China science, technology news summary -- June 2

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BEIJING, June 2 (Xinhua) -- The following is a summary of published science and technology news of China.

SELF-HEALING MATERIAL

Robots that heal themselves after being damaged have frequently appeared in science fiction movies. They are, however, now becoming less far-fetched since a recent breakthrough material has been developed which can achieve fast, autonomous self-healing results under all conditions, particularly in multiple harsh environments.

Synthetic materials that can mimic self-healing natural tissue, such as skin and muscle, have been developed and used for e-skin, wearable electronic devices and artificial muscles. However, it remained challenging for global scientists to enable such materials to withstand extreme conditions, such as at ultra-low temperatures in deep ocean water or in strong acid or alkali environments.

To solve the problem, researchers from China's Tianjin University have created an elastomer, an elastic rubber with the ability to self-heal, out of polymers that look like yellow jelly. When cut into two pieces, the elastomer can stick back together completely without any external energy.

NEW SOLUTION AGAINST ASTEROID THREAT

Chinese scientists have proposed a new solution to defend Earth from asteroid strikes, according to a study recently published in the journal Scientific Reports.

There are more than 18,000 near-Earth asteroids, of which about 800 are more than one kilometer across. If one of these large objects were to hit Earth, a global catastrophe would result.

Planetary defense technologies including nuclear explosion, kinetic impact, laser ablation, ion beam traction and gravitational drag have been developed to reduce the risk of potentially hazardous asteroids.

Experts from the National Space Science Center (NSSC) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences proposed a concept of enhanced kinetic impact to push a hazardous asteroid away from the orbit that crosses Earth's path by hitting it with space rocks.

INACTIVATED COVID-19 VACCINE DEVELOPMENT

China's inactivated COVID-19 vaccine is expected to finish clinical trials and get ready for the market as early as the end of this year or early next year, according to developer China National Biotec Group (CNBG).

As a subsidiary of the China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), CNBG has two inactivated COVID-19 vaccines under Phase-2 clinical trials and has increased its vaccine production capacity. Enditem

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