China, Argentina Cooperate in Astronomical Research China will send a precision astronomical instrument to Argentina, and astronomers of the two countries will conduct cooperation in astronomical research, according to the National Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Google Launches China Search Site Google Inc. launched a local-search service in China on Sept. 4, marking the Web search giant's latest move to expand its presence in the vast country's fast-growing online marketplace.

Shanghai Builds New Space Base Work on a new space base commenced Tuesday at the Shenzhuang Industrial Zone in Shanghai. The base will take shape in five years in an effort to upgrade research and development in the region.

EU to Help China Tackle Greenhouse Gas The European Union agreed on Monday to give China the technology for a coal-fired power station designed to combat global warming as part of a wider accord on energy issues and climate change.

World Earliest Millets Discovered Chinese archaeologists have recently found the world earliest millets, dated back to about 8,000 years ago, on the grassland in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Plant Offers Solutions to Erosion Issue Experts and officials from 20 countries gathered in Beijing to share their latest experiences on the development of the Seabuckthorn plant, a valuable multi-purpose plant grown in mountainous areas, which helps to rehabilitate degraded land and alleviate the ensuing rural poverty.

New Technology Developed to Test Pig-borne Disease Chinese scientists have developed a new technology to test the pig-borne disease caused by swine Streptococcus suis more effectively.

Earliest Complex Animal Species May Born in China Tiny fossils spotted in southwest China's Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau indicate the earliest complex animal species were possibly born in China and appeared on the surface of the Earth about 580 million years ago.

Number of Websites Under 'CN' Domain Names Ranks First in Asia About 720,000 websites under the domain name of "CN" have been registered in China by the end of July 2005. This is the first time for China to surpass Japan in this area, making its domain name "CN" the largest in Asia.

Human Activity Responsible for Sixth Mass Extinction in History Planetary collisions, volcanic eruptions and sudden releases of poisonous gases are the kinds of phenomena typically blamed for the previous mass extinctions on Earth. This time, however, the cause may be humankind.

Leading Forensic Professionals Meet in HK The 17th Meeting of the International Association of Forensic Sciences (IAFS) kicked off in Hong Kong Monday. More than 1,200 world's leading practitioners in forensic science and research are taking part in the five-day meeting.

HK Specialists Mull Study on MP3 Related Hearing Damage Hong Kong hearing specialists are considering launching a study to find out if prolonged high-volume use of MP3 players can affect hearing, according to Sunday's South China Morning Post.

Ultrasonic Scissors Utilized for Tongue Tumor Resection The University of Hong Kong announced Thursday a study result that ultrasonic scissors can achieve better surgical outcome than traditional tongue tumor treatments.

Lenovo Launches First ThinkPad Laptop Three months after acquisition of IBM PC, Lenovo launched its first ThinkPad product, the ThinkPad X41T laptop on August 16.

Dalian on Global Software Talent Hunt Dalian, which is competing with Beijing to be the information technology (IT) outsourcing center in China, Tuesday started a worldwide talent hunt for software professionals.

China to Select New National Key Labs China will select a batch of new national key laboratories for the research of livestock diseases, immunity, energy and water resources and space while upgrading and readjusting the existing ones, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology on Monday.

Taiwan Ranks 2nd for High-tech Products in East Asia Taiwan's high technology products rank second in East Asia in terms of value-added rate, trailing only those of Japan, according to a report on Saturday from Taipei.

Unmanned Remote Sensing Aircraft Takes Flight China's first high-end and multi-functional remote sensing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) made its successful test flight on Monday in Huangguoshu Airport, Anshun City, southwest China's Guizhou Province.

China Creates Digital Dummy for Medical Research Chinese scientists have created the first Chinese male digital dummy, based on data about young a deceased male, to facilitate medical research and research in many other fields.

China's Lunar Probe Satellite China is expected to launch its first ever lunar probe satellite in 2007, given that the country's moon exploration project has so far been proceeding smoothly, said Ye Peijian, the chief designer of the satellite at a forum on space technology held Tuesday.

China to Regulate Organ Transplants The Shanghai Morning Post newspaper quotes Professor Li Leishi from Nanjing General Military Hospital as saying Monday at a seminar that the Ministry of Health plans to issue organ transplant permits within the year.

CAS to Strengthen Cooperation with Russia The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), China's top scientific think tank, has held a symposium on the strategy of scientific and technological cooperation with Russia.

Chinese Directors, Nokia Discuss 'Mobile Films' Famous Chinese film director Tian Zhuangzhuang and director-cum-cameraman Gu Changwei discussed the development of "mobile films" with mobile handset giant Nokia on Tuesday afternoon. The film directors were "enthusiastic" about shooting films for playback on a mobile handset, which is regarded as the fifth-generation medium.

China Ambitious for More in Aerospace Despite its gaps with some western countries that enjoy more advanced space and satellite technologies, China still wants to become a competitor in the space field by means of carrying out more major projects.

Chinese Calendars Reveal Ancient Science Researchers from across the globe have been looking into the history of science in ancient China to help illuminate events taking place in the world today.

Search and Rescue Unit for Galileo Underway Research and production of the Galileo Search and Rescue Payload (G-SAR) has begun at the Xi'an Space Radio Technology Research Institute in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

Domestic Handset Makers Feel the Pinch Global cellphone giants like Motorola Inc. and Nokia N.V. have got their act together in China, putting pressure back on the homegrown rivals who won the initiative in recent years.

Pig Vaccine in Production, 31 People Dead A pig vaccine to help control the spread of the deadly outbreak in Sichuan is to be mass-produced and should be ready for use in about one week, according to the Ministry of Agriculture yesterday. The human death toll is now 31, with 152 reported infections.

China Completes Gene Sequence of Deadly Pig Bacteria Chinese scientists have completed genetic sequencing of the bacteria which is confirmed the ultimate cause of a strange pig-to-human infection, that had killed 27 people in southwest China's Sichuan Province by Wednesday.

NASA to Suspend Future Space Shuttle Flights NASA said Wednesday evening that it would suspend future space shuttle flights because foam debris that brought down Columbia is still an unsolved problem.

World's Leading Physicists to Deliver Science Camp Lectures in HK The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) launched Tuesday a science camp with world renowned physicists to deliver lectures.

Women Astronauts Set to Fly by 2010 Chinese women astronauts will soon be reaching for the stars along with their male counterparts, an official with China's space program said Monday night. They will embark on a space mission no later than 2010, working as flight commanders or on-board engineers.

Nanjing to Host International Software Expo Jin Daoqiang, deputy mayor of Nanjing, announced Monday that the first China (Nanjing) International Software Product Exposition will be held from September 10 to 12 in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province.

Taiwan Scientists Succeed in Producing Medical Eggs Scientists in Taiwan have succeeded in making chickens lay eggs that contain antigens in their yolks for consumption by humans and domesticated animals to fight various diseases, according to a report from Taipei on Wednesday.

IDG, Accel to Start US$250 Mln Venture Fund in China IDG and Accel Partners, two of the world's leading venture capital companies, announced on Tuesday that they will jointly launch a US$250 million venture fund to support China's rapidly-growing IT sector.

HK Robotic Claw to Help Deep Sea Exploration A Hong Kong-designed robotic claw will be used by Ifremer, a French oceanographic and environmental research agency, for deep sea exploration, reported South China Morning Post on Monday.

Top LNG Ship Takes Shape in Shanghai China's first self-made liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier, which is taking shape in dry dock in Shanghai, has a price tag larger than that of a Boeing 747.

Beijing to Host Int'l Congress of Science History for First Time Beijing will for the first time host the international congress of science history from July 24 to 30.

PAS Networks to Expand UTStarcom Inc, a global leader in IP-based, end-to-end networking solutions and services, has announced the signing of an infrastructure contract of around US$100 million with China Telecom Corp to expand its IP-based PAS (Personal Access System) networks.

Mobile Alliance Makes Breakthroughs The Mobile Multimedia Technology Alliance (MMTA), composed of four telecom operators China Unicom, China Telecom, China Mobile, China Netcom equipment providers China Putian, Huawei, ZTE and Vimicro and the China Academy of Telecommunication Research, was founded last October to vitalize independent IPR in the sector.

