China Science & Technology Forum

[JSCh]

Plants Transfer Lipids to Sustain Colonization by Mutualistic Mycorrhizal and Parasitic Fungi
Jun 12, 2017

Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) formation is a widespread symbiotic interaction between 80-90% of land plants and soil fungi. The plant benefits from enhanced inorganic nutrient supply mediated by the fungal hyphae network in the soil. In return, from the plant, the fungi draw organic nutrients which are thought to be supplied primarily in the form of sugars. However, within the fungus, most carbon is stored in lipids that are transported throughout the mycelium.

Prof. WANG Ertao and his colleagues at Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) reported that the AM fungus Rhizophagus irregularis is a fatty acid auxotroph and fatty acids synthesized in the host plant are transferred to the fungus during AM symbiosis. The study was published online in Science.

Researchers found that the transfer is dependent on the Required for Arbuscular Mycorrhization 2 (RAM2) and peri-arbuscular membrane-localized ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporter-mediated plant lipid export pathway. They further proved that fatty acids synthesized in plants also can be transferred to the pathogenic fungus Golovinomyces cichoracerum and plants defective in fatty acid biosynthesis are impaired in AM symbiosis and show defects in colonization by the pathogenic G. cichoracerum.

Overall, this novel mechanism of the mutualistic mycorrhizal revealed that pathogenic fungi similarly recruit the fatty acid biosynthesis program to facilitate host invasion, and regulating fatty acid availability to fungus might provide an effective tool to control pathogenic fungus infection in crops.

The study was supported by the 973 National Key Basic Research Program in China, the Ministry of Agriculture of China for Transgenic Research, the Natural Science Foundation of China, and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation.

Figure: A new model shows that host plants synthesize fatty acid and transfer to AM fungus by STR/STR2 transporter. (Image by Dr. WANG’s lab)



Yina Jiang, Wanxiao Wang, Qiujin Xie, Na Liu, Lixia Liu, Dapeng Wang, Xiaowei Zhang, Chen Yang, Xiaoya Chen, Dingzhong Tang, Ertao Wang. Plants transfer lipids to sustain colonization by mutualistic mycorrhizal and parasitic fungi. Science (2017). DOI: 10.1126/science.aam9970

Plants Transfer Lipids to Sustain Colonization by Mutualistic Mycorrhizal and Parasitic Fungi---Chinese Academy of Sciences

 

[Han Patriot]

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2017-06/15/content_29752320_7.htm
7 'firsts' in China's sci-tech achievements in 2012-17

1. World's first artificial cornea

In a move expected to benefit millions of patients suffering from corneal blindness, the world's first artificial bioengineering cornea created and developed domestically by China went into production in May 2015.

The cornea, of which China has complete intellectual property right, is the first and the only cornea in the world that has completed clinical trials. The artificial bioengineering cornea is expected to bring light to the Chinese patients and 60 million patients overseas soon.

2. World's largest single-aperture telescope

China officially put into operation the world's largest single-aperture telescope in September 2016.

The Five-Hundred Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) is 500 meters in diameter and equals the size of 30 soccer fields. It has the potential to unlock the secrets of the origin of the universe and boost the search for extraterrestrial life, an expert said.

3. World's first quantum communication satellite

China successfully launched the world's first quantum satellite in August 2016. The 600-plus-kilogram satellite is nicknamed "Micius," after a Chinese philosopher and scientist.

The satellite is designed to establish "hack-proof" quantum communications by transmitting uncrackable keys from space to the ground, and provide insights into the strangest phenomenon in quantum physics - quantum entanglement.

4. World's first prototype exascale supercomputer

Chinese researchers said in May 2017 that they were working on the Tianhe-3 supercomputer designed as the world's first prototype exascale supercomputer.

The supercomputer will be applied in such fields as the analysis of smog distribution, airplane designs, oil surveying and the development of artificial intelligence.

