China's
top ten science and
technology achievementsin 1999
1.
China??s first experimental manned spaceship made a successful maiden
flight.
At
6: 30 on November 20, 1999, China??s first experimental manned spaceship,
the ??Shenzhou,?? was launched at the newly-built space launching
site in the China Jiuquan Satellite Launching Center. This was China??s
first manned spaceship flight test, marking a new major breakthrough
in China??s manned space technology. The experimental spaceship and
the new-type rocket launched this time were independently developed
by China.
2.
Great progress was made in the study of hydrogen storage nanometer
carbon tubes.
The
advanced carbon materials research group, led by Cheng Huiming of
the Metals Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences,
launched China??s first experimental research project into the characteristics
of hydrogen storage using one-dimensional nanometer carbon material,
and produced a large amount of nanometer carbon fiber storing a
greater quantity of hydrogen. At the beginning of 1999, the group
did research into the preparation of the single-wall nanometer carbon
tube and hydrogen storage. The group cooperated with China??s National
Key Laboratory for Rapid Solidification of Non-balanced Alloys and
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology of the United States,
and, by means of the unusual plasma hydrogen electric arc, semi-continuously
produced a large quantity of high-purity single-wall nanometer carbon
tubes, the diameters of which averaged 1.85 nanometers. This type
of single-wall nanometer carbon tube with its broad diameter can
store a great deal of hydrogen at room temperature after proper
treatment.
3.
Chinese scientists found ??all-time low ozone?? high above the Qinghai-Tibet
Plateau.
Using
data from satellite sensing and a field survey, Chinese scientists
have procured a surprise finding that high above the Qinghai-Tibet
Plateau exists ??all-time low ozone?? in summer. Experts hold that
this is another major scientific discovery since the ozone cavity
over the South Pole was discovered in 1985, and that it has drawn
wide attention from science and technology circles worldwide.
4.
Oldest-known vertebrate fossils found in China.
The
fossilized Kunming fish and Haikou fish, found by Prof. Shu Degan,
head of the Research Institute of Early Life of Northwest University,
and his collegues, and the fossilized Haikou insect, discovered
by a research group led by Chen Junyuan, a research fellow of the
Nanjing Institute of Geological Biology of the Chinese Academy of
Sciences, are the oldest vertebrates in the world discovered so
far. They can be traced back 530 million years, according to textual
research. These fossils were discovered in the stratum of the early
Cambrian Period, which dates back 530 million years, in Haikou District,
Kunming City, Yunnan Province. The discovery of these fossils not
only reveals a complete picture of the emergence of life in the
Cambrian Period, it also provides reliable evidence for the origin
of vertebrates and their important organs. These discoveries will
help to rewrite the history of the origin of vertebrates.
5.
Chronoclines of the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties inferred.
Chinese
scholars have concluded that the demarcation lines between the Xia
and Shang dynasties and between the Shang and Zhou dynasties range
from 1600 B.C. to 1500 B.C., and from 1050 B.C. to 1020 B.C., respectively.
6.
China made great achievements in its first scientific investigation
of the North Pole
China
made its first scientific investigation of the North Pole from July
to September, 1999. For the first time, the Chinese government directly
organized this large-scale comprehensive scientific investigation
of the North Pole, and for the first time China??s scientific research
ship made a voyage to the Arctic Ocean.
This
investigation into the North Pole is another breakthrough in China??s
polar investigations, which have been continuing for the past 15
years. It makes China one of the few countries to have made investigations
of both the North and South poles. A series of significant achievements
were made during this investigation.
7.
China bred the first transgene calf.
The
Shanghai Institute of Medical Genetics successfully bred China??s
first test-tube transgene calf by means of its newly invented technology
which had already produced a transgene sheep. The institute??s specialists
simultaneously discovered a new method of greatly raising the gene
expression level, so that the proteins of pharmaceuticals contained
in the milk of transgene animals could increase by more than 30
times. The test-tube transgene calf, named ??Taotao,?? was born on
February 19, 1999, weighing 38 kg. According to an examination,
it carries in its body the genes of human protein transplanted by
scientific research personnel of the institute.
8.
China successfully launched its first earth resources satellite.
At
11:16 on October 14, 1999, China successfully launched into the
expected orbit the ??Resource No. 1?? earth resources remote sensing
satellite jointly developed by China and Brazil, along with a small
Brazilian auxiliary scientific applications satellite.
After
it is put into use, the ??Resource No. 1?? satellite will transmit
remote-sensing image information about visible light, and multispectral,
short-wavelength and thermal infrared waves to China, Brazil and
other countries and regions capable of receiving the information.
9.
China??s scientists successfully cloned giant panda embryos.
The
Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the
Fuzhou Giant Panda Research Center jointly cloned a batch of early
panda embryos for the first time in the world by means of transplanting
panda cells into an enucleated rabbit ovum. This is a manifestation
of the fact that China has once again ranked itself among the world??s
foremost nations in giant panda research.
10.
China??s research into and development of human blood substitutes
has reached the internationally advanced level.
According
to the ??March 1986 Program?? of the Chinese government, research into
and development of human blood substitutes was selected as a major
project in the nation??s biological endeavors. The Beijing Kaizheng
Bioengineering Development Company did research into blood substitutes
by using animal hemoglobin as stroma, opened up a technical route
with independent intellectual property rights, successfully transformed
animal hemoglobin into a safe and effective human blood substitute,
and secured three key technical patents. Research in this field has
reached the advanced level among similar international research efforts.
Efforts are being made to apply the findings to commercial and industrial
use.