China Developing 100 Teraflops Supercomputer China is carrying out research on a supercomputer with a peak calculation speed exceeding 100 teraflops per second. The program may be jointly carried out by the National Research Center for Intelligent Computing systems (NCIC) and the Dawing Company.

SARS Vaccine 2nd Phase Trials Confirmed A total of 300 volunteers aged 20 to 60 will take part in second phase human trials of a SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) vaccine in Beijing, experts confirmed yesterday.

Chinese Scientists Measure How Trees Absorb Carbon Zhou Guoyi, researcher with the South China Botanic Garden, said that on the basis of long-term survey on the forests of Guangdong's Dinghu Mountain, one hectare of forest absorbs 500 kg of carbon per year. This is the first accurate data on this issue in global science world.

Deep Impact for Chinese Scientists Chinese space scientists inspired by the success of NASA's Deep Impact program have compared scientific research in China with that in the US, suggesting ways in which the situation in China may be improved.

China Unicom to Phase out Subsidies China Unicom, the country's second largest mobile phone carrier, will gradually abandon its handset subsidies policy to cut its operation cost and enhance development of its CDMA (code division multiple access) technology.

China Prepares to Export 1st Satellite Work on the development, manufacturing and launching of China's first satellite for a foreign buyer is going on smoothly as scheduled, China's major space product supplier and service provider announced Friday.

China Starts Lunar Probing Rocket Production Intense sampling and development of Long March III A carrier rocket, which will launch the Chang'e I lunar probing satellite, is going underway and part of the components and the rocket body have been put into production.

France Wins Bid to Host Nuclear Fusion Project The six partners of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) on Tuesday chose France as the site for an experimental nuclear fusion reactor that is designed to mimic the way the sun produces power.

Top Authorities Discuss Sci-tech Development Program The Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) held a meeting Monday to discuss major issues concerning the long- and medium-term program for the country's science and technology.

HK Science Museum to Showcase Giant Robot Animals Hong Kong Science Museum announced Thursday that eight giant and colorful robot animals will go on display at the museum from June 24.

Goods to Be Tagged By Radio ID A number of government departments are working on a white paper covering the development of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, which will make keeping track of products easier.

HK Observatory Launches New Lightning Location Information Service The Hong Kong Observatory on Tuesday launched a new lightning location information service and people can make use of the information to identify areas affected by thunderstorms.

Encouragement of Flu Antiviral Misuse Denied The Ministry of Agriculture said it would dispatch inspection teams to stop the use of amantadine to prevent bird flu in poultry, after denying a report that the government had encouraged it since the 1990s, a practice that could leave it useless in fighting a human epidemic.

Satellite to Monitor Viruses China and France are planning to set up a satellite-based positioning system to monitor how viruses such as SARS "travel" in the atmosphere, scientists said this week.

I-cable Television to Further Tap Domestic Market The first thing Suiming Tsui told his boss after joining I-cable Satellite Television in Shanghai three years ago was that Hong Kong was too small for him.

Building Aircraft Carrier in Shanghai Denied Zhang Guangqin, vice-minister of the Commission of Science Technology and Industry for National Defense (CSTIN), denied Thursday the country is building aircraft carrier in Shanghai.

Be Careful Not to Take 'Phishing' Bait Phishing has become the hottest and most troubling new scam on the Internet and is dramatically spreading in China, said an official with the Ministry of Public Security engaged in Internet safety supervision Wednesday during a workshop on fighting online crime in Beijing.

'Green Olympics' Eyed for Year 2008 Games Business leaders, industry insiders and government officials met in Beijing on Tuesday to discuss clean technology, renewable and recyclable materials and the huge market sparked by the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Sale of GM Rice Spreads to Southern China Greenpeace China claimed yesterday that the illegal sale of genetically modified (GM) rice seed has spread to southern China. The group fears the rice, which is supposed to be planted only in closely controlled scientific trials, could have spread across the country.

China Launches 'New Network Campus' China Education and Research Network (CERNET) has launched the "New Network Campus" program, which is based on the wide use of laptop computers in the prestigious Tsinghua University.

Government Raises Nano-tech Funding The Chinese Government is to massively increase investment in nanotechnologies for application in the manufacturing and medical industries, said Vice Minister for Science and Technology Cheng Jinpei Thursday at the opening of the China International Conference on Nanoscience and Technology in Beijing.

China to Boost Scientific Observatory Networks The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) will hasten to build scientific observatory networks throughout the country and collect data on the Earth and its ecological systems.

HKUST to Select Five High-impact Research Areas The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) announced Tuesday that it will focus on five high-impact research areas and establish two new institutes in the coming 15 years.

China, US Establish Nano-tech Institute A Sino-American institute specialized in nanometer-related technology will be set up in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, delegates from both sides announced Monday.

Breakthrough in Robotic Animal Research Recently, it was observed at the Robot Engineering Technology Research Center of Shandong University of Science and Technology that five mice with micro electrodes implanted on their heads obeyed the computer-generated commands of the research staff.

Progress Reported in Modernizing Traditional Chinese Medicine China has progressed in its efforts to modernize traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) by the application of science and technology. 448 standardized planting bases have been built in 18 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions where 933,333 hectares of medicinal herbs have been grown.

New Techniques to Control Tobacco Addiction A cigarette-lookalike, but not really tobacco, called "Ruyan Atomizing Nicotine Inhaler" has been launched Friday to help control and quit tobacco addiction.

China to Promote Information Exchanges with the World China would like to enhance information exchanges with the world through the forum on City Informationization in the Asia-Pacific Region (CIAPR), Chinese Vice Premier Huang Ju said Wednesday.

China Develops New Anti-AIDS Agent China's first biological anti-AIDS agent with independent intellectual property rights was successfully developed in Shenyang, captial of northeast China's Liaoning Province and clinical testing on human will soon be launched.

China to launch First 'Seed Satellite' The Commission of Science Technology and Industry for National Defense revealed yesterday that China would launch the first "seed satellite" specially designed for seed-breeding in space.

China, Germany Set up Computational Biology Institute The Chinese Academy of Sciences and The Max Planck Society in Germany have set up a partnership research institute on computational biology in Shanghai.

Shanghai-made Orbiter to Improve Forecasts Errors in short-term weather forecasting will be greatly reduced when a new Shanghai-made meteorological satellite is put into formal use next month, a senior engineer said on Tuesday.

Institute to Work on Environmental Problems The world's first international institute designed specifically to address creeping environmental problems was set up Monday in Lanzhou, capital of northwest China's Gansu Province.

Biotechnology Could Sustain Economy, Gov't Told Biotechnology-related industry is being hailed as a new engine to sustain China's economic miracle in the years to come, a high-profile research team has told the government.

China Ratifies Protocol on Biosafety China has ratified the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which regulates the international trade of genetically modified organisms (GMO), the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) announced on Thursday.

Eight-way Dual-core Server Developed Dawning Information Industry Corp Ltd., a domestic server manufacturer, has succeeded in developing eight-way dual-core servers independently.

Regulations on Internet Copyright Protections to Be Implemented China's National Copyright Administration and the Ministry of Information Industry announced the May 30 implementation of Administrative Measures on Internet Copyright Protection, the first of its kind in the country.

Beijing to Host China Int'l Software Expo International Soft China 2005, the 9th China international software expo, will be held at China International Exhibition Center in Beijing from June 14 to 16.

Test Begins to Compare Chinese, Western Medicine in Treating Drug Addiction Scientists began comparative tests on the effects of a newly-developed traditional Chinese medicine and a Western medicine in treating drug addiction Sunday in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province.

HK, US Cooperate in Botanical Immuno-modulator Research University of Hong Kong announced Friday the establishment of a collaborative Research Center for Botanical Immuno-modulators with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) at New York of America.

More ASEAN IT Cooperation Hoped For Vice-Premier Huang Ju said in Beijing yesterday that China would like to increase cooperation in the information and telecommunications sector with ASEAN (the Association of South East Asian Nations).

EU and China to Reinforce Sci-Tech Cooperation EU Commissioner Janez Potocnik for Science and Research visited Beijing from May 11-13 to co-chair the China-EU High Level Forum on S&T Strategy with Chinese Minister Xu Guanhua of Science and Technology.

