China Science & Technology Forum

[JSCh]

Satellites, drones and 5G: How high-tech helps China handle emergencies
By Gong Zhe
2018-12-22 22:39 GMT+8

Natural disasters can be hard to deal with. An earthquake can destroy a city's infrastructure, cutting out cellphone signals and travel routes.

For the emergency rescue team, that's like a black box. You don't know what's going on inside or how to get in. All you can do is prepare.

That's one of the reasons why high-tech is often seen in rescuing missions.

As China's technology sector rapidly develops, rescue teams also gear up against severe disasters. Many of those technologies are very familiar to gadget lovers.

Drones: Check out before heading out

Vloggers love to use drones to shoot videos from above and it looks amazing.

In addition to the thrill, the gadget can also be used to check the damage from a disaster.

Take the example of earthquake again. When a big earthquake comes, it does not strike only once. As a rescuer, you don't want to get trapped by aftershocks and become a victim yourself.

So you send a drone instead. It can remain flying no matter how much the ground shakes.

A drone films a rescue drill in Huainan, east China's Anhui Province, May 18, 2016. /VCG Photo

With cameras and maybe live stream add-ons, you can sit in a safe-house getting an overview of what's going on inside the black box.

The footage can almost ensure the rescue teams come out with a better plan.

Satellites: Detecting the slightest movement

We at CGTN love to talk about China's space projects. When a rocket is launched, we always brief you on what kind of payload it carries. Now let's get to some details.

Some of those payloads are "remote-sensing" satellites that observe the ground and alarm rescuers when things go wrong.

China has launched many Gaofen satellites to do this job. "Gaofen" is the pinyin spelling of "high-definition" in Chinese.

Though the satellites are high above, they can monitor changes on the ground at a one-meter level.

With ground stations, these sats can do even more.

A good example is BeiDou, China's homemade GPS rival.

the GPS on your smartphone may not be very accurate. It's not always sure which side of the road you are on.

But with a fixed ground station, it can get your position at a millimeter level.

It means the BeiDou satellites can monitor small movements of the continent, thus help detect earthquakes.

A BeiDou-capable positioning terminal showcased by a Beijing company at the China Satellite Navigation Exhibition in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, May 24, 2018. /VCG Photo‍

5G: Video conferences on the go

Though 4G is fast enough for video conferences, 5G can bring us multi-side video chats.

Emergency rescue work in China often involves more than one command center. It can be really hard for a rescue worker to listen to more than one commander.

Multi-side video chat can let all commanders see each other, make sure everyone is on the same page.

5G in China is still under development. But demo devices for rescue workers are already there.

This is a personal communication box. It can connect to Ethernet, 4G/5G network and satellites to send data. It also has all kinds of plugs for cameras, drones and microphones.

A rescue worker uses personal communication box to get in touch with a command center after an earthquake struck southwest China's Sichuan Province, August 8, 2017. /Photo from the Ministry of Emergency Management of China

What's more, it has an LCD monitor for video chat we just mentioned.

Older versions of the box are widely implemented in China and are in active use.

When China created a new ministry for emergency management back in April, it launched a national inspection of rescue workers. The box is used to send live video signals, saving a lot of travel time for the inspectors.

High-tech equipment in China's emergency management will increase as leaders of the ministry see technology as one of the guarantees for safety.

In a work meeting held in May, the ministry decided to "actively push forward the sci-tech advancement on security," and "reduce risks by installing better equipment."

Leaders of the ministry discuss future plans at a meeting, May 14, 2018. /Photo from the Ministry of Emergency Management of China

 

[JSCh]

China's breakthrough technologies 2018: Year in Review
New China TV
Published on Dec 24, 2018

From the world's longest sea bridge to the homegrown AG600 amphibious aircraft, from the world's fastest bullet train to the energy-saving "artificial sun"... China is emerging as a science and technology powerhouse. Click this video for some of China's breakthrough technologies in 2018.

 

[cirr]

Chinese scientists find ways to make copper behave as gold in catalysis

2018-12-25 08:41:39 Global Times Editor : Li Yan

Copper 'can behave as gold' in catalysis

A team led by Chinese scientist Sun Jian at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has found a way to make copper behave as gold and silver in catalysis, according to a statement the institute sent to the Global Times on Monday.

