News on China's scientific and technological development.

I need it for my joints more than I need viagra for my joint.

Popeye's power? Chinese scientists bring photosynthesis to animal cell


A group of Chinese scientists made a breakthrough as they rendered mammalian cells a unique skill owned by green plants – turning water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and food via sunlight – and revitalized those impaired animal cells.

The researchers from Zhejiang University developed an independent and controllable photosynthetic system derived from a device in young spinach leaves, according to the study published on Thursday in the journal Nature.

Then, they integrated this plant system into arthritic mice's degenerated chondrocytes, which are cells found in the cartilage, and demonstrated that the modified cells, following exposure to light, help improve the metabolic process in which complex molecules are synthesized from simpler ones with the storage of energy.

The researchers encapsulated the light-powered structure in a nanosized animal cell membrane coating as a camouflage to prevent the rodent's immune system from rejecting it as a foreign body.

In arthritis, the energy-generating devices within cells tend to lose steam, but the photosynthesis of plants is capable of producing the needed energy-carrying molecules, said the researchers.

The plant-derived system is shown to correct energy imbalance, restore cellular metabolism and protect against the chronic inflammation of the joints, according to the study.

Using the natural photosynthetic system as a therapeutic strategy for degenerative diseases, is "an exciting achievement that opens up possibilities of metabolism engineering," said the paper's peer reviewer Francisco Cejudo from the University of Seville.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency

broadsword said:

I need it for my joints more than I need viagra for my joint.

Popeye's power? Chinese scientists bring photosynthesis to animal cell


A group of Chinese scientists made a breakthrough as they rendered mammalian cells a unique skill owned by green plants – turning water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and food via sunlight – and revitalized those impaired animal cells.

The researchers from Zhejiang University developed an independent and controllable photosynthetic system derived from a device in young spinach leaves, according to the study published on Thursday in the journal Nature.

Then, they integrated this plant system into arthritic mice's degenerated chondrocytes, which are cells found in the cartilage, and demonstrated that the modified cells, following exposure to light, help improve the metabolic process in which complex molecules are synthesized from simpler ones with the storage of energy.

The researchers encapsulated the light-powered structure in a nanosized animal cell membrane coating as a camouflage to prevent the rodent's immune system from rejecting it as a foreign body.

In arthritis, the energy-generating devices within cells tend to lose steam, but the photosynthesis of plants is capable of producing the needed energy-carrying molecules, said the researchers.

The plant-derived system is shown to correct energy imbalance, restore cellular metabolism and protect against the chronic inflammation of the joints, according to the study.

Using the natural photosynthetic system as a therapeutic strategy for degenerative diseases, is "an exciting achievement that opens up possibilities of metabolism engineering," said the paper's peer reviewer Francisco Cejudo from the University of Seville.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency

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I think some sea slug also use photosynthesis.

Chinese scientists developed a technology to produce hydrogen directly from seawater and even waste water.

Paper in English:

A membrane-based seawater electrolyser for hydrogen generation​

Abstract​

Electrochemical saline water electrolysis using renewable energy as input is a highly desirable and sustainable method for the mass production of green hydrogen,,,,,,; however, its practical viability is seriously challenged by insufficient durability because of the electrode side reactions and corrosion issues arising from the complex components of seawater. Although catalyst engineering using polyanion coatings to suppress corrosion by chloride ions or creating highly selective electrocatalysts has been extensively exploited with modest success, it is still far from satisfactory for practical applications,,,,,,. Indirect seawater splitting by using a pre-desalination process can avoid side-reaction and corrosion problems,,,,,,, but it requires additional energy input, making it economically less attractive. In addition, the independent bulky desalination system makes seawater electrolysis systems less flexible in terms of size. Here we propose a direct seawater electrolysis method for hydrogen production that radically addresses the side-reaction and corrosion problems. A demonstration system was stably operated at a current density of 250 milliamperes per square centimetre for over 3,200 hours under practical application conditions without failure. This strategy realizes efficient, size-flexible and scalable direct seawater electrolysis in a way similar to freshwater splitting without a notable increase in operation cost, and has high potential for practical application. Importantly, this configuration and mechanism promises further applications in simultaneous water-based effluent treatment and resource recovery and hydrogen generation in one step.