5. World's first photon quantum computer

Chinese scientists unveiled the world's first photon quantum computer in early May 2017. The prototype quantum computer is the first quantum computing machine based on single photons.

Scientists say it will analyze and simulate weather forecasts, medicine, commerce and other data intensive fields at an unprecedented speed and scale.

6. World's largest shockwave hypersonic wind tunnel

In May 2012, China opened the JF12 shockwave hypersonic wind tunnel. Known internationally as the "Hyper Dragon", JF12 is a 265-metre-long tunnel that can replicate flying conditions at an altitude of 25 to 50 km.

As wind tunnel is the basic research that decides how advanced aircraft may be developed, the achievement is a new scientific breakthrough in China's aeronautics and astronautics industry

7. World's first 100-meter iron-based superconducting wire

Chinese scientists said in September 2016 that they have successfully developed the world's first 100-meter, iron-based superconducting wire, which is a milestone in the research of iron-based superconducting materials.

The successful development of this improved superconducting wire means that China possesses intellectual property that can be applied to medicine, national defense and many other industries.

 

[JSCh]

Germ cell breakthrough paves way to infertility treatment
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-13 15:49:25|Editor: Song Lifang



BEIJING, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Scientists at Tsinghua University have led the world in inducing in-vitro differentiation of human embryonic stem cells into follicle-like cells. The breakthrough is expected to help the study of premature ovarian failure and improve assisted reproductive technology.

The achievement of the research team led by Professor Kehkooi Kee was published in the latest issue of the academic journal Nature Communications online: http://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms15680

The research showed the differentiation of human embryonic stem cells into follicle-like cells can be achieved under the combined action of two RNA-binding proteins specifically expressed in germ cells, DAZL and BOULE,and growth factors GDF9 and BMP15.

Kee, a Malaysian Chinese scientist, said that unlike somatic cells, germ cells can transmit the genetic chromosomes of the father and mother to the next generation. In the genetic process, germ cells undergo unique meiosis and genetic recombination.

How do the germ cells regulate this process? How do they keep the balance between passing the genes to the next generation and creating a diverse genome? "That is the most interesting question for me in this field of study," said Kee.

However, scientists must overcome difficulties in this field of research. Although they can obtain some human germ cell samples by patient agreement, the sample size is far from enough for molecular experiments and cell experiments.

"We needed to build an in-vitro platform to study the various mechanisms during the process of human germ cell development. So we chose human embryonic stem cells to differentiate into germ cells, including sperms and eggs," said Kee.

In 2009, he and his colleagues used human embryonic stem cells to create human primordial germ cells and sperm-like cells for the first time. They published their research in the academic journal Nature.

Although other scientists have conducted similar experiments, none has made human germ cells differentiate into such a mature state.

After successfully culturing human sperm-like cells in-vitro, Kee's team tried to culture follicle-like cells.

"A follicle is composed of an oocyte and many granulosa cells around it. At first we thought inducing the formation of granulosa cells would be a challenge," Kee said.

But they found growth factors GDF9 and BMP15 could promote the development of follicles.

"We have compared the in-vitro cultured cells with in-vivo cells, and found they have many similar characteristics. But we can only call the in-vitro cells follicle-like, because we can't prove they are exactly the same until we conduct functional experiments," Kee said.

"We hope to improve the efficiency of our experiment, and culture more mature antral follicles to test their function."

Helping the infertile is the aim of the research team.

"Some women cannot have babies because of premature ovarian failure. We might study whether this is caused by gene mutations by conducting in-vitro germ cell experiments, and then develop treatments," said Kee.

The team is also attempting to induce the differentiation of human embryonic stem cells into germ cells on China's first cargo spacecraft, Tianzhou-1 to study the effects of the space environment on human reproduction.

 

[Bussard Ramjet]

What I was interested to hear however was that China let Yan Nieng, another strong Nobel Contender get away. A real loss!

 

[JSCh]

U.S.-China collaboration makes excellent start in optimizing lithium to control fusion plasmas
By John Greenwald
June 13, 2017

Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (photo courtesy of Institute of Plasma Physics Chinese Academy of Science).