Nation to Launch Science Publicity Drive Ministry of Science and Technology announced Tuesday that the 2005 national science week is scheduled for May 14 to 20. The science publicity activities during the week will focus on resources saving and environmental protection.

Preparation for Measuring Height of Mt. Qomolangma Completed The surveyors' team from the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping declared that they have got everything ready for measuring the height of Mt. Qomolangma.

Survey on China's Software Employees China's software employees have been suffering from rigid education at universities and lack of training at enterprises, according to a recent survey.

Three Gorges Project Generates 10Bln Kwh of Electricity The Three Gorges Hydropower Plant has generated 10 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in the first four months this year.

China's First 'Domestic' Robot A household robot that can walk, talk, work independently, take care of human beings and, at the same time, safeguard a household is expected to be produced before the end of this year, making it the first household robot developed by China.

HK Scientists Win Int'l Award with AI Software An Artificial Intelligence (AI) software system jointly developed by City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and the Hong Kong MTR Corporation received an international award, announced CityU Wednesday.

Beijing Sci-tech Fair to Be Held in May The 8th "China Beijing International Science & Technological Industry Fair" is going to be held from May 23 - 27 in Beijing. The five-day fair will display and bring forth the latest sci-tech results of China and the world.

ViDG Visits CnDG China Development Gateway (CnDG) and Vietnam Development Gateway (ViDG) reached an agreement on cooperation on April 25, 2005 while ViDG's Project Manager Tran Thi Thu Huong visited China.

China-made Feeder Planes Go International Two brand new made-in-China feeder planes, the Xinzhou-60, were handed over to Air Zimbabwe last Saturday in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. This signified the first time China's newly made Xinzhou-60 was entering the international market.

China Sets First-gen. DBS System in Motion China will import the Chinasat 9 satellite, a powerful TV direct broadcast satellite (DBS) with high reliability and a long service life, from France.

Test on Side Effects of TCM Underway The State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine has announced that it is going to examine "potential toxic side effects" of Chinese traditional medicine.

China Telecom Builds Its 2nd Core Network China Telecom Corporation Limited has invested 1 billion yuan (US$121 million) to build another core network in the country, making a bid for a Third Generation (3G) license.

CAS Warrants Technology to Top Game Provider The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Institute of Automation signed Tuesday a cooperation agreement with Shanda Networking, a NASDAQ-listed online game provider, allowing the company to apply its advanced interactive technologies game service.

First Chinese 64-bit CPU Developed The Institute of Computing Technology announced in Beijing's Great Hall of the People Monday that the first domestic-made 64-bit central processing unit (CPU) chip – Godson II – has been developed.

Cervical Cancer Vaccine to Come out Cervical cancer is likely to be the first kind of malignant tumors to be completely cured, according to news from the aviso meeting for the national promotion week for the prevention and cure of tumors held by the Ministry of Health.

Scientists Decode Brain Ciphers Scientists in Shanghai have discovered the decoding method for brain ciphers and brain coding units. Their research was published in the April 2005 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States.

Scientists Sought for Plateau Research A Chinese Academy of Sciences institute said on Wednesday it is looking for leading international researchers to work on projects on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the highest in the world.

German Cooperation on Nanotechnology A three-day conference on nano and biological technology started in Changsha Tuesday to boost exchange between China and Germany on developments in nanotechnology.

Beef, Milk from Cloned Cattle safe: Study A pioneer study has shown that meat and milk from cloned bulls and cows meet industry standards, and beef and milk from cloned cattle are safe for human consumption, researchers said on Monday.

Jiangxi to Expand Gene Base for Rare Plants East China's Jiangxi Province has set aside 180 million yuan (US$21.7 million) to expand a gene base for rare plants between now and 2020, the provincial government said.

'Chinese-standard' 3G Handsets to Debut at April End Handset terminal has long been called the bottleneck for the commercial application of "Chinese-standard" 3G (third generation mobile communications). With the efforts of chip and equipment manufacturers nearly 20 kinds of handset terminals made by 14 Chinese and foreign producers will make debut at the end of April.

'Super Rice' to Be Popularized China's 12 provinces will start to raise grain output by sowing 60-million-mu (4 million hectares) of hybrid rice this year to halt the fall in per-hectare yield. As a leader in "super rice" research, China has more than 20 "super rice" strains cultivated.

Chinese Scientists Lag Behind in Innovation An academic appraisal report released Wednesday said Chinese scientists lag behind their counterparts in developed countries with regard to the innovativeness of their research papers, which leads to a low frequency of citation.

Chinese Team Starts Direct Measurement on Mt. Qomolangma Chinese survey team has entered the area of Mt. Qomolangma and started direct measurement of the altitude of the mountain after extensive observation on Qinghai-Tibet Highway and the unpopulated area in north Tibet through GPS.

Energy-free Irrigation Technology Invented A Chinese technologist has invented and patented an irrigation device that consumes no energy. Zhu Jun, inventor of the Puquan Pump, said Monday that his tiny pump irrigates plants automatically.

Chinese Can Now Honor Ancestors Online April 5 is the day of the Qingming Festival, when people traditionally sweep the tombs of their relatives and friends and pay homage to their ancestors. Now Chinese Internet users can honor their deceased forebears online instead of taking real-time trips to the tombs.

AIDS Vaccine Testers in Sound Condition The eight volunteers who were involved in the phase-one clinical test of a Chinese AIDS vaccine on March 12 are now in "sound physical condition," said an expert in Nanning, the capital city of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Thursday.

Research Shows Acupuncture Can Lower Elevations in Blood Pressure The traditional Chinese acupuncture treatments, combined with low levels of electrical stimulation, can lower elevations in blood pressure by as much as 50 percent, US scientists reported Monday.

Ministry Denies Early Issue of 3G Licenses World Telecom Day on May 17 will not see China start to issue its long-awaited third generation (3G) wireless communication licenses, the Ministry of Information Industry insisted Monday.

China Builds Scientific Innovation Base in SW City Chinese State Councilor Chen Zhili ordered increased efforts to build Mianyang Scientific and Technological City in southwest China's Sichuan Province into a major innovation base.

China to Build First Aviation High-tech Base China's first state aviation high-tech base broke ground Thursday in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. It will focus on aircraft manufacturing and refit aircraft engines and develop new materials, according to the construction layout.

New Studies Point to Airborne SARS Transmission Two new studies present strong evidence that the virus causing SARS may spread through the air, not just through direct contact with contaminated water droplets, the Infectious Diseases Association of America reported on Wednesday.

E-government Spurs Efficiency Drive The State Council vowed recently to facilitate e-governance, bringing the public and governments closer through the Internet. The move was made following growing complaints and criticisms against governmental websites being user-non-friendly and lacking useful information.

Nation to Tune into Digital TV A senior industry official said yesterday that the development of digital TV is a priority and private investment welcome at the China Cable Broadcasting Network exhibition in Beijing, which runs until Wednesday.

Scientists Create Thinnest Cable Chinese scientists have developed a kind of cable using nanometer technology that is as thin as four thousandths of a single hair. Experts say the new cable would have to be magnified over ten thousand times to be as thick as ordinary cable and it's much cheaper and easier to produce.

New Human Blood Gene Discovered Chinese scientists have announced the discovery of a new gene in human blood. The find has been confirmed by the World Health Organization.

Asteroids Named After 1st Manned Spacecraft, Spaceman A grand ceremony was held at Beijing's "space city" Wednesday, to mark the naming of two asteroids after "Shenzhou," China's first manned space vehicle, and Yang Liwei, the country's first man to orbit in space.

Heart Surgery on Infant Successful Doctors at Shanghai Children's Medical Center said Tuesday that they have successfully fixed two holes in a 3-month-old boy's heart using an advanced technique that has never been performed on someone that young in China.

Check on AIDS Vaccine Trials Eight volunteers injected with the experimental AIDS vaccine received physical checkups in Nanning in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Sunday, 24 hours after they had the injections.

Nation Starts AIDS Vaccine Trials on Volunteers On Saturday, the first eight Chinese volunteers received AIDS vaccine injections in southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. They were recruited publicly and have had physical examinations.