The new material based on copper could serve as a catalyst for reaction producing liquids from coal, a role only precious metals such as gold, could assume before, and the method is expected to be widely adopted in the coal chemical industry," Sun told the Global Times on Monday.

The discovery could have huge potential given China's vast coal reserves and the country's push for clean energy sources.

Although precious metals have good catalytic properties, using them for such processes is hindered by high costs. Copper, which is not a precious metal, is also more plentiful.

The experiment does not necessarily mean that "copper could turn into gold," said Sun. At the moment, production of the catalyst is still at the experimental level, and only several grams can be manufactured. If used in real production, a significant amount of these catalysts will be needed.

Sun said that his team is also exploring more possibilities involving precious metal transformation.

"By then, the application scenario will be further expanded, and it won't be limited to the coal chemical industry," noted Sun.

One example might be the production of electronic devices, Sun said.

 

[JSCh]

China to build 700 rural SciTech museums by the end of 2018
(People's Daily Online) 09:55, December 25, 2018

By the end of this year, a total of 700 science and technology museums will be built in middle schools throughout rural China providing better access to science and technology for 3 million students, Science and Technology Daily reported on Dec. 24.

In August 2012, the program was launched by the Foundation for the Development of Science and Technology Museums in China (FDSTMC), aimed at arousing more interest in science and technology among teenagers living in central and western regions of China.

Compared with the city SciTech museums, a rural one is much simpler, including only 20 exhibits, 3 bookcases and 8 pieces of illusionary paintings. Many students were inspired to make such inventions as a voice-controlled luminous clock, solar-powered alarm clocks embedded in vases and so on.

The public awareness of science and technology in urban areas dwarfed that of people in rural areas, according to a latest national survey on scientific literacy, noted Qi Rang, standing vice president of China Association of Senior Scientists and Technologists.

In the past six years, many efforts have been made to realize greater equality of education resources, said Qi, who is also the main promoter of the charity program.

It’s hoped that there will be 1,000 such museums by 2020, said Chu Xueji, secretary general of the Foundation. Up to now, 72 percent middle schools in west China have been equipped with SciTech museums, including 79 in Tibet.

(Compiled by Fang Tian)

 

[JSCh]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=527068414436026

State Power Investment Corp

Break through Key Technologies: China’s Independent Development of Heavy Duty Gas Turbine Gains Ground

On the morning of December 25, China’s first level I turbine vane casting of 300MW/F class heavy duty gas turbine successfully passed the appraisal judged by 13 experts from special expert advisory committee of “two units”, Dongfang Electric Corporation, Shanghai Electric Group Company Limited, Harbin Electric Corporation, University of Science and Technology Beijing, China National Machinery Industry Corporation and Fushun Special Steel. This marks China’s solid step of breaking through foreign technology blockade on hot end core component and achieves the independent development of heavy duty gas turbine.

At the appraisal meeting, the members of the expert group reached the consensuses that CLP Heavy Duty Gas Turbine Co., Ltd. (“CLP”), Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suvast Special Alloy Technology Co., Ltd. and other relevant units worked together and overcame difficulties, delivering not only a set of qualified physical blade but also a set of immobilized process system and quality assurance system, which laid a good foundation for the modular-design of turbine blade. As a result, they agreed to qualify the equipment for this appraisal.

Gas turbine, known as the “crown jewel” of the equipment manufacturing industry, represents the highest level of high-end manufacturing, but the core technology has been held by a few developed countries. Although China’s gas turbine development has gone through 50 years, we have simply mastered the manufacturing and assembly of heavy duty gas turbine’s cold end components, but not the core technology of hot end components’ design and manufacturing, and no independent research and development capability has been formed either. The level I turbine vane is a typical hot end component of heavy duty gas turbine, and its core manufacturing technology has long been blocked by foreign countries. CLP, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suvast Special Alloy Technology Co., Ltd. and other relevant units worked together, overcoming several difficulties together and setting a number of records: China’s first independent design of the large-scale level I vane of heavy duty gas turbine; China’s first smelting of the level I vane master alloy with independent intellectual property rights, conquering the purification smelting technology; China’s first independent casting of large-scale level I vane of heavy duty gas turbine, conquering the precision casting technology of large-scale complex blade.