News story in Chinese:

深圳大学研究成果发布 破解海水直接电解制氢难题​

深圳12月1日电 (朱族英)深圳大学1日发布消息称，11月30日，中国工程院院士、深圳大学特聘教授谢和平与其指导的深圳大学/四川大学博士团队在《Nature》上发表了题为“A membrane-based seawater electrolyser for hydrogen generation”的研究成果。

据悉，该研究首次从物理力学与电化学相结合的全新思路，开创了海水无淡化原位直接电解制氢全新原理与技术，彻底隔绝海水离子的同时，实现了高效海水原位直接电解制氢技术突破(即把海水当纯净水用，在海水里直接原位电解制氢)，破解了海水直接电解制氢的难题。

《Nature》相关评审专家评述该成果时表示，该研究成果解决了有害腐蚀性这一长期困扰海水制氢领域的问题，能够实现从海水中规模化稳定制氢，将打开低成本燃料生产的大门。

据了解，半个世纪以来，许多海内外知名高校研究团队通过催化剂工程、膜材料科学等手段进行了大量探索研究，旨在破解海水直接电解制氢面临的析氯副反应、钙镁沉淀、催化剂失活等难题，但一直未有突破。该研究成果填补了可规模化的高效稳定海水直接电解制氢原理与技术的空白。

该研究团队相关负责人介绍，“海水无淡化原位直接电解制氢”独创原理技术可集“海上风电等可再生能源利用—海水资源利用—氢能生产”为一体，将形成无淡化、无额外催化剂工程、无海水输运、无污染处理的原位海水直接电解制氢全新模式，把“海水资源”转化为“海水能源”，未来可构建与海上可再生能源相结合的一体化原位海水制氢工厂。(完)

4D printing Light-Driven soft actuators based on Liquid-Vapor phase transition composites with inherent sensing capability​

Abstract​

Soft robots capable of responding to different actuation schemes are flourishing due to the appealing advantages of being highly flexible and adaptive to complex environments. However, it remains challenging to produce untether soft actuators that can sense their own motions. Herein, a novel photo-responsive liquid–vapor phase transition composite with integrated actuating and sensing performances is proposed. The composite is operated based on the principle that piezocapacitive sensing and liquid–vapor phase transition are caused by the photothermal effect of the embedded graphene plate. The composite exhibits superior and tunable optically responsive and self-sensing properties. As a proof of concept, the muscle-like actuator with effective actuating and real-time sensing feedback functions is produced. Furthermore, several “Janus” bilayer untethered actuators are fabricated via 3D printing, which can achieve a variety of light-driven programmed locomotion, such as bending, grasping, and crawling. This work holds great promise for designing and fabricating soft robots with integrated self-sensing capacity.

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中科院团队在4D打印柔性执行器方面取得进展​

气动执行器因其弯曲程度高、自由度大、环境适应性强等特点，在医疗保健、复杂地形勘探等领域有广泛的应用前景。但由于其压力系统离不开笨重且刚性的泵驱动气体设备，极大地限制了执行器的尺寸和移动性，以及在室外环境中的应用。液-气相变复合材料是一种在柔性弹性体中掺杂液-气相变材料而形成的智能材料。当温度达到材料沸点时，液滴蒸发产生压力，带动复合材料膨胀，因此每个微液滴都可以看作是一个气动单元。通过这种方式，将气源和气泵的功能集成到主要材料中，大大降低了系统的复杂性。然而，相变执行器的加热方式受到焦耳加热或环境加热的限制，需要外接电源或更高的环境温度，这阻碍了其更广泛的应用。此外，目前对执行器变形行为的监测通常由光学相机记录，然后对获得的图像进行后分析，缺乏实时性。因此，如何设计一个无系绳，且具有感知自身运动的柔性执行器仍是一个挑战。