China Likely to Build 4th Satellite Launching Center in Hainan China is likely to built a new satellite launching center, the fourth of its kind in the country, in its southernmost island province of Hainan, a local newspaper reported Thursday.

Chinese Birds Unmoved by US Accents Equipment imported to scare birds from the runway at Beijing's Capital International Airport with the sounds of predators has failed because Chinese birds did not recognize the squawks of American hawks.

Digital Audio-visual Coding Chip Developed The Advanced Audio Visual Coding and Decoding Standard Project, one of China's key industrialization projects funded by the management committee of Beijing Haidian Science Park, has obtained the stage success, with advanced coding successfully developed and appraised.

Time Needed for Chinese Women into Space China presently does not have women astronauts qualified for being sent into orbit and the dream of Chinese women touring the outer space is yet to come true, said an expert Monday while attending the session of the top advisory body.

Astronomical Telescope Settled in Lijiang A gigantic astronomical telescope with the diameter of 2.4 meters has been transported to the Gaogumei astronomical observatory in Lijiang City, southwest China's Yunnan Province.

WHO Names HLA Allele Identified by Chinese Scientist A new human leukocyte antigen (HLA) allele, identified by Dr. Li Jianping with Liaoning Blood Center in NE China, has been named by the WHO Nonmenclature Committee for the HLA System as HLA-A*2451. It is No. AY904343 in the gene database.

HK Scientists Appointed to CAS Think-tank The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology announced Thursday that three of its researchers have been appointed Overseas Experts by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

China Develops New AV Chip The Institute of Computing Technology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) announced Wednesday that it has developed a new kind of chip based on China's audio and video coding standard.

HK ICT Industry to Support ITU TELECOM WORLD 2006 About 200 representatives of local information and communications technology (ICT) industry attended a reception Monday evening to pledge their support to the hosting of the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) TELECOM WORLD 2006 in China's Hong Kong.

Big Profits for Online Games Companies Two Chinese online games operators announced sharp increases in profits in last quarter, proving prospects of sustained growth in the online games sector in China, while a few other major Internet concerns had some difficulty in the same period.

View Restated on International Internet Management The international management of the internet should be multilateral, transparent and democratic, with the full involvement of governments, the private sector, civil society and international organizations, the Chinese Ambassador to the UN told a conference in Geneva Thursday.

SARS Eradication Claim Contested A US microbiologist told a prestigious conference this week that the SARS virus has been eradicated in nature, but this has been disputed by Chinese scientists, who maintain that it may still exist in the wild.

Experts Speak on Therapeutic Cloning China voted against a non-binding resolution adopted by the UN legal committee on February 18 banning all forms of human cloning. In interviews with the Beijing News on Sunday, several experts explained why they believe therapeutic cloning research does not violate human rights.

Medical Research on Stem Cells to Continue The head of the China National Center for Biotechnology Development said on Sunday that China will continue to allow closely monitored therapeutic stem cell research despite the declaration passed on Friday by the UN Legal Committee banning all forms of human cloning considered contrary to human dignity.

New Technology to Dispose of Sewage, Mud Chinese scientists have developed a technology that can effectively turn sewage water and mud, two main headaches of urbanization, into organic fertilizer and high value pesticide.

Online Game Sales Up 47.9% China, with the world's second-largest number of Internet users, saw sales of online games last year soar 47.9 percent to 2.47 billion yuan (US$298.44 million).

Online Games Revenue Reaches US$298 Mln China's sales of on-line games reached 2.47 billion yuan (US$298.6 million) in 2004, up 47.9 percent from the previous year, according to the 2004 China On-line Game Industry Report. The country will also develop more than 300 of its own on-line games during the coming five years.

HK Students Win 16 Prizes at Physics Olympiad Hong Kong students excelled at the first Pan-Pearl River Delta Physics Olympiad by winning 16 prizes, according to the Hong Kong government press release on Monday.

New Bird Flu Vaccine Developed Chinese scientists claim to have developed a vaccine to prevent the spread of the killer bird flu. The Ministry of Agriculture says its new vaccine can effectively "cut a key link in the transmission chain of the highly pathogenic avian influenza among water fowl."

China to Make Its First State Informatization Strategy A senior Chinese official said Tuesday that China will make its first state information-oriented strategy this year. The strategy would be published before the end of the year.

HKUST, USTB Strengthen Ties The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB) Monday signed an agreement to promote academic exchange and research collaboration.

Agilent Rolls out Investment in China Agilent Technologies Inc, a global technology leader in communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis, vows to tap the lucrative local market by investing more than US$100 million in China over the next few years.

Demands for Better Monitoring of Reproductive Technology Yesterday, the Ministry of Health issued a circular calling for health departments and supervisory organizations to ensure institutions engaged in assisted reproductive technology and in running sperm banks adhere to ministry standards.

Four Chinese Students Win Inventors Awards Four Chinese mainland students studying in Singapore received gold and bronze prizes on Tuesday at the Fifth Young Inventors Awards 2004, organized by the Asian Wall Street Journal in association with Hewlett-Packard Asia Pacific.

Desktop Search Tech Promising Still searching using Internet browsers? Forget about that. A new search technology based on desktop access means this will soon become a thing of the past, and the impact it has on the search engine providers may profoundly alter the balance of power in the searching game.

State Pure Science Research Opens to EU An official from the Ministry of Science and Technology said Monday that EU research institutions can now take part in bidding for 973 Plan projects. Successful applicants will get financial support from the ministry.

China, Brazil Work on Prototype of Earth Resources Satellites Scientists from China and Brazil have begun work on prototypes of advanced earth resources satellites, the China Space Science and Technology Group announced Friday.

First China-designed Digital TV Chip Passes Appraisal China's first ever home-made digital TV chip "Zhongshi No. 1" Saturday passed technical appraisal by experts from Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Home-made 3G Tech Gaining Popularity China's home-grown third-generation (3G) mobile communications standard, TD-SCDMA, which lags behind foreign rivals, is continuing to gain greater favor from global communications players.

Spinach&Space Among 2004's Great Leaps Forward From satellites to spinach, China's top scientists and engineers furrowed their brows when they drew up and voted on the top 10 list of important breakthroughs in science and technology last year.

China to Launch Shenzhou VI in September 2005 China's second manned space flight Shenzhou VI will take off in September this year and stay in orbit for five days. Two astronauts are expected to be involved in the mission.

HK Biometric Passports Set for 2007 Biometric passports for Hong Kong residents may be available in early 2007 to meet the international trend for enhanced passport security, said the Security Bureau Tuesday.

High-tech Cooperation with the UK The third UK-China High Technology Forum opened Monday in Beijing, with representatives from both countries expressing a desire for increased cooperation, particularly in energy, electronics, stem cell research and aerospace science.

UK, China Unite in Hi-tech Research Energy, electronics, stem cell studies and space and aviation sciences are major fields for scientific cooperation between China and the United Kingdom.

Oral Vaccine for Cholera Prevention Chinese scientists have successfully developed a new kind of oral vaccine for preventing cholera, which has been proved to be more effective than other vaccines.

Sixth Railway Speed-up Delayed This year's railway acceleration project has been undermined by technical hitches, it was announced Wednesday. The year will instead be used for researching solutions to make plans for 22,000 kilometers of rail to have speeds above 120 kilometers per hour possible.

Lab Set up for Polar Survey China has set up a laboratory for polar survey and mapping in the northeastern Heilongjiang Province to enhance its polar research capacity.

Distance Education to Reach Rural Areas by 2007 The Chinese government's program to provide rural schools with long distance education facilities entered its third year at the beginning of 2005.

China to Train Plasma Professionals The Plasma Center of the Hefei Matter Institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) announced on Thursday that it had been chosen to train plasma specialists for third world countries.

New Human Gene Discovered A research group of the immunology laboratory of the People's Liberation Army's 307 Hospital, recently discovered a new allele of human leucocyte antigen (HLA), which was formally named as A: 110104 by the Committee of HLA of the World Health Organization.