Independent development of heavy duty gas turbine is of great strategic significance for China in becoming a strong manufacturing country, a strong technology country and achieving “Two Centenary Goals”. The Party Central Committee and State Council attached great importance to the independent innovation of heavy duty gas turbine, officially starting implementing the special project of “two units” in 2015; China’s 13th Five-Year Plan listed “two units” as the top of hundred major projects in 2016; central economic work conference emphasized that China would promote high-quality development of the manufacturing industry, and become a strong manufacturing country unswervingly in December 2018. CLP, as a subsidiary unit of SPIC and the implementer of the “two units” special project heavy duty gas turbine engineering, undertakes the glorious mission of independently developing heavy duty gas turbine. The automation of heavy duty gas turbine still has a long way to go. CLP strives to build a collaborative innovation mechanism of the whole industrial chain and gather the strength of the whole country to overcome difficulties together, working hard to realize the dream of independent research and development of China’s heavy duty gas turbine.

 

[JSCh]

Ultra-strong microscopes open doors to scientific innovation
By ZHANG ZHIHAO/YANG ZEKUN | China Daily | Updated: 2018-12-28 07:54

One researcher from the Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology displays a specialized lens, one of the key components for producing high-resolution images and visualizing small structures with high clarity, Dec 26, 2018. [Photo/IC]

China is now capable of creating super-resolution optical microscopes that can see objects a mere 50 nanometers wide. This allows scientists to observe subtle molecular processes within cells in real time, potentially aiding in the development of new drugs.

Traditional light microscopes are useful for investigating small objects and structures, but they lack precision when the space between objects is smaller than half the wavelength of light used to view them, at which point the two objects can blur into one.

This issue is called the diffraction limit. Since 2000, this challenge has been gradually solved with the advent of super-resolution microscopy, which allows scientists to see and track molecules in action within a living cell. This technique is so valuable for biology and medical research that the Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded to three microscopy experts in 2014.

As China forges ahead in the fields of microbiology and molecular science, demand for high-end, super-resolution optical microscopes has soared, said Tang Yuguo, director of the Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

However, China has had to import most of the core components for these powerful microscopes, and their prohibitive costs restrict the country's innovation in biology, medicine and other cutting-edge fields, he said.

Now, after five years of research, the institute said on Wednesday that it has made breakthroughs in advanced optical microscopes, including the highly sophisticated stimulated emission depletion microscopy. The technique was created by Stefan Hell, a 2014 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry.

The institute introduced special lighting, fluorescent technology and a specialized lens－all of which are key components for producing high-resolution images and visualizing small structures with high clarity.

These feats have helped China become one of the world's leading countries in super-resolution microscopy. But it still lags behind other countries such as the United States, which currently holds the world's highest resolution microscope, capable of viewing objects of just 0.04 nm, the journal Nature said in July.

However, the Chinese super-resolution microscopes are cheaper than their global counterparts, and their resolution is sufficient for many key experiments. The institute said its machines have already been tested and used in many domestic and overseas institutes.

The academy's Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica used these powerful microscopes to track how active ingredients of drugs are being positioned and transported within cells, thus speeding up pharmaceutical development.

Stanford University, the University of Tokyo and other world-class institutes are also using Chinese microscopes to examine the activity of neurons, thus shedding light into the mechanisms by which our brain identifies information and controls behavior.

Wang Ping, a professor of biomedical engineering at Zhejiang University, said people are becoming more confident of China's high-end equipment.

Chai Zhifang, a researcher from the academy's Institute of High Energy Physics, said the microscope project has not only greatly reduced China's reliance on imports, but also has great strategic significance in improving the innovation capabilities of China's biomedical sectors.

Yang Zekun contributed to this story.

 

[Han Patriot]

Ultra-strong microscopes open doors to scientific innovation
By ZHANG ZHIHAO/YANG ZEKUN | China Daily | Updated: 2018-12-28 07:54

One researcher from the Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology displays a specialized lens, one of the key components for producing high-resolution images and visualizing small structures with high clarity, Dec 26, 2018. [Photo/IC]

China is now capable of creating super-resolution optical microscopes that can see objects a mere 50 nanometers wide. This allows scientists to observe subtle molecular processes within cells in real time, potentially aiding in the development of new drugs.

