and Therapeutic Treatment of Cervical Vertebra Diseases” by the Peking University
7) “Frame Charts of Chinese Domestic Silkworm Genome” by the Northwest University of Agriculture
8) “The Basic and Clinic Study of Burn Inflammation Syndromes and Multi-Organ Damage” by No. 2 Military Medical School
9) “Manipulation and Identification of Multi-Photon-Quanta Entanglement” by the Chinese University of Science and Technology
10) “Quantitative Model of Large and Medium Oil and Gas Fields Reserves” by the Chinese University of Petroleum.
Sustainable Development Information System
The China Sustainable Development Information System, a priority project under the national program for key projects for the 10th five-year period, has recently passed the verification and approval check organized by the Dept. of Rural Area and Social Development under the Ministry of Science and technology.
The experts panel express that the project has improved the software and hardware conditions of the China Sustainable Development Information Network. The 3-year efforts have resulted in the establishment of a sharing environment for the China's sustainable development information network, consisting of one center and 18 sub-centers. Housing the information provided by sectional administrative authorities, the system contains 50 GB volume of data that can be shared in 76 fields of 29 categories under 5 major sectors. Of the volume, 20GB can be shared through the central system. The project has prepared the Management Method on Sharing China's Sustainable Development Information, proposals on information sharing policies and legislations, and relevant standards. These efforts have found the preliminary solutions to management and standardization issues that have long troubled information sharing. These policy proposals and standards provide useful experiences and grounds for future scientific data sharing activities to a larger extend. The project has, through the introduction and independent development of information sharing techniques, addressed many difficult technical issues concerning information search, management, publication, service and visualization. Having the merits of advanced sophistication, practibility and easy diffusion, these technologies have contributed to the smooth realization of China's sustainable development information sharing. While promoting information sharing, the project also made the comprehensive analysis at an experimental basis of the sustainable development in different sectors. This becomes a supporting service for the decision making on sustainable development. The experiment has created a feasible approach for taking full advantage of information sharing. In addition, some findings in 43 analysis reports completed by the project are of a reference value to government decision making.
New Geological Survey Results
At a briefing made on Feb. 25, 2004, Mrs. SHOU Jiahua, Chinese Vice Minister of National Land Resources, said that Chinese geologists have discovered many precious paleontologic fossils in the past 5-year geological surveys. Chinese geologists have made notable discoveries, including the China Dragon Bird, Oriental Lucky Bird and China Divine Bird. These finds have not only provided the key and new evidences to support the bird-dinosaur origin and evolution scenarios, but have also shaken the monopoly status of foreign countries possessing primitive bird fossils for more than 140 years. The running dinosaur fossil discovered in the survey is the first fossilified dinosaur fully covered by feathers in the world. The unearthed oldest climbing mammal with a placenta has filled up a blank in understanding the evolution of such animals in the world. Of the earliest sub-beast fossils discovered in the world, the discovery of China bag beast advances the evolution history of sub-beasts with bags by 15 million years. The survey has also found the China Ancient Fruit, an oldest angiosperm fossil so far unearthed in the world.
Mr. SHOU told reporters that since the continental drilling began in 2001, the expedition has reached a depth of 3,665 m. The drilling experiment has produced major discoveries in lithosphere evolution, continent dynamics, dynamic variation, deep matter composition and new microorganisms. The drilling is expected to hit its designed depth of 5,000m in 2006. The socalled “Golden Nail”, a Permian and Triassic geological section found in Changxing County, Zhejiang Province, has been confirmed by the International Geology Association as the sole standard reference geological section for global geological studies.
Unique Transmissions for Wide Applications
After 3-year development and experiments, the Xinglun transmission technique, developed by Harbin Guohai Xinglun Transmission Co. Ltd, has found successful applications in industrial activities. The new technique is able to work out any random combinations as wished by users from 170 elements in a reducer or transmission box. The technique can produce highly standardized components with strong compatibility, allowing torque to be changed to enhance the pulling force. As a result, the technique may allow a very small reducer to drive a large piece of equipment or facility. For example, the weight of a 22-ton reducer can be reduced by the technique to 14.5 tons. In addition, the technique can work out different combinations in different forms as required by clients.
The Xinglun transmission technique has so far found its successful applications in the Three-Gorge Hydraulic Power Station, the Qinghuangdao Port, some coal mines in Shanxi Province, road and bridge projects in Shanghai and large industrial enterprises such as Shenhua Group.
China's First Transgenic Quarantine Lab
A transgenic lab, able to make the quarantine examination of imported and exported agricultural products, was recently established and put into operation in Heilongjiang Province. Mr. ZHANG Hongxiang, director of the Technology Center under the Heilongjiang Quarantine Bureau, told reporters that the lab has produced the most accurate qualitative result and the quantitative results closest to the average value in a random transgenic products testing organized for the Asia and Pacific Region. The Lab has proved its full capability to test transgenic products.
