What if those biggest challenges in the world could be solved by the smallest living organisms? We are not just studying life, we are programming it. This shared vision gathered microbiologists from Asia, Europe, America and Africa in Shenzhen on November 18 for a symposium co-hosted by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) and the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
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A new study published in Nature has shed light on the origins, population structures, and kinship systems of the people of Shimao—one of China's most significant late Neolithic settlements. Analyses of ancient DNA from individuals who inhabited the site reveal genetic links to southern settlements, while also providing evidence of male mass burials associated with human sacrifice.
A research team led by Huawei Zhang of Peking University and Jiayang Li of the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology/Yazhouwan National Laboratory has reported a novel genome editing strategy, the "Mortise-Tenon system", which achieves precise insertion and replacement efficiencies from 16.30% to 59.47% in rice. The strategy offers a new tool for plant genome editing and opening new avenues for crop genetic improvement.
In a collaborative effort, researchers from the Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and China Agricultural University have revealed the antibacterial mechanism by which iron-sulfur nanozymes (nFeS) act on gut microbial metabolism to catalyze the production of indole derivatives, thereby synergistically combating intestinal infections in mice and pigs.
A latest cosmological simulation study by researchers from the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory has systematically revealed, for the first time, how the interaction between dark matter and dark energy significantly influences the rotation and shape alignment of dark matter halos in the universe.
At a lab of the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), AI and automation have transformed traditional chemistry research from manual trial-and-error to giving instructions on intelligent platforms. In 2021, Professor Jiang Jun's team developed the first-generation robotic chemist "Xiao Lai," enabling 24/7 operation and autonomous experiment design. The second-generation "Xiao Lin" now handles more complex tasks, evolving from a labor substitute to a collaborative research partner. The team's ultimate goal is fully autonomous science, where machines can discover new research directions and assist even non-experts in material creation.
The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, known as Asia's "water tower", holds an estimated 10 trillion cubic meters of surface water storage, a resource scientists say is increasingly vital to water security for more than two billion people across the continent. The new findings — released on Nov 19 in Lhasa, capital of the Xizang autonomous region — highlight both the plateau's rising hydrological importance and the growing environmental risks it faces.
A series of scientific satellites launched by China have achieved major discoveries in fields such as cosmic transient objects, cosmic-ray propagation and solar eruptions, renewing humanity's understanding of the universe. Since the launch of a CAS space science program in 2011, eight scientific satellites have been sent into space.
China on Monday launched an international science program focused on fusion burning plasma research in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province, opening several major fusion research platforms to global scientists for joint scientific advancements. This international program, initiated by the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Plasma Physics, will provide global access to the country's multiple major fusion research platforms, including the Burning Plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak (BEST) facility in Hefei.
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