Traditional light microscopes are useful for investigating small objects and structures, but they lack precision when the space between objects is smaller than half the wavelength of light used to view them, at which point the two objects can blur into one.

This issue is called the diffraction limit. Since 2000, this challenge has been gradually solved with the advent of super-resolution microscopy, which allows scientists to see and track molecules in action within a living cell. This technique is so valuable for biology and medical research that the Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded to three microscopy experts in 2014.

As China forges ahead in the fields of microbiology and molecular science, demand for high-end, super-resolution optical microscopes has soared, said Tang Yuguo, director of the Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

However, China has had to import most of the core components for these powerful microscopes, and their prohibitive costs restrict the country's innovation in biology, medicine and other cutting-edge fields, he said.

Now, after five years of research, the institute said on Wednesday that it has made breakthroughs in advanced optical microscopes, including the highly sophisticated stimulated emission depletion microscopy. The technique was created by Stefan Hell, a 2014 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry.

The institute introduced special lighting, fluorescent technology and a specialized lens－all of which are key components for producing high-resolution images and visualizing small structures with high clarity.

These feats have helped China become one of the world's leading countries in super-resolution microscopy. But it still lags behind other countries such as the United States, which currently holds the world's highest resolution microscope, capable of viewing objects of just 0.04 nm, the journal Nature said in July.

However, the Chinese super-resolution microscopes are cheaper than their global counterparts, and their resolution is sufficient for many key experiments. The institute said its machines have already been tested and used in many domestic and overseas institutes.

The academy's Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica used these powerful microscopes to track how active ingredients of drugs are being positioned and transported within cells, thus speeding up pharmaceutical development.

Stanford University, the University of Tokyo and other world-class institutes are also using Chinese microscopes to examine the activity of neurons, thus shedding light into the mechanisms by which our brain identifies information and controls behavior.

Wang Ping, a professor of biomedical engineering at Zhejiang University, said people are becoming more confident of China's high-end equipment.

Chai Zhifang, a researcher from the academy's Institute of High Energy Physics, said the microscope project has not only greatly reduced China's reliance on imports, but also has great strategic significance in improving the innovation capabilities of China's biomedical sectors.

Yang Zekun contributed to this story.

Stanford and Tokyo U are using Chinese microscopes? Where is INDIA the superpower and bestest 'talents' in the world?

 

[cirr]

Chinese researchers identify new risk gene for Alzheimer's disease

2018-12-28 17:37:12 Xinhua Editor : Gu Liping

A Chinese research group has identified a gene variant that plays a key role in the development of Alzheimer's disease in Han Chinese, the largest ethnic group in China.

The study was recently published by the National Science Review, an English journal affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory, thinking skills and the ability to carry out simple tasks. The disease affects about 48 million people worldwide, and the number is expected to increase with the aging population. There is no effective cure.

Both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the onset and development of the disease, and its heritability is as high as 79 percent.

Previous studies have found genes for early-onset familial Alzheimer's disease, which is diagnosed before the age of 65 but only accounts for five percent of all Alzheimer's cases. Scientists believe that there are other disease genes still to be discovered.

Recent genome-wide association studies have identified a number of AD genes in European populations, but most of the genes cannot be validated in Chinese populations.

Through gene sequencing on 107 AD patients diagnosed before the age of 55 or having a family history, researchers from the Kunming Institute of Zoology under CAS found a rare variant rs3792646 in the C7 gene. Then, they validated the association of the variant with the disease in 368 cases from eastern and southwest China.

In addition, researchers using brain imaging data found that patients with the risk gene variant showed a significantly lower volume of the right hippocampus, a major component of the brain, and worse working memory performance in early adulthood compared with healthy people. The finding indicated that the variant might affect the brain structure and function several decades before disease onset.

Further study showed that overexpression of the gene variant might cause impairment in cell viability, immune activation and neuronal activity.

According to researchers, the variant is most likely Chinese-specific after they analyzed genome sequencing data of 812 individuals of European patients.

 

[cirr]

Ultra-strong microscopes open doors to scientific innovation
By ZHANG ZHIHAO/YANG ZEKUN | China Daily | Updated: 2018-12-28 07:54

One researcher from the Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology displays a specialized lens, one of the key components for producing high-resolution images and visualizing small structures with high clarity, Dec 26, 2018. [Photo/IC]

China is now capable of creating super-resolution optical microscopes that can see objects a mere 50 nanometers wide. This allows scientists to observe subtle molecular processes within cells in real time, potentially aiding in the development of new drugs.