Climate Change May Lead to Tsunamis Chinese meteorologists say the rise of the sea surface in the Indian Ocean resulting from global climate changes may potentially lead to deadly tsunamis similar to the one that ravaged eight southern Asian countries.

Center to Protect Heritage More advanced theories and international criteria will be introduced into the protection of historical heritage, as the Research Center for World Cultural Heritage in China was founded on Wednesday in Beijing.

China's First Cloned Cow Gives Birth Wei Wa, the country's first cloned cow, gave birth to a healthy calf Wednesday after a trouble-free pregnancy, on the same Shandong farm on which she was born two years ago. The establishment of a cell bank in Chengdu may also enable a giant panda cloning program to be set up.

Hu Says Scientific Progress, Innovation Vital Communist Party Chairman and President of China Hu Jintao highlighted the important role of scientific progress and innovation at a panel discussion held by the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Monday.

New Gunship Successful in First Flight The armed Zhi-11, a new type of China-made gunship, made its first flight successfully in east China's Jiangxi Province Monday, marking a latest progress for China's efforts to upgrade its gunship products.

Asteroid Named After Nuclear Physicist An asteroid discovered by a Chinese observatory has been named after Zhu Guangya, a leading nuclear physicist. Those attending Sunday's ceremony and workshop included Premier Wen Jiabao and some of the nation's top names in science.

Top Science Academy Awards Best Doctoral Thesises The Chinese Academy of Sciences granted awards in Beijing Friday to 50 researchers who wrote outstanding doctoral thesises. The country's top academy also issued CAS President's awards to excellent postgraduate students.

China Shut down 12 Key National Labs China has shut down 12 key national labs of poor performance, accounting for 7 percent of the total, Cheng Jipei, vice-minister of Science and Technology said Thursday.

Top Mathematicians Explain Beauty of Math "Math is beautiful!" is the message conveyed by mathematicians at the third International Congress of Chinese Mathematicians (ICCM) held in Hong Kong from December 17 to December 22.

Online Reporting Closes 1,278 Illegal Websites An online service launched in June has resulted in the closure of 1,278 illegal sites, including 1,129 pornographic sites and 114 promoting gambling, superstitious activities and cult propaganda, according to the Internet Society of China.

China to Increase Top-level Nodes for '.cn' Connection China plans to increase the distribution of top level nodes to smooth the connection with web sites ending with ".cn" in more regions.

Expert: SARS Risk Higher in Warm Winter A top respiratory disease expert warns residents of China to remain alert against the possible resurgence of SARS, as this winter's unusually warm weather is conducive to the growth of viruses.

Cons Outweigh Pros for Warm Winters This winter's temperatures have been unusually high. The average temperature from Dec. 1 to 15 in 2004 was 2.84 Celsius degrees, 2.61 Celsius degrees higher than in an average year and is the second highest since 1961.

HK Attends International Stroke-prevention Treatment Studies A breakthrough technology with the potential to save the lives of thousands of stroke patients every year was unveiled for the first time in Hong Kong.

The Biggest Small Satellite Center Built The world's largest engineering and testing center for small satellites was completed Tuesday in the outskirts of Beijing. It has a production capacity of six to eight small satellites, enabling China to develop more of them for research, surveying and disaster alerts.

Huawei Leads Chinese Firm in Dutch Deals Shenzhen-based Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., the country's largest telecom gear maker, has become the biggest winner in a series of big deals signed at an EU-China Summit over the weekend in the Netherlands.

China Improves Technologies in Examining Food Security China has greatly improved technologies in examining food security. It has also set up a food import and export monitoring and warning system.

Scientists Develop Rapid Bird Flu Test Scientists in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland have developed a test to detect bird flu infections in humans within hours. It could become an important tool for health officials when trying to control the killer virus.

Scientists Seek Effective Cures to Avian Flu Doctor John Nichols, a pathologist at Hong Kong University, says it's still need time to give full diagnosis to the deadly virus -- avian flu, and a lack of scientific data may be an obstacle to the research, and subsequently, delay the control of the disease.

Nobel Winners Gather for Presentations This year's Nobel Prize laureates have gathered in Stockholm to reap the rewards of their often lifelong work and research. The annual Nobel week, which began on Monday, will culminate on Friday when the laureates receive their prizes from King Carl XVI Gustaf in Stockholm's concert hall.

Anti-terrorism Robot Developed in China Chinese scientists at Shanghai Jiaotong University have succeeded in developing an anti-terrorism robot to help dismantle explosives after more than four years of strenuous effort.

IT Industry to Maintain Fast Growth China's information technology (IT) industry will maintain rapid and healthy growth in 2005, which will render a good start for the 11th Five-Year Plan that follows the 10th Five-Year Plan ending in 2005.

Shanghai Makes Breakthroughs in Hyacinth Control Scientists in Shanghai have succeeded in developing two new technologies to control the spread of the water plant hyacinth, marking new breakthroughs for the environment.

China, US Discuss Space Cooperation The space agencies of China and the United States held their first official talks on space cooperation this week. The meeting between the heads of the CNSA and NASA marked a historic step in Sino-American exchanges in space exploration and exploitation.

Philips to Nearly Double China R&D Staff Europe's biggest consumer electronics producer, Philips Electronics already employs 700 people at 15 China R&D centers. Almost all of the new jobs will be created in Shanghai, a Philips official said.

3 Satellites Neted for Wider Earth Monitoring Three Chinese satellites launched separately in September 2000, October 2002 and November this year established a successful network connection Tuesday.

'HK Light' to Shine on Global Info Ring China's development of the next-generation information highway gained new momentum as the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) formally announced a plan to establish the next-generation light wave "Hong Kong Internet Open Exchange Point -- HK Light."

Music Soothes Study Stress A psychological treatment center has been built in the Wuhan Science and Technology University in central China. With growing psychological problems occurring in universities, the center uses music to help them ease burden.

China to Launch Lunar Orbiter by Late 2007 China will launch its lunar orbiter Chang'e 1 to explore the moon's environment and study the thickness of its soil by the end of 2007, according to a senior Chinese space expert.

China Builds Asia's Largest Solar Photovoltaic Station The largest solar photovoltaic station in Asia has been installed at Shenzhen's international horticulture and flower exhibition garden.

China's Space Chief to Visit NASA The head of China's space agency will visit NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe next week, a move one US expert says could mean increased cooperation between the two countries.

Genome Study to Compare Asians An unprecedented study on the genetic profile of Asians was launched last Friday. Scientists said the study could reveal Asia's migratory patterns and explain the susceptibility of different Asian societies to illnesses such as childhood leukemia and diabetes.

Honeywell Launches New R&D Facility Diversified US manufacturer Honeywell opened a new research and development (R&D) center and Asia-Pacific headquarters in the Zhangjiang High-Tech Park in Pudong of Shanghai.

Technology Helps Solve Social Crises Zhou Guangzhao, chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology, said Thursday that science, technology and media industry should work together to building a crisis response mechanism.

'Digital China' in the Making All of China's landmarks -- more than 600 cities, more than 2,000 counties and countless rivers and mountains -- now exist not only in real world, but also digitally, inside a computer. And the computerized "Digital China" is becoming more and more like the real thing.

Microsoft Upgrades Chinese University Labs Microsoft Research Asia (MRA), has signed an agreement with the Chinese Ministry of Education to upgrade its five joint labs with China's top universities.

Crop Stalks to Generate Power Stalks of cotton, corn, wheat and soybean, which farmers have burnt to cook for hundreds of years, will be used to generate electricity in East China's Shandong Province.

TCM Steps up Fight Against AIDS The influence of traditional Chinese medicine is growing, particularly when it comes to treating and dealing with HIV/AIDS. This growing influence was in evidence in Beijing this weekend during the Third International Congress on Traditional Medicine.

Liaoning's First Nuclear Plant Road construction for the Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Plant, the first nuclear generator in northeast China, was completed on November 5, paving the way for the reactor's construction in 2006. The project is scheduled for completion in 6 years and will provide 52.56 billion kilowatt-hours annually.

Doctors Warn on Diabetes Byproduct As Sunday marks the 13th World Diabetes Day, medical experts are warning about the chronical ailment that may cause cardiovascular disease as a complication.

