News on China's scientific and technological development.

Hendrik_2000

Lieutenant General
Chinese scientists succeed in world's first stem-cell-regenerated healthy lung tissue

2018-02-09 10:52 China Daily Editor: Wang Zihao

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The scientists work in the laboratory. (Photo: China News Service/Xu Jing)

Chinese researchers have regenerated human lung tissue in a patient using that patient's own stem cells, the first time that has been achieved worldwide, said Zuo Wei, lead researcher of the team from the School of Medicine of Tongji University in Shanghai.

After obtaining dozens of stem cells by brushing a patient's lungs, researchers let the cells multiply into the tens of millions in a lab, then transplanted them into the damaged part of the patient's lungs.

After three to six months, the stem cells formed new lung structures, repairing the damaged tissues, Zuo said.

"The research signifies that the revival of human organs has stepped out of the lab and into clinical application," said Zhang Jun, Party chief of the school.

A paper about their study was published on the Protein& Cell website, a Beijing-based international journal, on Jan 17.

Once lung tissues are damaged and develop fibrosis - excessive growth of connective tissue - the disease often continues and cannot be reversed. Traditional medicines only slow down the process of fibrosis, doctors said.

However, stem cells have the ability to regenerate and repair tissue, Zuo said.

In lab experiments, the lungs of mice with fibrosis in their organs became "very healthy" three weeks later, he said.

More than 80 patients have been involved in the clinical experiments since April 2016, and all of them showed progress in indicators such as lung capacity and walking distance, Zuo said.

"The repair and substitution for the lesion tissues in lungs are clearly visible through CT scans and they reported less coughing, sputum and shortness of breath," Zuo said.

Not all damaged tissue can be replaced by transplanted stem cells, he said, but improvement is visible for everyone to see.

Such transplants are not suitable for all kinds of lung diseases.

"It will mainly work for lung diseases caused by damaged tissues, such as bronchiectasis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and interstitial lung disease. Lung cancer is not included," Zuo said.

Dai Xiaotian, a doctor from the respiration department of the First Hospital affiliated to the Army Medical University in Chongqing, who was responsible for the clinical experiments in the research, said more patients will be recruited this year and the patients will all undergo longterm observation.

Research this year will also focus on whether such transplants will work for patients with other diseases, such as of the kidneys and uterus, Zuo said.

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Colonel
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China's cancer researcher shares 2018's Sjoberg Prize of Sweden
Source: Xinhua 2018-02-06 06:28:32




STOCKHOLM, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- China's cancer researcher Zhu Chen won The Sjoberg Prize 2018, together with French researchers Anne Dejean and Hugues de The, for the unique treatment that cures a once fatal cancer, announced the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Monday night.

According to a statement from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the prize was awarded to them "for the clarification of molecular mechanisms and the development of a revolutionary treatment for acute promyelocytic leukaemia".

This year's Sjoberg Laureates have developed a new and targeted treatment for a specific form of blood cancer called acute promyelocytic leukaemia. It was once one of the deadliest forms of cancer, but it is now possible to cure nine out of ten patients who receive the new treatment, the release reads.

The treatment is unique because it is the first standard treatment for acute leukaemia that does not include chemotherapy. Instead, a combination treatment is used, which consists of a form of vitamin A, "all-trans retinoic acid", also called ATRA, along with arsenic trioxide.

The idea of using arsenic comes from traditional medicine, but this method has been scientifically tested and proven in this form. The Laureates have made this revolutionary development possible by methodically mapping the molecular mechanisms responsible for the disease.

By identifying a specific genetic mutation and aiding the destruction of a faulty protein in specific cells, it was possible to stop the process that resulted in death for three out of four patients. This treatment means the cancer cells disappear because they lose the ability to renew themselves.

These discoveries have been made in stages since the 1980s, and the treatment's effects have been confirmed in numerous scientific studies. In many countries, this treatment combination is now the first choice of treatment for acute promyelocytic leukaemia.

The three Laureates remain very active in the field of cancer research. Anne Dejean now primarily dedicates her research to continuing her studies of liver cancer, and to investigating the significance of protein modification in how cancer develops.

Hugues de The is interested in the potential for producing treatment methods for cancer that combine stimulating the cancer cells' maturation and blocking their ability to renew themselves, while Zhu Chen is investigating genetic and molecular changes in other forms of leukaemia.