Traditional light microscopes are useful for investigating small objects and structures, but they lack precision when the space between objects is smaller than half the wavelength of light used to view them, at which point the two objects can blur into one.

This issue is called the diffraction limit. Since 2000, this challenge has been gradually solved with the advent of super-resolution microscopy, which allows scientists to see and track molecules in action within a living cell. This technique is so valuable for biology and medical research that the Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded to three microscopy experts in 2014.

As China forges ahead in the fields of microbiology and molecular science, demand for high-end, super-resolution optical microscopes has soared, said Tang Yuguo, director of the Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

However, China has had to import most of the core components for these powerful microscopes, and their prohibitive costs restrict the country's innovation in biology, medicine and other cutting-edge fields, he said.

Now, after five years of research, the institute said on Wednesday that it has made breakthroughs in advanced optical microscopes, including the highly sophisticated stimulated emission depletion microscopy. The technique was created by Stefan Hell, a 2014 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry.

The institute introduced special lighting, fluorescent technology and a specialized lens－all of which are key components for producing high-resolution images and visualizing small structures with high clarity.

These feats have helped China become one of the world's leading countries in super-resolution microscopy. But it still lags behind other countries such as the United States, which currently holds the world's highest resolution microscope, capable of viewing objects of just 0.04 nm, the journal Nature said in July.

However, the Chinese super-resolution microscopes are cheaper than their global counterparts, and their resolution is sufficient for many key experiments. The institute said its machines have already been tested and used in many domestic and overseas institutes.

The academy's Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica used these powerful microscopes to track how active ingredients of drugs are being positioned and transported within cells, thus speeding up pharmaceutical development.

Stanford University, the University of Tokyo and other world-class institutes are also using Chinese microscopes to examine the activity of neurons, thus shedding light into the mechanisms by which our brain identifies information and controls behavior.

Wang Ping, a professor of biomedical engineering at Zhejiang University, said people are becoming more confident of China's high-end equipment.

Chai Zhifang, a researcher from the academy's Institute of High Energy Physics, said the microscope project has not only greatly reduced China's reliance on imports, but also has great strategic significance in improving the innovation capabilities of China's biomedical sectors.

Yang Zekun contributed to this story.

分辨率达到50纳米！我国已具备高端超分辨光学显微镜研制能力

2018-12-29 07:27:57字号：A- A A+来源：科学大院

关键字:中国科技超分辨光学显微镜中国显微镜

一听到高端的光学显微镜，你是不是会立刻想到徕卡、蔡司、奥林巴斯这些国外品牌？现在，我国也具备了高端超分辨光学显微镜的研制能力。

据“科学大院”公众号（kexuedayuan）12月29日消息，中国科学院苏州生物医学工程技术研究所（简称“苏州医工所”）已经研制出了激光扫描共聚焦显微镜、双光子显微镜、受激发射损耗(STED)超分辨显微镜、双光子-STED显微镜等高端光学显微镜。


12月26日，由苏州医工所承担的国家重大科研装备研制项目“超分辨显微光学核心部件及系统研制”通过验收，标志着我国具备了高端超分辨光学显微镜的研制能力。

科研人员正在用自主研制的激光扫描共聚焦显微镜观察细胞结构（图片来源：中科院摄影联盟、苏州医工所）

探索微观世界 离不开高端显微镜

高端显微系统广泛应用于生物学和基础医学等相关前沿领域的创新研究，尤其是10-100nm尺度的超分辨显微光学成像技术，在当今生物学和基础医学研究中，发挥着不可替代的作用。

作为生物医学实验研究的必备工具，激光扫描共聚焦显微镜比传统的荧光显微镜分辨率更高，而且可以进行层析扫描3D成像。但是共聚焦显微镜能够观察的样品厚度一般小于100um，要观察更深的样品时需要借助双光子显微镜。双光子显微镜最大的优势是观察的深度。

但是无论是激光扫描共聚焦显微镜还是双光子显微镜，都无法摆脱衍射极限的限制，为了进一步探索微观世界，需要分辨率更高的显微镜。STED显微镜应运而生，它在共聚焦显微镜的基础上引入损耗光束将荧光光斑进一步压缩，从而实现超分辨成像。