For fusion to generate substantial energy, the ultra-hot plasma that fuels fusion reactions must remain stable and kept from cooling. Researchers have recently shown lithium, a soft, silver-white metal, to be effective in both respects during path-setting U.S.-Chinese experiments on the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) in Hefei, China. Leading the U.S. collaboration is the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), together with co-principal investigators Los Alamos and Oak Ridge National Laboratories, with Johns Hopkins University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Scientists from General Atomics also participate via a separate grant.

Seven U.S. researchers traveled to EAST in December, 2016, to participate in the experiments. They deployed lithium in the Chinese tokamak in three different ways: through a lithium powder injector, a lithium granule injector, and a flowing liquid lithium limiter (FLiLi) that delivered the element in liquid form to the edge of EAST plasmas.

The research showed excellent progress in all three areas. The form of the experiments and their results included:

• The first use of the lithium powder injector in EAST discharges that exhausted hot plasma through the tokamak’s tungsten divertor. The injected powder successfully eliminated periodic instabilities known as edge localized modes (ELMs) that could damage the divertor. The results compared well with the use of powdered lithium in the carbon divertor in previous EAST experiments, in previous National Spherical Torus Experiments (NSTX) research at PPPL, and in the DIII-D National Fusion Facility that General Atomics operates for the DOE in San Diego, indicating a basic compatibility between tungsten and lithium. Such compatibility will be needed for future power plant designs that consider tungsten to be the substrate for liquid lithium plasma-facing components.
• Use of the lithium granule injector showed that a threshold exists for the minimum size of the granules that are large enough to trigger ELMs — an alternative procedure that causes the instabilities to be smaller, more frequent and less detrimental to plasma-facing components. The observed threshold showed similarities to the minimum size of ELM-triggering granules in recent DIII-D experiments.
• Use of a second-generation FLiLi device sharply reduced the amount of deuterium at the edge of the plasma that recycled back into the core of the plasma and cooled it off during high-confinement experiments. Loss of heat caused by recycling can halt fusion reactions. The FLiLi device was inserted at the outer midplane of the EAST device. Fast-camera images of EAST experiments, performed with and without limiter insertion, showed potentially damaging lithium recycling without the limiter, compared with neutral and ionized lithium with the limiter in place. In addition, researchers observed for the first time several improved phases of energy confinement with the use of FLiLi.

The DOE Office of Science (FES) supported U.S. collaboration on these experiments on EAST, which is hosted at the Institute for Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The experiments were enabled by strong collaboration between the U.S. participants and Chinese colleagues, in particular Professors J.S. Hu, S. Zhen, and G. Zuo. The Chinese participants were supported by the National Magnetic Fusion Science Program, the National Nature Science Foundation, and the A3 Foresight Program in the field of Plasma Physics.


U.S.-China collaboration makes excellent start in optimizing lithium to control fusion plasmas | Princeton Plasma Physics Lab

 

[LeGenD]

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2017-06/15/content_29752320_7.htm
7 'firsts' in China's sci-tech achievements in 2012-17

1. World's first artificial cornea

In a move expected to benefit millions of patients suffering from corneal blindness, the world's first artificial bioengineering cornea created and developed domestically by China went into production in May 2015.

The cornea, of which China has complete intellectual property right, is the first and the only cornea in the world that has completed clinical trials. The artificial bioengineering cornea is expected to bring light to the Chinese patients and 60 million patients overseas soon.

2. World's largest single-aperture telescope

China officially put into operation the world's largest single-aperture telescope in September 2016.

The Five-Hundred Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) is 500 meters in diameter and equals the size of 30 soccer fields. It has the potential to unlock the secrets of the origin of the universe and boost the search for extraterrestrial life, an expert said.

3. World's first quantum communication satellite

China successfully launched the world's first quantum satellite in August 2016. The 600-plus-kilogram satellite is nicknamed "Micius," after a Chinese philosopher and scientist.