Zhu Chen was quoted by the release as saying that he was honored to share the prize, "which recognizes important contributions to cancer research", with Dr. de The and Dr. Dejean.

"This prize means not only the glory, but even more importantly a responsibility, a responsibility for me, my team and our collaborators to continue efforts in the understanding of disease mechanisms of other types of haematological malignancies and to develop innovative, effective therapeutic strategies against those diseases through collaboration with other partners," Chen added.

Zhu Chen, born in 1953 in China, is now Professor at prestigious Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Anne Dejean, born in 1957 in
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, is Professor at Institut Pasteur, France. Hugues de The, born in 1959 in France, is Professor at College de France, France.

The prize is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and is funded by the Sjoberg Foundation. The foundation, with a donation of two billion Swedish krona (about 2.5 billion U.S. dollars), was founded in 2016, and serves to promote scientific research that focuses on cancer, health and the environment.

The Prize is an annual international prize in cancer research awarded to individual researchers or research groups. The prize amounts to one million U.S. dollars, of which 100,000 U.S. dollars is the prize sum and 900,000 U.S. dollars is funding for future research.

Laureates are expected to conduct the official Sjoberg Prize Lecture at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm on April 12.
 

vesicles

Colonel
Chinese scientists succeed in world's first stem-cell-regenerated healthy lung tissue

2018-02-09 10:52 China Daily Editor: Wang Zihao

Research this year will also focus on whether such transplants will work for patients with other diseases, such as of the kidneys and uterus, Zuo said.

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Ok, I got to say that this article is very misleading. This is a typical organoid technology. It may be the first time for lungs, but has been done in kidney, intestines and bladder for a while.

Also, nowadays people are attempting to grow intact tissues and implant into patients, not just some patch work. This is not easy. While segments of intestines have been implanted into mice, but has not been done in human.
 
now noticed the tweet (don't know how the link here the vid which is inside)
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Meet Jueying, a cute robot developed by Zhejiang University: Jueying is 1 meter long and can carry a 20 kg load and walk at 6 km per hour in different conditions. It will be used in security tasks and disaster relief.
 

siegecrossbow

General
Staff member
Super Moderator
now noticed the tweet (don't know how the link here the vid which is inside)
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Meet Jueying, a cute robot developed by Zhejiang University: Jueying is 1 meter long and can carry a 20 kg load and walk at 6 km per hour in different conditions. It will be used in security tasks and disaster relief.

Here is the video.

 
now I read
Robot helps passengers in century-old train station in north China
2018-02-13 20:56 GMT+8
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A female robot has been offering help to passengers in Taiyuan Railway Station in north China's Shanxi Province. Its cute look and various functions have brought fun to many passengers at the station.

The robot’s name is Xiao Yuan or Little Yuan. “Yuan” is the second character of the name of the city of Taiyuan. Xiao Yuan just started to work here two weeks ago. But now she only works in a VIP waiting room.

Xiao Yuan is able to lead passengers to various places, including the washroom and mobile phone charging areas. By tapping on its screen or speaking to her, people can get a whole range of information.

More robots like Xiao Yuan are expected to assist passengers in more waiting rooms in the future.

Taiyuan Railway Station is over 100 years old. During this year's Spring Festival travel period, besides the robot, the old railway station has also deployed many other smart technologies.

An upgraded washroom at the station has a big electronic screen, from which passengers can check how many toilets are available for use.

It takes no longer than a blink of an eye for passengers to check in, thanks to a new face scanning system that’s in place.

More phone charging facilities have been set up in waiting rooms.

Air quality is being monitored around the clock, and a new ventilation system works to purify the air and release pleasing aroma.

A big data center was also built to provide three-dimensional monitoring videos. Passenger flow is under surveillance, with the comfort index of the station showing on the screen at all times.

Modern technology has brought vitality to the old railway station. It not only makes the journey more convenient, but also more enjoyable.
 
Fair enough that there is national competition and actual espionage. Then there is plenty of glossing over US accountability for and benefits from consensual arrangements, double standards and “do what we say, not what we do”. “Whole-of-society threat” sounds a lot like the racist “yellow peril” concept of the past.