数值孔径为1.45的平场复消色差显微物镜（图片来源：中科院摄影联盟、苏州医工所）

我们都知道，美国和日本都是诺贝尔奖大国，日本从2000年开始基本每年一个诺贝尔奖，其中的原因之一就是离不开显微镜等高端仪器的使用。我国虽然是显微镜消费大国，但自己只能生产中低端产品，高端仪器基本依赖于进口，这已经严重制约了我国生物学和基础医学等相关前沿领域的创新研究。

四台高端显微镜 Made in China！

历时五年攻关，苏州医工所科研人员全面突破大数值孔径物镜、特种光源、新型纳米荧光增强试剂、系统集成与检测等关键技术，研制出四台高端显微镜，为我国高端光学显微镜的发展提供了系统解决方案。

高端平场复消色差生物显微物镜（图片来源：中科院摄影联盟、苏州医工所）

下面我们就来看看这四大国货神器吧！

1. 激光扫描共聚焦显微镜

传统荧光显微镜是用光源照射整个样品平面，再获得图像。由于聚焦平面上下的平面也会受到激发产生荧光，图像会被干扰；同时，同一平面上特征点周围激发的荧光也会干扰特征点的观察。

激光扫描共聚焦显微镜采用聚焦后的激光光斑作为照明光源，同时在探测器前引入针孔将聚焦光斑外的干扰信号进行过滤，因此提高了图像信噪比，横向分辨率可达200nm左右。此外，激光共聚焦显微镜还可以对样品逐层扫描实现三维成像，以及利用多通道采集图像的功能同时获取不同光谱段的荧光扫描图像。

激光扫描共聚焦显微镜与普通荧光显微镜成像对比（图片来源：网络）

苏州医工所研制的激光扫描共聚焦显微镜样机（图片来源：苏州医工所）

激光共聚焦显微镜可以观察细胞或亚细胞形态结构、鉴定细胞或组织内生物大分子，如：检测蛋白质抗体及其他分子，检测细胞凋亡，观察细胞骨架结构等；还能进行活体细胞或组织功能的实时检测。

目前，利用苏州医工所研制的高端光学显微镜，中科院动物所观察发育生物学中的基本现象，研究潜在调控机制；中科院药物所观察药物胞内靶向定位和输送，加速创新性新药研发。

纳米药物在Caco-2细胞亚细胞器分布共聚焦成像（图片来源：中科院上海药物所）

小鼠卵母细胞纺锤体共聚焦成像（图片来源：中科院动物所）

 

[cirr]

2.双光子显微镜

双光子显微镜结合了激光扫描共聚焦显微镜和双光子激发技术的特点。

双光子激发技术的基本原理就是用两个波长较长的光子去激发一个荧光分子。由于光波波长较长，可实现成像深度超过600微米。那么问题来了，什么情况下可以用两个光子激发一个光子，实现能量叠加呢？答案是：提高光子密度。

在进行双光子成像时，物镜焦点处的光子密度是最高的，双光子激发只发生在物镜的焦点附近很小的区域内，邻近区域不产生荧光，因此不需要针孔过滤信号，提高了信号收集效率。

单光子（共聚焦）激发与双光子激发（图片来源：网络）

苏州医工所研制的双光子样机图（图片来源：苏州医工所）

目前双光子成像在生物医学领域广泛应用于深层组织成像以及活体成像等。美国斯坦福大学、日本东京大学、陆军军医大学脑科学研究中心等专业实验室利用双光子显微成像技术进行了信息识别、行为控制等脑科学核心问题的研究以及动物在体成像实验，获得了高分辨实时神经元活动成像数据。

CLARITY处理的Thy1-YFP（H Line）小鼠大脑的荧光观察（图片来源：网络）

（A）从大脑皮质到海马的3-D观察图像（B）大脑皮层Ⅴ层的锥体细胞的树突图像

3.受激发射损耗（STED）显微镜

传统光学成像由于受到光学衍射极限的限制，分辨率很难突破200nm。这时就需要超分辨显微镜出手了。

光学衍射极限降低分辨能力（图片来源：网络）

STED显微镜是一种超分辨显微镜，它的原理可以简单理解为在共聚焦显微镜的基础上加入一束面包圈状的光斑（我们称之为损耗光），通过受激辐射效应减小有效荧光发光面积，将被激发的荧光物质限制在衍射极限内，从而突破光学衍射极限实现超分辨成像，目前能够实现50nm分辨率。

