1
For the first time, Chinese scientists have revealed the environmental adaptation mechanism of deep-sea lionfish
▲Image source: Network
The Institute of Deep-sea Sciences and Engineering and the Institute of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences jointly tackled the problem and Northwestern Polytechnical University to carry out multi-faceted research on lionfish living below 7000 meters in the Mariana Trench, clarified its systematic status in taxonomy, found for the first time changes in its adaptation to the abyss in morphology, and revealed the genetic basis of abyss adaptation on the basis of multi-omics big data analysis. At 23:00 Beijing time on April 15, the relevant research results were published online in the sub-journal of Nature Ecology and Evolution.
According to reports, the deep sea, as the last space on the surface of the earth that has not been large-scale access or cognition by human beings, contains various strategic resources and energy sources required for the future development of human society. The deep-sea lionfish samples involved in the study were obtained by China's abyss science research vessel "Exploration I" in late 2016 and early 2017 through the "Tianya" and "Cape" abyss landers. The relevant scientific research team has carried out a comprehensive study on lionfish, and elucidated the origin evolution and adaptation mechanism of abyss fish from the morphological and genetic function levels.
——People's Daily News
2
Gaofen No. 5 won the first global high-resolution fine particle aerosol distribution map
▲Optical thickness (AODf) distribution map of fine particle aerosols (AODf) obtained by China's GF-5 satellite DPC sensor
On April 16, it was learned from the Institute of Aerospace Information of the Chinese Academy of Sciences that the institute recently obtained the first global 3.3 km spatial scale fine particle aerosol optical thickness (AODf) distribution map based on the multi-angle polarization imager (DPC) carried on the Gaofen-5 satellite. This is the highest spatial resolution AODF remote sensing observation dataset in the world, which can provide a key basic product for the acquisition of spatial information on the main polluting components of the atmosphere (PM2.5, etc.).
According to Li Zhengqiang, deputy director of the National Key Laboratory of Satellite Remote Sensing for Environmental Protection of the Institute of Aerospace Information of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, DPC can provide space remote sensing observation data for rapid monitoring of global atmospheric pollution status, and the obtained aerosol parameters can be used to monitor the distribution, source, composition and transmission information of fine atmospheric particle pollutants. From a global perspective, the high-value areas of AODf obtained by DPC are more consistent with the spatial distribution of key areas of global environmental air pollution, and the low values are mainly distributed in areas with cleaner atmospheres, such as North America, Europe, Australia, etc.
——Science and Technology Daily
3
Cotton Transform Multifunctional Hydrogel can be used for electronic skin
On April 16, it was learned from Nanjing Forestry University that the team of Professor Yao Jianfeng of the university published the research results "Inorganic Salt-Induced Heat Reversible Antifreeze Cellulose Hydrogel" online in the latest issue of the top journal "German Applied Chemistry", which made cotton staple into a conductive, thermally reversible, low-temperature resistant, 3D printable hydrogel material through a simple method.
"Traditional hydrogels generally use petroleum-based polymers, and we prefer to choose renewable green materials from nature." Yao Jianfeng introduced that they used inorganic salt solution to achieve efficient dissolution of cotton short-lint cellulose and form a hydrogel material with stable mechanical properties. This hydrogel is easy to manufacture and can be obtained at room temperature.
4
Researchers at the National Astronomical Observatory measured for the first time the nighttime atmospheric tranquility of the Antarctic Ice Dome A
▲Measurement of the apparent state of sight of the KL-DIMM telescope on April 12, 2019
With the advent of Antarctic polar night, the National Astronomical Observatory's Oto-Thru Station in Antarctic Ice Dome A Kunlun Station (KL-DIMM) directly measured the nocturnal atmospheric occlusion of Ice Dome A for the first time, and also confirmed that there is an excellent atmospheric occlusion (less than 0.3 arcseconds) at an altitude of 8 meters above the surface.
The apparent degree of tranquility, which characterizes the degree of blurriness of telescope image jitter caused by atmospheric turbulence, is one of the most important parameters of the optical infrared astronomical observatory site. The smaller the value of the apparent state of sight, the higher the angular resolution of the imaging, and the stronger the telescope's ability to detect faint and weak objects. Therefore, the construction of large telescopes on the ground needs to choose an excellent site. At present, the best sites in the world are concentrated in Hawaii and Chile, with an average atmospheric visual intensity of about 0.6 arcseconds. Atmospheric turbulence is concentrated in the boundary layer near the ground, and the free atmospheric turbulence above it is very small. The boundary layer of conventional sites is about hundreds of meters thick, while the Antarctic inland ice sheet has a very thin atmospheric boundary layer due to its special geographical location, making it possible to set up telescopes above the boundary layer. The site measurements that have been carried out in China in Ice Dome A show that the median value of its boundary layer is only about 14 meters throughout the year, which is half of that of Antarctic Ice Dome C, but in the past there was no direct measurement of the nighttime sight.
5
Gene Magic Scissors makes cancer modeling more accurate and efficient
According to a study published in the open access journal Genomic Medicine on April 16, American scientists reported a new way to build a mouse model of cancer — using the CRISPR/Cas9 system known as the "gene magic scissors" to quickly knock cancer-related genes into the DNA of mice. This method meets the need for fast and accurate animal models with unprecedented efficiency.
Study corresponding author Wen Wang, from the Institute of RNA Therapy at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine, said: "Existing methods for typing in oncogenes to model cancer are either inefficient or difficult to control the position of the knock-in and the number of copies entered. CRISPR/Cas9 makes it possible to insert large fragments of DNA in the target loci and can be applied to human cells as well as mice in the lab. We have developed a new system, CRISPR-SONIC, that allows flexible gene entry in mouse models of liver cancer with high accuracy. ”
6
Researchers find "comet fragments" in meteorites
Researchers in the United States and Spain were surprised to find a tiny piece of "comet debris" in a meteorite from a primordial asteroid. The new findings are expected to provide new clues to explore the formation, structure and evolution of the solar system.
Both asteroids and comets formed in disks of gas and dust that once orbited the early sun, but they differ in distance from the sun and have different chemical compositions. Comets contain a larger percentage of water ice and carbon than asteroids.
A study published April 15 in the British journal Nature Astronomy revealed that a primordial carbonaceous globular meteorite found in the La Paz Ice Sheet in Antarctica contained a tiny piece of carbon-rich material that was highly similar to the material that formed the comet.
——Xinhua Net
Source: Today's WeChat public account of the Association for Science and Technology
Organizations at all levels of the China Association for Science and Technology should adhere to the responsibility positioning of serving scientific and technological workers, serving innovation-driven development, serving to improve the scientific quality of the whole people, and serving the scientific decision-making of the party and the government, and promote the construction of open, hub-type, and platform-based science and technology association organizations. Take up the long arm, take root in the grass-roots level, unite and lead the vast number of scientific and technological workers to actively march into scientific and technological innovation, organize and carry out innovative scramble actions, promote the prosperity and development of science and technology, promote the popularization and popularization of science, and truly become a people's organization that unites and links the vast number of scientific and technological workers under the leadership of the party, and become an important force in scientific and technological innovation. ——Xi Jinping