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The director of the FBI says the whole of Chinese society is a threat to the US — and that Americans must step up to defend themselves

Michal Kranz
21h 185,872

FBI Director Christopher Wray issued a dire warning about China's growing influence during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Tuesday.

He said there were a variety of ways China was implementing a plan to replace the US as the foremost global power, including by infiltrating academia.

Recent reports have suggested that while China's Confucius Institutes are ostensibly language-learning centers, they often serve as vehicles for Chinese propaganda at universities around the world, including the US.

Intelligence experts have also cited Chinese cybersecurity threats as a major concern in 2018.

FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday reiterated a commonly held view among US intelligence officials that China is seeking to become a global superpower through unconventional means — but he framed it as both a governmental and a societal threat to the US.

Speaking before the Senate Intelligence Committee alongside the heads of other US intelligence agencies, Wray said that to undermine the US's military, economic, cultural, and informational power across the globe, China was using methods relying on more than just its state institutions.

"One of the things we're trying to do is view the China threat as not just a whole-of-government threat, but a whole-of-society threat on their end," Wray said. "And I think it's going to take a whole-of-society response by us."

In response to a question from Sen. Marco Rubio about whether China was planning to overtake the US as the world's most dominant power, Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, echoed Wray.

"There is no question that what you have just articulated is what's happening with China," Coats said. "They're doing it in a very smart way. They're doing it in a very effective way. They are looking beyond their own region."

Coats said multiple agencies were conducting "intensive studies" to understand the ways China is looking to carry out its global agenda.

The double-edged sword of open academics
Wray pointed to China's use of unconventional intelligence sources as an example of its reach.

He said "collectors" — what the intelligence community calls people who collect intelligence on behalf of agencies or governments — had infiltrated US universities.

"I think in this setting, I would just say that the use of nontraditional collectors — especially in the academic setting, whether it's professors, scientists, students — we see in almost every field office that the FBI has around the country," Wray said.

"They're exploiting the very open research-and-development environment that we have, which we all revere, but they're taking advantage of it," Wray said, adding that there was a "naiveté" among academics about the risks posed by foreign nationals at US universities.

china confucius institute
Xi's immediate predecessor, Hu Jintao, in 2011. REUTERS/Chris Walker/Pool
The Institute of International Education found that US universities admitted more than 1 million international students in the 2015-16 school year, nearly 329,000 of which were Chinese students.

While there is no evidence that a large number of Chinese students or academics at US universities poses a threat to US interests, the Chinese government uses several education efforts as vehicles for soft power.

One is the Confucius Institutes, which Rubio alluded to during the Senate hearing.

These institutes mirror many other foreign-language-education entities that countries fund around the world, but with a couple of caveats. Rather than existing as standalone bodies, they are inserted into universities in the US and elsewhere. And Foreign Policy reported last year that though their mission is to promote cultural diplomacy, they disseminate Chinese propaganda and restrict what professors.

In response to the perceived danger to open expression posed by these institutes, the University of Chicago and Pennsylvania State University closed the Confucius Institutes on their campuses in 2014. Other global universities have followed suit.

Confucius Institutes also have a presence in Africa, where China is growing its economic and political power.

Quartz reported in November that people in countries like Zambia and Zimbabwe were encouraged to view China as a positive economic force and a source of progress and opportunity as part of the "Look East" policy many African countries have implemented.

As a result of this push, the number of African students in China has skyrocketed over the past 10 or so years, the Quartz report says.

Chinese cybersecurity threats
During Tuesday's Senate hearing, the top US intel chiefs drew attention to Chinese cybersecurity strategies.

"Frankly, the United States is under attack by entities that are using cyber to penetrate virtually every major action that takes place" within the US, Coats said.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray; Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Mike Pompeo; Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Dan Coats; Defense Intelligence Agency Director Robert Ashley; National Security Agency (NSA) Director Michael Rogers; and National Geospatial Intelligence Agency Director Robert Cardillo testify before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on
US security chiefs testifying at the Senate Intelligence Committee's hearing on worldwide threats. Thomson Reuters
The Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community, also released Tuesday, outlines China's cyber capabilities.

"China will continue to use cyber espionage and bolster cyber attack capabilities to support national security priorities," the report says, adding that while China's cyber activity is at much lower levels than it was before September 2015, it is still threatening.