STED原理（图片来源：网络）

细胞骨架共聚焦与STED对比图（图片来源：苏州医工所）

苏州医工所研制的STED样机图（图片来源：苏州医工所）

STED显微镜的应用领域与共聚焦显微镜相似，主要用于观察亚细胞形态结构，活细胞内生物分子的实时成像和动态跟踪等。目前，苏州医工所正与中科院上海药物所以及中科院北京动物所开展相关合作。

4.双光子STED显微镜

双光子STED显微镜将双光子显微镜与STED显微镜合二为一，结合双光子显微镜成像深度深以及STED显微镜分辨率高的优点，根据不同的成像需求选择合适的成像方式。

苏州医工所研制的双光子-STED显微镜（图片来源：苏州医工所）

目前，苏州医工所已联合吉林大学第一医院、复旦大学附属华山医院以及苏州大学附属第一医院针对难治性癫痫、帕金森病及缺血性脑卒中疾病等进行研究。

科研人员正在用自主研制的双光子-STED显微镜观察亚细胞结构（图片来源：中科院摄影联盟、苏州医工所）

小鼠脑切片双光子成像（图片来源：苏州医工所）

导师，咱们实验室也买一台？

在高端显微镜的研制过程中，设计、加工、装配、检测等等，并无现成标准、经验可循；关键光学器件的加工难度超乎想象。

这次通过项目验收的四套超分辨率显微镜，最高分辨率达到了50纳米，而且各有特色。“在它们的背后，是已经发展起来的显微光学设计、加工、制造、装配的完整技术和工程体系。”例如大数值孔径显微物镜，不过两个胶囊咖啡大小的物镜，却由十几片直径为1-30毫米的特种玻璃镜片装配而成，做出这样一个镜头，需要解决一系列难题，更需要精密的检测设备和严格的检测标准。

高精度显微物镜光学元件加工（图片来源：中科院摄影联盟、苏州医工所）

目前，苏州医工所研制的显微镜和关键部件已有部分成果实现销售，例如：双光子显微镜已销往德国、以色列、美国等多家国外研究机构。北京大学、中科院神经科学研究所等国内科研机构也使用了该设备。具有自主知识产权的特种LED光源体系具备了国际竞争力，支撑了包括新一代投影、光医疗仪器以及远程照明等新兴产业的快速发展。共聚焦显微镜也已完成工程化，拟进行产业化生产和销售。

该项目的成功实施，极大改善了我国高端光学显微镜基本依赖进口的状况，对满足我国生物医学等前沿基础研究的定制化需求、提升创新能力，以及推动我国光学显微镜行业转型升级具有重要的战略意义。

（作者单位：中国科学院苏州生物医学工程技术研究所）

 

[JSCh]

China building world's largest earthquake warning system
By Gong Zhe
2018-12-31 22:55 GMT+8

​

Earthquake can be destructive. Unfortunately, we don't have a reliable way to predict.

But technologies can still help us under such a desperate situation. For example, sending a message after the earthquake happens, yet before it travels from underground where we live.

China is building the world's largest earthquake alert system and it's possibly the most advanced.

Engineers are setting up more than 15,000 sensors all over the country and wiring them into a web.

When an earthquake happens, the sensors can send electrical pulses to the control center and then ordinary people's smartphones.

The signal travels at (almost) light speed and is much faster than the devastating earthquake shaking, giving local people a little bit time to prepare.

According to an internal document CGTN got from the project managers, the system can send messages to people less than two seconds after the earthquake happens.

So the time between the warning and the actual impact might only be seconds or a minute. But it's proved to be life-saving because every second matter in this situation.

Similar systems can be found in other earthquake-prone places including Japan and U.S. west coast.

But China's system can be more advanced in many ways.

"It will be the largest earthquake observation network in the world," said Li Shanyou, deputy chief engineer of the system.

"It's more integrated than the Japanese and the U.S. ones," he added.

The system can not only detect the movement of the continents but also calculate the possible impact of an earthquake.