SSE to Install E-trading System Global management consulting company Accenture announced Thursday it will help the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) build a new electronic trading system targeted at the Chinese market and based on the Deutsche Borse's Xetra trading system.

China Develops 1st Mini-satellite The mini-satellite Innovation 1, also known as Chuang Xin 1 has been working in space for nearly 13 months since it was launched into orbit last October.

Technology Park Venture Operational The China-UK Cambridge Technology Venture Park Co Ltd was officially launched in Guangzhou yesterday, a move which will smooth the way for Chinese firms to establish investment projects in Great Britain.

China, UK Firm Launch Satellite Mission Chinese scientists and their counterparts in the Surrey Company of Britain are jointly developing a satellite for meteorological studies. The satellite, with a higher resolution than ordinary meteorological satellites, is expected to be launched next May.

Chinese Rover to land on Moon in 2012 The lunar vehicle China will launch is expected to land on the surface of the moon in 2012, according to People's Daily Online.

Beijing Aims for a High-tech Olympics A top-level consulting team of 400-odd senior scientists and engineers will focus on 449 projects aimed at making the Beijing Games a festival of high-technology to help participants of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games breathe fresh air, eat healthy food, travel quickly, stay safe and even assist Chinese athletes earn more medals.

Fish Nostril Provides Evolutionary Link A 395 million-year-old Chinese fossil may provide a crucial evolutionary link between sea and land animals. The fish, with a nasal cavity running from the outside of its face to its throat as in all modern land vertebrates, seems to have provided an answer that has eluded scientists for decades.

New Tech Planned for Wireless Phone Beijing Communication Corp is planning to introduce "Little Smart" wireless phones equipped with removable personal identity module (PIM) technology early next year to further consolidate its market share.

Scientists to Stop Invasive Plants International and Chinese scientists are busy preparing a national strategy to stop the invasion of invasive plant species, now annually costing China billions of US dollars.

CAS Celebrates 55th Birthday China's top scientific research center -- the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) which developed the state's first atomic bomb, man-made satellite and contributed to China's manned space mission, celebrated its 55th birthday Monday.

Official: Two Astronauts to Spend Five Days in Orbit After months of speculation, it finally became official on Sunday: Next year, two astronauts will orbit the planet for five days in the Shenzhou VI. In China's second manned space flight, the astronauts will for the first time live in the orbital module as they conduct a variety of experiments.

China's Antarctic Expedition Ship Arrives in HK China's exclusive Antarctic expedition ship "Xue Long" arrived at Hong Kong on Friday for the promotion and education of polar science.

Science: Farmers' Bridge to Prosperity The central government will allocate 100 million yuan (US$12 million) each year over the next few years to help drive scientific development in counties and county-level areas.

Technology Works Miracles For technology fans, Beijing is now the place to be. The city is hosting Asia's largest telecom expo, showcasing the world's latest technologies in the communications industry.

China Unicom to Release 'Palm Broadband' China Unicom is to start a nationwide promotion campaign named F1 late this week to attract customers. This campaign will start in Guangdong Province and targets high-end customers.

Third HUPO Annual World Congress Opens The Third Human Proteome Organization (HUPO) annual world congress opened in Beijing Monday. During the three-day meeting, more than 2,000 scientists will discuss and evaluate progresses of the Human Proteome Project (HPP).

Clinic Works to Stop Mother-Child HIV Transmission A hospital in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, has been using antiretroviral therapy to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV since 1997. So far, 30 of 31 seropositive mothers who have undergone the relatively low-cost short-course treatment have given birth to healthy babies.

Nation to Send Solar Telescope Up to Space China plans to launch the world's largest and most advanced space solar telescope (SST) into orbit circling the earth in 2008, the State's leading astronomer said on Friday.

Industrial Alliance Boosts IT Sector Nine leading Chinese telecom institutions formed a mobile multimedia technology alliance (MMTA) Thursday, making it one of the few government-backed industrial alliances that could bring breakthroughs in the development of China's booming IT sector.

TEDA Forum Discusses Biological Tech The China TEDA Biology Forum which will open this Saturday in the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA) in the North China municipality aims at making new progress in the research on uses of biological technology in production and life.

Cave Art Reveals Ancient Chinese Science Thrived Chinese historians and relics experts claim they have discovered pictorial evidence for the study of ancient Chinese sciences and technologies from the frescoes inside the world-renowned Mogao Grottoes of Dunhuang , in Northwest China's Gansu Province.

WHO Names New Alleles Identified By Chinese Scientists The World Health Organization has named two newly identified alleles that will hopefully enhance the success rates of bone marrow transplants for leukemia patients.

China Marks Anniversary of Atomic Bomb Chinese scientists, army veterans and students Saturday marked the 40th anniversary of the explosion of the country's first atomic bomb. China's first atomic bomb was exploded Oct. 16, 1964 in the desert of Xinjiang.

China, Brazil to Launch Three Earth Resources Satellites China and Brazil plan to launch three satellites in the coming few years to gather information on the Earth's environment, agriculture, urban development planning and water pollution, said Sun Laiyan, director general of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), on Friday.

'Cybertecture' Represents Future for Design Interactive architecture is the future of design in China and around the world, said James Law, the only Chinese nominee for the 2004 Asia Innovation Award.

Chinese Ancestors Came from Red Sea Area? Amateur historian Su San has created an enormous controversy with claims of Chinese ancestors were from the Red Sea area and human civilization began in the Middle East and North Africa, reported Shanghai Daily on Wednesday.

Third International Nitrogen Conference Opens in Nanjing The Third International Nitrogen Conference Tuesday opened in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, attracting more than 400 global experts to discuss nitrogen balance.

Bayer Launches New Projects Bayer, the German-based chemical and health care giant, launched the construction of two new projects on Monday, with a total investment of approximately US$200 million, in Shanghai, marking its determination to increase its long-term competitiveness in China's growing market.

IT Training Program Set up in Dalian Neusoft, one of China's leading software developers, started an advanced IT professional training program in the port city of Northeast China's Liaoning Province.

Photo Exhibition in Macao Showcasing Space Technology The Photo Exhibition of China's Space Technology was opened in Macao Saturday to showcase the history of China's space technology development.

TCM Vital for AIDS Treatment Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) now plays an important role in treating the 840,000 HIV/AIDS sufferers in China, a senior official said on Friday.

Big Prize Builds on Basic Research It sounds like our scientists have narrowly missed this year's Nobel Prize in Physics. The prestigious prize went to three Americans who found and explained that quarks, the particles that make up protons and neutrons, bind more closely together as they are pulled apart.

Breakthrough Made in Human Organ Transplant China recently recorded a successful simultaneous liver, pancreas and kidney transplant, reportedly the first of its kind in Asia.

Scientists Facing 'More Demands' Lu Yongxiang, president of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) appealed yesterday to his Asian partners for further cooperation and regional exchange at the fifth General Assembly of Association of Academies of Sciences in Asia (AASA).

China Retrieves 19th Recoverable Satellite China on Saturday recovered its 19th recoverable sci-tech experimental satellite 27 days after the satellite orbited in space. The satellite, atop a Long March 2C carrier rocket, is mainly for space scientific research, land surveying, mapping and other scientific experiments.

China Develops Powerful Chips for Communication Equipment, Terminals China has developed and marketed the country's first batch of powerful system chips that can be used in communication equipment and terminals, China's Ministry of Science and Technology announced Thursday.

Glacier Study Reveals Chilling Prediction China's glaciers make up nearly 50 percent of the total in Asia and 15 percent of the world's ice fields. These vast areas of unforgiving terrain have been the subject of a 24-year study by a group of China's top glaciologists. Now their results have been published in a 12 volume report - and their investigations make for grim reading.

WHO Urges Sharing of Bird Flu Case Samples A senior official of the World Health Organization (WHO) urged all countries in the western Pacific region to share samples of poultry and human avian influenza cases for scientific research in order to prevent a possible global pandemic.

Development of Cyber Games Encourged A senior official with China's Information Ministry has announced video games will be included in a list of funded IT development projects to attract more investment in the field.

Harbin Polytechnical University Developed New Medical Robot A noted polytechnical university in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province has developed a robot that can help set bones, conduct surgeries and medical research.