It continues: "Most detected Chinese cyber operations against US private industry are focused on cleared defense contractors or IT and communications firms whose products and services support government and private sector networks worldwide."

Pointing to the findings, several intelligence heads reaffirmed the need to beef up US counterintelligence efforts in cyber. Many identified it as one of the top priorities for the intelligence community in the coming year.

Wray said that with so many facets of American society under threat, it would take a lot more than just intelligence agencies to combat China.

"It's not just the intelligence community," he said, "but it's raising awareness within our academic sector, within our private sector, as part of the defense."
 
now I read
Chinese research ship completes maritime mission in Antarctica
Xinhua| 2018-02-14 21:03:38
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Xiangyanghong 01, China's elite scientific research ship docked at a port in Chile on Wednesday after completing a maritime research mission in the Antarctica, according to First Institute of Oceanography of the State Oceanic Administration.

During the 46-day mission, the ship conducted surveys in the Atlantic sector of the Antarctica in various fields, including marine geology, geophysics and environment, as well as seabed topography and mapping.

"In the central Drake Strait, the vessel completed comprehensive observation of oceanographic elements. This was the first time a Chinese research vessel has acquired an all-depth oceanographic observation profile in the key area of the Southern Westerly Wind Belt," said Li Tiegang, director of the Qingdao-based institute.

The vessel successfully put two sets of deepwater buoys in Powell Basin off the northernmost Antarctic Peninsula, which will help researchers observe flow velocity, temperature and salinity at different depths of the ocean.

The Antarctica mission was the fourth stage of Xiangyanghong's journey around the world, China's first maritime research expedition that integrates oceanic and polar research.

Departing from east China's Qingdao last August, Xiangyanghong 01 will cover around 35,000 sea miles in its 260-day expedition, and is scheduled to return to Qingdao on May 15.
 

supercat

Major
The West should take note: China's tech revolution is only just starting
We are witnessing the ascendance of a superpower through prodigious mercantile and technological influence

A few months ago, I stumbled across a line in a business title that stopped me in my tracks: at that point, 15 Chinese startups had reached unicorn status that year alone; effectively, 30 per cent of the world’s billion-dollar companies were created in China in 2017.

The relentless nature of a news cycle dominated by the commotion of Trump and Brexit has served to mask the potent undertow of what is likely to prove the most significant shift of this century – namely, the transfer of global power from the west to China. As political turmoil transpires elsewhere, China is re-shaping the world around trade, economics and technology, placing itself firmly at the centre.

The difference between China and other leading nation states is that it doesn’t seek to export its politics and ideology. Rather, it is seeking to build, to innovate, to prevail. We are witnessing the ascendance of a superpower through prodigious mercantile and technological influence.

While US infrastructure continues to age, and initiatives in Europe such as HS2 become mired in complex procedures and delays – a consequence of democracy’s messy complexity – China’s one-party system means that it can plan projects on a scale barely imaginable in the west and can plan generations ahead – its $124 billion “belt and road” project is planned to extend from its eastern border to the English Channel. Yet this is the same authoritarian regime that maintains the country in isolation behind a firewall.

China’s long-term strategy means that it could lead the world in technologies such as machine learning (in July, its government published a roadmap for AI with ambitious targets up to 2030), the blockchain (which plays to China’s significant geopolitical advantages), and energy, in which the Chinese are assuming leadership in the deployment of electric vehicles and the manufacture of solar panels.

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focuses on Didi Chuxing, a ride sharing service that – for what these things are worth in 2018 – is now the most valuable startup on Earth. There’s a chance you might not have heard of it, but Didi forced Uber to retreat from the Chinese market. In December last year, it announced that it had just secured another $4 billion in investment, which will be ploughed into AI, electric vehicles and international expansion. Didi is likely to be just one of the many powerful Chinese startups looking beyond its own borders. In a special on Chinese tech ascendency, we look at what’s next for Didi, how China became the people’s republic of tech and identify the startups to watch.

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Didi Chuxing took on Uber and won. Now it's taking on the world
Backed by investment from some of the biggest global tech companies – including Apple, Tencent and Alibaba – Jean Liu’s Didi Chuxing defeated Uber in China. Now, the firm is leading the way for Chinese tech giants – by taking on the planet
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