The satellite is designed to establish "hack-proof" quantum communications by transmitting uncrackable keys from space to the ground, and provide insights into the strangest phenomenon in quantum physics - quantum entanglement.

4. World's first prototype exascale supercomputer

Chinese researchers said in May 2017 that they were working on the Tianhe-3 supercomputer designed as the world's first prototype exascale supercomputer.

The supercomputer will be applied in such fields as the analysis of smog distribution, airplane designs, oil surveying and the development of artificial intelligence.

5. World's first photon quantum computer

Chinese scientists unveiled the world's first photon quantum computer in early May 2017. The prototype quantum computer is the first quantum computing machine based on single photons.

Scientists say it will analyze and simulate weather forecasts, medicine, commerce and other data intensive fields at an unprecedented speed and scale.

6. World's largest shockwave hypersonic wind tunnel

In May 2012, China opened the JF12 shockwave hypersonic wind tunnel. Known internationally as the "Hyper Dragon", JF12 is a 265-metre-long tunnel that can replicate flying conditions at an altitude of 25 to 50 km.

As wind tunnel is the basic research that decides how advanced aircraft may be developed, the achievement is a new scientific breakthrough in China's aeronautics and astronautics industry

7. World's first 100-meter iron-based superconducting wire

Chinese scientists said in September 2016 that they have successfully developed the world's first 100-meter, iron-based superconducting wire, which is a milestone in the research of iron-based superconducting materials.

The successful development of this improved superconducting wire means that China possesses intellectual property that can be applied to medicine, national defense and many other industries.

Impressive developments there.

This is the kind of China I expect; renowned for scientific accomplishments and original works.

However, China is very conservative in the matters of global connectivity. It is difficult to find and access Chinese sources and reports (of high value) in English language.

 

[Han Patriot]

Impressive developments there.

This is the kind of China I expect; renowned for scientific accomplishments and original works.

However, China is very conservative in the matters of global connectivity. It is difficult to find and access Chinese sources and reports (of high value) in English language.

That's the problem, China don't like to publish in English sources, sometimes advanced achievements are only published in Chinese.

 

[JSCh]

China's two supercomputers still world's fastest as U.S. squeezed out of 3rd place
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-19 15:46:44|Editor: Mengjie



WASHINGTON, June 19 (Xinhua) -- China's Sunway TaihuLight and Tianhe-2 are still the world's fastest and second fastest machines, but America's Titan was squeezed into fourth place by an upgraded Swiss system, according to the latest edition of the semiannual T0P500 list of supercomputers released Monday.

Sunway TaihuLight, described by the T0P500 list as "far and away the most powerful number-cruncher on the planet," maintained the lead since last June, when it dethroned Tianhe-2, the former champion for the previous three consecutive years.

It means that a Chinese supercomputer has topped the rankings maintained by researchers in the United States and Germany for nine times in a row.

What's more, Sunway TaihuLight, with a performance of 93 petaflops, was built entirely using processors designed and made in China.

"It highlights China's ability to conduct independent research in the supercomputing field," Haohuan Fu, deputy director of the National Supercomputing Center, where Sunway TaihuLight was installed, told Xinhua.

"China is simultaneously developing hardware and software technologies of supercomputers," Fu said. "It is expected that rapid development in homegrown hardware technologies, supported by homegrown software, will lead to a stronger research and engineering test capacity in many fields, thus promoting an industrial upgrading and, eventually, a sustainable development of China's homegrown supercomputing industry."

Tianhe-2, capable of performing 33.9 petaflops, was based on Intel chips, something banned by the U.S. government from selling to four supercomputing institutions in China since 2015.

In the latest rankings, the new number three supercomputer is the upgraded Piz Daint, a system installed at the Swiss National Supercomputing Center.

Its current performance of 19.6 petaflops pushed Titan, a machine installed at the U.S. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, into fourth place. Titan's performance of 17.6 petaflops has remained constant since it was installed in 2012.