Plants Ditch Pollinating Insect Flowering plants have evolved many different techniques to ensure pollination. For some species, self-pollination is the norm despite the genetic benefits of cross-pollination.

CHTF Attracts 21 Countries A total of 21 foreign countries and international organizations will attend the Sixth China Hi-Tech Fair (CHTF) in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province from Oct. 12 to 17.

Research Labs Power China's Next Boom Working in the heart of the Haidian District in Beijing, with its canyons of universities, labs and high-tech ventures, Harry Shum occupies a corner of Microsoft Research Asia, the US software company's effort to tap scientific brainpower in China.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Eyes Int'l Market Chinese and foreign experts agreed at a symposium in Beijing Saturday that traditional Chinese medicine has broad prospects in international market as Chinese therapy and pharmacy have helped treat many severe diseases.

Asia-Pacific Internet Users No.1 in the World The International Telecommunication Union says the number of Internet users in the Asia-Pacific region has exceeded that of the North American region and become the largest in the world.

Sci-Tech Press Forum Begins China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) organized the first national forum for the science and technology press Wednesday in a bid to push forward reform in the field.

Cleaning up Academic Atmosphere Consider using an eye-catching expressions such as "path-making, world-leading or innovative" to describe your research achievements? Please double-check if they are deserved.

Breakthrough in Grain Storage Technology A new grain storage technology, which is environmentally friendly and pest free, has been tested at grain depots in Yunnan, Hebei, Sichuan, Jiangxi, Hubei and Henan, reported China Radio International Tuesday.

'Space Vegetables' Take Root in China "Space Vegetables," bred by astronautical mutagenesis, which is mutating genes in the radiation of outer space, are now found on many of China's dining tables, reported China Radio International on Sunday.

JV May Improve Drug Research The National Center for Drug Screening (NCDS) and US-based Cellomics Inc will work together to establish a cutting-edge drug screening platform to upgrade China's drug innovation system.

Large-scale Glacier Discovered in Himalayas Area Chinese and American scientists using radar technology have discovered a huge glacier in the Himalayas, the head of the research team said Wednesday.

Environmental Study to Be Promoted A new science organization is expected to help the research on how human activities and environmental changes affect each other.

Women Pregnant After Egg Freezing Two women in eastern China's Shandong Province who suffered ovarian failure are in advanced pregnancy thanks to frozen-egg techniques, a hospital in Jinan has revealed.

China Passes Law Legalizing Electronic Deals China's top legislature on Saturday passed the Law on Electronic Signature to boost electronic business, which for the first time legalizes increasing electronic deals.

Geospatial Framework of Digital China Under Construction The construction of digital maps of China is well under way, said a senior Chinese official in charge of China's surveying and mapping affairs Thursday.

Official: '863 Program' Needs Supervision A senior official says China's National High Tech Research and Development Program, also known as the "863 Program," should be subjected to social supervision.

'E-Guangzhou' Developing More than 70 percent of Guangzhou's neighborhood committees have been equipped with computer systems that allowed local residents to apply for different kinds of certificates, including birth permits, at home.

China's First Homegrown Mobile Phone Chipset Developed China has successfully developed a mobile phone chip, doing away with a long-standing monopoly by foreign companies over the technology, according to a senior official with the Ministry of Information Industry.

Hynix Gets Approval for $2b Plant in China South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor Inc. won approval Wednesday from China's Wuxi City in east China's Jiangsu Province to build a US$2 billion chip plant there with top European rival STMicro electronics (ST).

Unicom Cuts Ties with 45 ISPs to Curb Web Porn China Unicom announced Wednesday that it has severed ties with 45 Internet service providers (ISP) involved in the use of cell phones in pornographic business in the past month.

China Sets up First Center for Cloned Cow Embryo Transplant China's first center for the transplant of cloned cow embryos has been established in Tangshan City in north China's Hebei Province, local sources confirmed.

Controversy Arises from TB Vaccination Two students in Central China's Hunan Province have contracted tuberculosis (TB) after being vaccinated against the disease, sparking fear among hundreds of parents.

China Mobile Suspends Sohu for Spamming Customers Chinese Internet company Sohu.com says China Mobile has suspended Sohu as a supplier of mobile phone picture services for one year due to unsolicited marketing to some customers.

Int'l Patent Fair Opens with Eye on Technology The 2004 China International Patent Fair will be held next Wednesday in the port city of Dailian in Northeast China's Liaoning Province. The four-day fair will present more than 500 patents from over 20 countries and regions, Dalian Vice-Mayor Dai Yulin said at a press conference Thursday.

China to Launch 1st Moon Probe in 2 years China will launch its first lunar satellite in two years' time and all preparations are in full swing, Beijing Morning Post has reported.The announcement was made at the same time as reports began coming in about the ongoing success of the Double Star Program test.

Volunteers of SARS Clinical Trial Stay Well The last six volunteers of the first-phase SARS clinical trial have been inoculated with the anti-SARS vaccine and are currently in stable condition, crienglish.com reported Wednesday.

Mobile Phone Banking Hits Chinese Market China's first financial service system via mobile phones has been put into use nationwide.

SMS Service Increases Linktone's Revenues Chinese wireless value-added service provider Linktone Ltd Thursday reported strong second quarter results due to the sustained growth of short messaging service (SMS) and other value-added services.

Chinese Expedition Arrives at Amazon River A group of Chinese researchers have arrived in Manaus City on the middle reaches of the Amazon River to begin their expedition in the valley's tropical rainforest.

CCTV to Launch Six Digital Stations China Central Television will launch six new digital cable channels on August 9, initially in four municipalities and provinces but with 33 more soon to follow. According to the producer, the paid channels will enjoy more freedom than general access stations, but adult programming will not be available.

Siemens Announces Increased Telecoms Investment in China German conglomerate Siemens AG announced last week in Beijing its acquiring of a majority stake in a leading Chinese wireline network equipment supplier and pledged to further increase its investment in China.

Fight Against Internet Pornography Continues Spread of on-line pornography has been effectively curbed in China with the launch of a nationwide campaign to clean up the websites. A number of online criminal activities have been cracked down on and large amounts of porn sites have been taken down.

Huawei and Cisco Settle IP Dispute Networking giant Cisco Systems has agreed to an out-of-court settlement of its lawsuit against Chinese rival Huawei Technologies. Financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but Huawei, which had already taken steps to correct its controversial products, says that it is very satisfied with the result.

Huawei and Cisco Settle Dispute Networking giant Cisco Systems Inc has agreed to settle a lawsuit with Chinese rival Huawei Technologies Co.

Electricity Transfer to Solve Power Imbalance A program in place since 2000 to transfer electricity from China's west to the energy-gobbling east has been expanded to help cope with this year's energy crunch. Industry experts say that reverse transfers also increased this year, with winter surpluses in southeastern power being delivered west.

Netcom Applies for Offerings in HK, US China Network Communications Group Corp (China Netcom) has filed its listing application documents for a US$1.5 billion initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong and New York, a reliable source said Tuesday.

New Distance Learning Center Launched in Shanghai China and World Bank today launched a new distance learning center in Shanghai hosted and managed in partnership with the Shanghai National Accounting Institute (SNAI). This brings the number of distance learning centers in China to a total of seven -- and there are 7 more underway.

Joint Effort Crucial for Chinese Medicine Working together to demonstrate the clinical efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is essential to claim a share of the global market and to contribute more to human health, agreed participants at a biology and medicine forum in Shanghai.

High-tech Help for Mother Nature Hu Zhijin, an expert with the Institute of Artificial Rain under the China Meteorological Administration, said that in the northern regions of the country, precipitation is produced mainly by stratiform clouds in spring and convective clouds in summer.

Good Science Requires Shared Resources The Ministry of Science and Technology has released guidelines to facilitate resource sharing and improve research conditions for scientists nationwide. The government's focus in the near future will be on building a legislative framework to encourage sharing of data and resources to relieve longstanding bottlenecks in basic research.