针对上述问题，中国科学院宁波材料技术与工程研究所增材制造材料技术团队程昱川研究员和孙爱华研究员基于石墨烯、低沸点溶液微滴和硅橡胶，制备了一种集成变形驱动和传感特性于一体的光响应液-气相变弹性体（PRPTE）（如图1）。PRPTE具有优异的机械性能，在100℃时，低沸点发生液-气相变产生的轴向力可以高达自身重量的400倍，且稳定性良好。以该材料为主动层材料，团队采用4D打印技术制备了一系列柔性执行器，实现弯曲、抓取和爬行等光控程序化运动（如图3）。

尤其重要的是，基于电容变化PRPTE表现出自传感特性。石墨烯吸收近红外光产生热量，低沸点液体发生液-气相变，介电常数减小；石墨烯因硅橡胶膨胀而逐渐分散，弹性体介电常数减小；同时电极间距增大。在以上三个因素的共同作用下，PRPTE的电容会迅速减小，从而实现对其变形的实时感知。模仿生物体利用其自身信号反馈调节肌肉收缩和拉伸，从而进行复杂运动，团队制备了一种人工肌肉（如图2）。该人工肌肉可以通过反馈的电容值得知腿部弯曲角度，并根据需要的角度进行精确控制。该研究实现了柔性执行器的驱动/传感一体化功能集成，为设计和制造具有集成自感知能力的软机器人提供了新思路。

该工作以“4D printing Light-Driven soft actuators based on Liquid-Vapor phase transition composites with inherent sensing capability”为题发表在Chemical Engineering Journal, 2023, 454, 140271 （https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2022.140271）。本研究得到了浙江省自然科学基金（No.LZ22E030003）、国家重点研发计划（No.2021YFB3701500）、国家自然科学基金（No.11874366）和宁波市重大科技攻关（No.20211ZDYF020228）等项目的支持。

"新技术只需要将钴磷合金放入通电的食盐溶液中进行选择性腐蚀和电位调控氧化，便可一步制得电池电极。"

"整个电极制备过程不到一个小时，安全绿色且易规模化。"

"研究结果显示，新研发的钴基化合物电极储电量是同体积石墨电极储电量的5倍。该电极集成型组成的协同作用和一体化的结构设计也使其充电速率比传统石墨电极快了近10倍，满充满放时的循环寿命超过6000次，是市售锂电池循环寿命的2~4倍。"

Engineering Co-P Alloy Foil to a Well-Designed Integrated Electrode Toward High-Performance Electrochemical Energy Storage​

Abstract​

Nanostructured integrated electrodes with binder-free design show great potential to solve the ever-growing problems faced by currently commercial lithium-ion batteries such as insufficient power and energy densities. However, there are still many challenging problems that limit the practical application of this emerging technology, in particular complex manufacturing process, high fabrication cost, and low loading mass of active material. Different from those existing fabrication strategies, here using a Co-P alloy foil as precursor we demonstrate a simple neutral salt solution-mediated electrochemical dealloying method to well address the above issues. The resultant freestanding mesoporous np-Co(OH)x/Co2P product possesses not only active compositions of high specific capacity and large electrode packing density (>3.0 g cm–3) to meet the practical capacity requirement, high-conductivity and well-developed nanoporous framework to achieve simultaneously fast ion and electron transfer, but also interconnected ligaments and suitable free space to ensure strong structure stability. Its comprehensively excellent electrochemical energy storage (EES) performances in both lithium/sodium-ion batteries and lithium-ion capacitors can further illustrate the effectiveness of our integrated electrode preparation strategy, such as remarkable reversible specific capacities/capacitances, dominated pseudo-capacitive EES mechanism, and ultra-long cycling life. This study provides new insights for the preparation and design of high-performance integrated electrodes toward practical applications.