"This is the second time in the 24-year history of the TOP500 list that the United States has failed to secure any of the top three positions," the TOP500 organizers said in a statement.

The only other time this occurred was in November 1996, when three Japanese systems captured the top three spots.

"Nevertheless, the U.S. still claims five of the top 10 supercomputers, which is more than any other nation," they said.

Fu called the upgraded Swiss system "really a surprise," saying that "it reflects the increased investment in large-scale supercomputers in Europe."

 

[JSCh]

China realizes world's longest real-time transmission of deep-sea data
(Xinhua) 08:37, June 20, 2017

Chinese scientists announced Monday they had realized the real-time transmission of deep-sea data for more than 190 straight days, a world record.

Chinese scientists announced Monday they had realized the real-time transmission of deep-sea data for more than 190 straight days, a world record. [File Photo: qingdaochina.org]

During an expedition to the west Pacific at the end of last year, researchers with the Institute of Oceanology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences realized the real-time transmission of deep-sea data after improving the subsurface buoy observation network.

They put a floating body on the sea, which was connected to a submersible buoy. The submersible buoy transmits data to the floating body, which then sends them to a satellite. Researchers then receive the data through the satellite, according to Wang Fan, director of the institute, based in Qingdao, eastern China's Shandong Province.

The real-time deep-sea data includes the condition of the subsurface buoy, the flowing speed, direction and pressure of seawater.

"Real-time transmission of deep-sea data provides important technical support for research on ocean environment and global climate," Wang said, adding that the data could enhance the precision in ocean climate and environment forecasts.

The previous world record for real-time transmission of deepwater data was about 90 days, according to the institute.

 

[Han Patriot]

China realizes world's longest real-time transmission of deep-sea data
(Xinhua) 08:37, June 20, 2017

Chinese scientists announced Monday they had realized the real-time transmission of deep-sea data for more than 190 straight days, a world record.

Chinese scientists announced Monday they had realized the real-time transmission of deep-sea data for more than 190 straight days, a world record. [File Photo: qingdaochina.org]

During an expedition to the west Pacific at the end of last year, researchers with the Institute of Oceanology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences realized the real-time transmission of deep-sea data after improving the subsurface buoy observation network.

They put a floating body on the sea, which was connected to a submersible buoy. The submersible buoy transmits data to the floating body, which then sends them to a satellite. Researchers then receive the data through the satellite, according to Wang Fan, director of the institute, based in Qingdao, eastern China's Shandong Province.

The real-time deep-sea data includes the condition of the subsurface buoy, the flowing speed, direction and pressure of seawater.

"Real-time transmission of deep-sea data provides important technical support for research on ocean environment and global climate," Wang said, adding that the data could enhance the precision in ocean climate and environment forecasts.

The previous world record for real-time transmission of deepwater data was about 90 days, according to the institute.

Anybody seeing what I am seeing?

 

[GS Zhou]

China realizes world's longest real-time transmission of deep-sea data

is it possible to send such data to a sub in real time, but without reveal the position of the sub? If yes, this will give a big capability boost to PLAN sub fleet.

 

[Dungeness]

China realizes world's longest real-time transmission of deep-sea data
(Xinhua) 08:37, June 20, 2017

Chinese scientists announced Monday they had realized the real-time transmission of deep-sea data for more than 190 straight days, a world record.

Chinese scientists announced Monday they had realized the real-time transmission of deep-sea data for more than 190 straight days, a world record. [File Photo: qingdaochina.org]

During an expedition to the west Pacific at the end of last year, researchers with the Institute of Oceanology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences realized the real-time transmission of deep-sea data after improving the subsurface buoy observation network.

They put a floating body on the sea, which was connected to a submersible buoy. The submersible buoy transmits data to the floating body, which then sends them to a satellite. Researchers then receive the data through the satellite, according to Wang Fan, director of the institute, based in Qingdao, eastern China's Shandong Province.