According to the briefing, the Lab has so far produced more than 50 quarantine examination reports for imported or exported soybean, soybean residues, soybean powder, proteins separated from soybeans, corns and corn residues. Meanwhile, the Lab has conducted a number of overseas quarantine examination of the soybean products to be exported to China..
Mr. ZHANG said the Lab has been equipped with internationally or domestically advanced instruments, including the florescent qualitative PCR, florescent quantitative PCR and gel imaging system. It is not only able to tell if the product has transgenic elements, but is also able to measure the transgenic content in the product.
World First Genetic Drug Approved by China
On January 20, 2004, China's proprietary recombinant p53 adenovirus injection was approved by the China State Food and Drug Administration for its formal market application. The development makes the new drug the world first genetic therapeutic drug approved by the government.
Under the support of the National 863 Program, the recombinant p53 adenovirus injection, a genetic therapeutic drug developed by Prof. PENG Zhaohui and others of the Shenzhen Saibainuo Gene Technology Co. Ltd., was approved in 1998 by the China State Food and Drug Administration for the experimental therapeutic treatment of epidermoid carcinoma in head and neck areas. At the same time, Sibiono established a factory that has been validated by the National GMP Certification Procedure for producing genetic therapeutic products.
To date more than 300 domestic and overseas patients have received the treatment of the recombinant injection. Testing results show that the new drug has broad effects on numerous cancers. It is notably effective using together with traditional radiotherapy or chemotherapy in treating epidermoid carcinoma in head and neck areas.
Plasma Furnace Eats Electronic Wastes
The Institute of Plasma, a part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has recently developed China's first plasma high temperature decomposing furnace. Designed to handle hazardous wastes of electronic components, the new oxygen free furnace has completed its recent experiments in disposing electronic wastes.
Under a high temperature and oxygen-free state, the furnace is able to decompose electronic wastes into gases, glasses and metals with a 150-kw electric arc. The three terminal matters will then be exhausted through separate discharge channels. Thanks to its oxygen-free design, the decomposing process produces no air pollution. The glasses produced can serve as building materials and metals can be recycled, literally a zero pollution emission.
As shown by statistics published by authorities concerned, China each year has to handle a huge heap of discarded electronic wastes consisting of 5 million TV sets, 4 million refrigerators and 5 million washers. The plasma decomposer expects a broad application perspective. In addition to its daily handling capacity for 500 kg of circuit boards, the plasma furnace is also able to handle other hazardous wastes such as batteries, medical wastes and tyres.
Natural Anti-Schistosome Vaccine
Based on more than a decade study, researchers of the Xiangya Medical School under the Zhongnan University and the Hunan Jingda Bioengineering Co. Ltd. have jointly developed a vaccine made up of natural anti-schistosome elements. The development cuts off the spread of schistosomiasis from the right beginning of the dissemination, allowing an effective containment of the disease that endangers the health of people living in lake areas.
With the help of genetic technology, researchers produced the vaccine made up of the natural elements extracted from the fetation of anti-schistosome microorganisms. The vaccine can effectively reduce the number of matured schistosome eggs in host's soil by 89.3% and the number of adult schistosome by 53.9%.
Researchers explain that on the one hand, the current chemotherapy on man, animals and source areas cannot blockade the spread of schistosomiasis, and on the other hand, application of anti-schistosome drugs causes serious environmental pollutions that may hamper the sustainable development of aquatic culture and reduce the exploitation value of vast lake areas. The successful development of the vaccine is not only a good news for protecting people's health, but is also meaningful for the economic development in lake areas.
Chinese Made Dual-Mode Mobile Phone Exported
On March 1st, 2004, UT Starcom Company announced that its proprietary dual-mode (PAS/GSM) mobile phone, the first of its kind in the world, has become available in the market of the Ho Chi Minh City.
Designed to enjoy the advantages of both the PAS and GSM systems, the UT818 dual-mode mobile phone allows subscribers to use two phone numbers on a single unit. Users may, according to their own habit and needs, chose either of the communication modes. The new technology offers users with the merits of the both systems, including GSM's strong signal, quality voice and information security, and PAS' lower rates and non-radiation. The new mobile phone is currently sold at a price of RMB 2,400.
The company's spokesman told reporters that UT Starcom has provided PAS mobile telecommunication services for 700,000 subscribers in Vietnam, India, Honduras, Haiti and Taiwan.
As a private high tech business founded by returned overseas Chinese graduates, UT Starcom has, since its NASDAQ IPO in 2000, attracted great attention of the international capital market for exceeding the Wall Street financial predictions for 16 consecutive seasons. The company was rated by the Forbes magazine one of 25 world IT businesses enjoying the fastest growth in 2003.
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