So it will automatically warn local people, making it much faster than human observation.

"It can make experts from other countries envy," Li told CGTN.

The system, overseen by China's Ministry of Emergency Management, is set to be completed in 2022.

 

[JSCh]

PUBLIC RELEASE: 31-DEC-2018
Scientists produce 'designer triacylglycerols' in industrial microalgae
CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES HEADQUARTERS

​

Producing designer triacylglycerol molecules with tailored PUFA profile in industrial microalgae. CREDIT: QIBEBT

Molecules of triacylglycerol (TAG), formed by attaching three molecules of fatty acid (FA) to a glycerol backbone, are the main constituents of vegetable oil in plants and fats in animals and humans. TAG plays an important role in cellular metabolism as a universal storage form and currency of energy, since its energy density is much greater than carbohydrates or proteins.

The health benefit of TAG molecules (TAGs) is dependent on which FA comprise the molecule. For example, linoleic acid (LA) can lower blood cholesterols and prevent atherosclerosis, while eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) can treat hypertension and inflammation. Can the FA composition of TAGs be customized to create "designer" TAGs that carry tailored health benefits?

The answer is yes. A research team led by Prof. XU Jian from the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology (QIBEBT), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), has discovered two novel diacylglyceryl transferases (DGAT2s) that preferentially attach LA and EPA, respectively, to the glycerol backbone to form TAGs.

By modulating the ratio of these specialist enzymes in the cell, a strain bank of the industrial oleaginous microalga Nannochloropsis oceanica was created where the proportions of LA and EPA in TAGs varied by 18.7- and 34.7-fold, respectively.

LA and EPA are both "essential fatty acids" for humans. They are essential for human metabolism, but human genomes do not encode the enzymes that directly synthesize these fatty acids. Therefore, humans have to intake LA and EPA via plant or animal TAGs.

The discovery of novel DGATs that selectively assemble LA and EPA into microalgal TAGs thus lays the foundation for producing on a large scale "designer TAGs," whether present in nature or not, for tailored or even personalized health benefits.


Scientists produce 'designer triacylglycerols' in industrial microalgae | EurekAlert! Science News

 

[JSCh]

SW China: An earthquake early warning system provided a 14 second warning
People's Daily, China 人民日报
Published on Jan 3, 2019

In Yibin, SW China's Sichuan Province, an earthquake early warning system provided a 14 second warning prior to the 5.3-magnitude earthquake that struck on Jan 3 in the city. The system has successfully covered 90% population of the active earthquake zone in the nation.

 

[JSCh]

Chinese scientists succeed in developing clonal seeds from hybrid rice
Source: Xinhua| 2019-01-06 00:49:42|Editor: Yang Yi


HANGZHOU, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have succeeded in developing clonal seeds from hybrid rice, said an online paper published in Nature Biotechnology Friday night.

The team, led by Wang Kejian, from the China National Rice Research Institute and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, conducted simultaneous genome engineering of meiosis and fertilization genes in developing the clonal seeds.

Usually, beneficial phenotypes are lost in subsequent generations owing to genetic segregation. But with the clonal seeds, the heterosis, or hybrid vigor of the hybrid rice, can be passed on to produce high-yielding crops.

"The success has proved the feasibility of apomixis for hybrid rice, which is significant theoretically. I hope that with their further research, the seeds will be put into production soon," said Yuan Longping, the "father of hybrid rice."

Statistics show that China has planted 16 million hectares of hybrid rice, about 57 percent of the total planting area of rice across the country. The annual output of hybrid rice is about 2.5 million tonnes.

 

[JSCh]

China opens first national selenium R&D center
Source: Xinhua| 2019-01-06 22:23:23|Editor: mmm


WUHAN, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's first national selenium research and development (R&D) center opened Sunday in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei Province.

The center aims to beef up selenium research, standardize the selenium industrial system, upgrade the sector, and offer technical support for selenium-related companies, said Cheng Shuiyuan, director of the center at a press conference.

The center began as a project in September 2018, approved by the country's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Selenium is an important micronutrient to boost human immune system and reduce the effects of cardiovascular diseases, according to the press conference.

China has a huge demand for selenium-enriched agricultural products because 72 percent of the country's arable land lacks the element.

Hubei's Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, however, has rich selenium deposit.