The real-time deep-sea data includes the condition of the subsurface buoy, the flowing speed, direction and pressure of seawater.

"Real-time transmission of deep-sea data provides important technical support for research on ocean environment and global climate," Wang said, adding that the data could enhance the precision in ocean climate and environment forecasts.

The previous world record for real-time transmission of deepwater data was about 90 days, according to the institute.

I failed to find any technical breakthrough in this "world record" setting event. A floating antenna wired to a submerged buoy, so what is special?

 

[cirr]

Chinese scientists discover new type of fermion: Nature

2017-06-21 09:10

Xinhua Editor: Gu Liping

Chinese scientists have discovered a new type of fermion that opens up a way of exploring the interplay between unconventional fermions in condensed-matter systems.

The research team was led by scientists with the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), whose findings were published in the online version of the academic journal "Nature Communications" on Monday.

In quantum field theory, Lorentz invariance leads to three types of fermion -- Dirac, Weyl and Majorana. The existence of Dirac and Weyl fermions in condensed-matter systems has been confirmed experimentally, and that of Majorana fermions is supported by various experiments.

In condensed-matter systems, however, fermions in crystals are "constrained by the symmetries of the crystal space groups rather than by Lorentz invariance," giving rise to the possibility of finding other types of fermionic excitation that have no counterparts in high-energy physics.

The CAS scientists used a technique to observe the distribution of electrons, called angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, which demonstrated the existence of a "triply degenerate point in the electronic structure of crystalline molybdenum phosphide," -- a brand new discovery in field of fermion research.

They have also observed pairs of Weyl points in the bulk electronic structure of the crystal that coexist with the three-component fermions.

http://www.ecns.cn/2017/06-21/262248.shtml

 

[JSCh]

Chinese scientists discover new type of fermion: Nature
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-20 19:47:45|Editor: Mengjie



BEIJING, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have discovered a new type of fermion that opens up a way of exploring the interplay between unconventional fermions in condensed-matter systems.

The research team was led by scientists with the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), whose findings were published in the online version of the academic journal "Nature Communications" on Monday.

In quantum field theory, Lorentz invariance leads to three types of fermion -- Dirac, Weyl and Majorana. The existence of Dirac and Weyl fermions in condensed-matter systems has been confirmed experimentally, and that of Majorana fermions is supported by various experiments.

In condensed-matter systems, however, fermions in crystals are "constrained by the symmetries of the crystal space groups rather than by Lorentz invariance," giving rise to the possibility of finding other types of fermionic excitation that have no counterparts in high-energy physics.

The CAS scientists used a technique to observe the distribution of electrons, called angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, which demonstrated the existence of a "triply degenerate point in the electronic structure of crystalline molybdenum phosphide," -- a brand new discovery in field of fermion research.

They have also observed pairs of Weyl points in the bulk electronic structure of the crystal that coexist with the three-component fermions.

###
​

I don't know why the article above from xinhua said that it is published in "Nature Communications", but it is actually "Nature" proper.

Paper:

B. Q. Lv, Z.-L. Feng, Q.-N. Xu, X. Gao, J.-Z. Ma, L.-Y. Kong, P. Richard, Y.-B. Huang, V. N. Strocov, C. Fang, H.-M. Weng, Y.-G. Shi, T. Qian & H. Ding."Observation of three-component fermions in the topological semimetal molybdenum phosphide". Nature (2017). DOI: 10.1038/nature22390​

 

[JSCh]

is it possible to send such data to a sub in real time, but without reveal the position of the sub? If yes, this will give a big capability boost to PLAN sub fleet.

The technology is developed for research project. As to speculation on military application, see Does China’s deep-sea tech upgrade point to submarine signals network under Pacific? | South China Morning Post

I failed to find any technical breakthrough in this "world record" setting event. A floating antenna wired to a submerged buoy, so what is special?

The communications from the submerged to floating buoy is wireless. Also see the SCMP article above on what is notable.