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天津大学研发一步式制备集成型一体化储能电极新方法 ​

天津北方网讯：近年来，随着笔记本电脑、手机等便携式电子设备以及新能源与清洁能源汽车的快速发展，市场对电池的需求越来越大。传统的电池电极制备工艺涉及打胶、配料、匀浆、涂布、辊压、烘烤等近十个步骤，过程繁琐复杂；还需要使用粘结剂、导电剂、集流体等诸多非活性材料，极大地增加了电池的制备成本并使其实际能量密度大打折扣。天津大学“英才计划”特聘研究员吉科猛团队联合湖南大学谭勇文教授团队利用钴磷合金研发出仅用一步即可制成电池电极的电化学腐蚀制备技术。

新技术只需要将钴磷合金放入通电的食盐溶液中进行选择性腐蚀和电位调控氧化，便可一步制得电池电极。传统工艺制成的电极如石墨负极系由活性物质颗粒与非活性助剂混合后无序堆积而成，该电极则在组成上实现了氧化钴和磷化钴两种高活性钴基化合物的协同集成，并在结构上实现了三维网络孔状一体结构的构筑。得益于其一体化结构设计，该电极材料可以像芯片一样直接组装电池，而不需要像其它电极材料再进行配料、匀浆、涂布等繁琐步骤才能用于电池组装，大大简化了电池的制备工序。整个电极制备过程不到一个小时，安全绿色且易规模化。

用该技术制成的钴基化合物电极的活性物质密度是传统石墨电极的2~3倍。活性物质密度越高，电极的单位体积储电量就越高。研究结果显示，新研发的钴基化合物电极储电量是同体积石墨电极储电量的5倍。该电极集成型组成的协同作用和一体化的结构设计也使其充电速率比传统石墨电极快了近10倍，满充满放时的循环寿命超过6000次，是市售锂电池循环寿命的2~4倍。

“利用这种技术制备电极只需要两种原材料，一个是人们日常生活中吃的食盐，另一个也是工业生产技术非常成熟的金属合金，除此之外不再需要任何其他助剂和传统必须使用的集流体。由于食盐和合金都非常常见且价格低廉，因而我们研发的这种集成型一体化电极具有非常显著的成本优势，优异的储能性能也使其有着十分广阔的应用前景。” 吉科猛研究员介绍到。

该电极制备技术的成功研发为新型集成型一体化储能电极的发展开辟了新思路，拓展了工业合金的高附加值应用领域，并可助力于推动电化学腐蚀技术的产业化进程。

A messenger RNA-based Covid-19 vaccine developed by Chinese biotech firm Stemirna Therapeutics won approval for emergency use in Laos, the second China-made mRNA shot cleared for public inoculation outside the country.

interesting twist here, Huawei licenses 5G tech to Oppo and Samsung

Huawei had been complaining about other Chinese companies stealing secrets from them, so this is a good thing.

tphuang said:

stealing secrets

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Stealing secrets moral panic is mostly bullshit since giant companies are more than happy to pay licensing. They get support and it's a good CYA insurance.

In an interview earlier this year for World Nuclear Association's

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, Lu Hua Quan, chairman of the Nuclear Research Institute, Huaneng Company, explained: "HTRs have the highest operating temperatures of all existing reactor types, and are also the only reactors that can provide very high-temperature process heat. In the near future, HTRs could be used as a new generation of advanced reactors and a supplement to China's nuclear power, for small and medium-sized modular nuclear power generating units."

He said that there was export potential, including to countries and regions where freshwater resources are scarce and for countries where the power grids are not suitable for nuclear plants of more than 1000 MWe. He added that "HTRs could in the future provide a source of high-quality high-temperature process heat for various industries, in particular those that are required to limit their carbon emissions".

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sunnymaxi said:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1601333882225401857

A messenger RNA-based Covid-19 vaccine developed by Chinese biotech firm Stemirna Therapeutics won approval for emergency use in Laos, the second China-made mRNA shot cleared for public inoculation outside the country.

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Can't locate efficacy numbers for this vaccine... how effective is it against Omicron?