China: World's 2nd Most Wired Nation The China Internet Network Information Center's 14th semiannual report on the domestic Internet industry, released on Tuesday, indicates that there are now 87 million Chinese surfing the worldwide web, a figure that has risen by more than 7 million just since the end of last year. The outlook for continued growth is bright, although some government organizations appear less than enthusiastic about launching themselves into cyberspace.

Drop in SMS Usage Hits Internet Portals Market saturation and falling mobile phone tariffs are wresting short-message service revenue and profit away from China's Internet portals. Cellular operators may try to renegotiate their revenue-sharing schemes with the websites, which are currently snatching 85 percent of the revenue.

Chinese Biologists: Science for a Better Life More than 1,000 Chinese biologists from all over the world have gathered in Beijing.

Stricter Rules Needed on GMOs Scientists are calling for stricter regulation of experiments using genetically modified organisms and of sales of GM food products. The spread of GM crops and foods has been so rapid in China over the past few years that concern about their health and environmental risks has spilled over from academic circles to society at large.

Second Human Trials of AIDS Vaccine to Kick off in Beijing The second human trials of an AIDS vaccine will be held in Beijing, David Ho, the inventor of the AIDS "cocktail" treatment revealed Friday. The the study will serve as a model for large-scale AIDS treatment in other Chinese provinces and also help raise public awareness with regard to the need for AIDS treatment in China.

Top 100 Universities of Science in 2004 Published China's Management Science Academy has issued the ninth edition of university rankings since it published the first comprehensive ranking system in 1993, reported crienglish.com.

China Develops New Flu Vaccine China has developed a batch of vaccines to deal with the current flu virus. The new "slitting vaccine" was developed according the WHO virus definitions.

Migrant Kids Get Higher Intellectual Levels: Survey Chinese researchers have found that the children of the migrant population in Beijing have higher intellectual levels than ordinary city kids.

Therapeutic Vaccine of Hepatitis B Put into Clinic Trial China's first therapeutic Hepatitis B vaccine, which will make possible for Hepatitis B carriers and patients to be cured, has been approved for a second phase of clinical trials.

First Superconductor Cable Network Operational China's first superconductor cable network became operational on Saturday, making the nation one of the three countries which have such advanced electricity transmission network.

Sino-Indian IT Cooperation Needs a Boost Sino-Indian trade has been growing rapidly in recent years, although regulatory barriers still hinder cooperation. Particularly in the IT industry, the two countries can develop synergies that will bring benefits to all.

High-tech Industries Gain State Priority To accelerate development and channel more capital to high-tech industries, three central government departments Thursday issued guidelines granting priorities to the sector.

Online Games to Clean up Their Action China's software industry will soon classify all its online games in an effort to protect the health and welfare of children from violent and pornographic content.

Sony Subsidiary Opens Technology Center in Shanghai Sony China, a Sony subsidiary headquartered in Beijing, officially launched the Sony Shanghai Technology Center in late June. It plans to employ a staff of nearly 100 by the end of this year.

Digital China, Microsoft's Partnership Microsoft and China's leading IT distributor Digital China have formed a global partnership. The partnership means Digital China could use the platform provided by Microsoft's powerful research and development team to develop new software products

Nanotech Deal May Signal 'Intel Inside" China A small Chinese foundry startup is gingerly presenting itself to the public, providing a few details of its business strategy in the rapidly developing Chinese chip market.

New Fossilized Hominid Skull Found in Kenya A small fossilized skull of a hominid that lived 930,000 years ago has been found in a Kenyan archaeological site, Richard Potts, director of the human origins program at the US Smithsonian Institution, told a news conference in Nairobi on Friday.

Gates: Microsoft to Expand China Research Microsoft chairman Bill Gates says Microsoft would be spending even more of its annual research budget in China. He says Microsoft is interested in pursuing research in China aimed at developing mobile phone technology.

HK Provides 404 Million HK Dollars for Research Programs Hong Kong's Research Grants Council has allocated 403.5 million HK dollars (US$51.73 million) to support 748 academic research projects.

UTStarcom to Unveil Dual-Technology 3G Phones UTStarcom Inc. will unveil mobile phones that support both the Little Smart service and third-generation mobile telecom standards around the end of this year, according to James Wang, senior sales engineer with the Nasdaq-listed telecom equipment supplier, which is famous for its Little Smart business.

98 Young Scientists Awarded Ninety-eight young scientists in China, who are working in 12 different subject areas, received a national award Monday for their academic achievements in research and development.

First Chemical Leukemia Test Unveiled A new test for leukemia cells in blood samples has been developed in south China's Fujian Province. Meeting international standards, the chemical test can fill a gap in Chinese medical practice.

Experts Warn of Large Internet Attack Computer industry experts are warning of a mysterious, large-scale, Internet attack against thousands of popular websites.

Robot Not Beckham But Plays Like Pele A rare, intelligent humanoid robot soccer player, currently the most sophisticated of its kind in China, will participate in the Ninth FIRA Robot World Cup this October in South Korea.

China-made Passenger Plane to Debut in 2 Years China's own passenger aircraft with up to 100 seats is expected to make its maiden test flight in 2006, an aviation expert was quoted Wednesday as saying.

China to Speed up Scientific Data Sharing China's Vice Minister of Science and Technology Cheng Jinpei said Tuesday that the ministry is speeding up a scientific data sharing project in an effort to reduce repeated research and money squandering.

Sino-US Science Program Begins China's Ministry of Science and Technology and the US National Science Foundation jointly launched a program on Monday encouraging cooperation between young researchers.

Chinese Medicine to Reduce Coronary Disease Threat China's national cardiovascular diseases control and treatment office has announced that a new, special Chinese herbal medicine could cut the general toll rate of coronary heart disease by about 33 percent, crienglish.com reported Monday.

Internet Industry Establishes Self-discipline Regulations Chinese websites, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and other Internet-related organizations across the country are being invited to sign a self-discipline pact designed to protect online intellectual property rights as well as prevent cyber crime, the spread of harmful information and unhealthy competition.

Ministry to Assist Science Research The Ministry of Education has begun assisting higher-level talented people undertake important national scientific projects.

Digital Tech to Be Used for Future Tibetan Railway China is considering building a set of digital integration systems to better provide a scientific basis for the design, construction and maintenance of its first railroad on the Tibet Plateau in the western part of the country.

Deal Promotes 3G Technology Standard Development An agreement was signed Tuesday between the GSM Association (GSMA) and TD-SCDMA Forum to co-ordinate and boost the development of both third generation (3G) wireless technology standards.

New-generation Broadcasting Satellite System to Be Built China's new-generation broadcasting satellite system will be put into operation in 2006, which will satisfy the demand of 280 million farmers who do not have access to television programs, Chinese satellite communications officials said Monday.

SARS Virus Detector Starts Sale A reagent kit to detect severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus antigen has been approved to be produced and sold by the State Food and Drag Administration (SFDA).

"Chinese Standard" Aims at International Market In 2004, the TD-SCDMA standard for the 3-generation (3G) mobile communications network initiated by China and ratified by the International Telecommunication Union, has become a focus of the global telecom industry.

China Finds First Fossil Embryo Chinese scientists discovered a fossil thought to be 120 million-years-old containing an embryo of a flying reptile that lived alongside the dinosaurs, crienglish.com reported Thursday.

Scientists Find New Way to Monitor Possible Landslides Chinese scientists have found a new way to effectively monitor possible landslides, according to the first international academic meeting on environment and engineering physical geography, which opened Tuesday.

Chinese Netizens Recommend Panda to Be Olympic Mascot Over one million Chinese netizens recommended the panda as the official mascot of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games through an Internet survey that was wound up by Tuesday.

Netizens Recommend Red-crowned Crane to Be National Bird About 1.6 million Chinese netizens recommended the red-crowned crane to be the national bird through an Internet survey which was wound up by Tuesday.

3G Wireless Prospects Looking up Prospects for the development of the third generation (3G) of the wireless telecommunications industry are becoming clearer as telecom operators and equipment suppliers worldwide continue rolling out business strategies and reaping benefits.

Fossil Demonstrates Life Form of 580 Million Years Old Chinese scientists have discovered the world's oldest bilaterian fossil, which provides valuable clues on the origin of early life.

Temperature Could Rise up to 8.9 Degrees in 21st Century Due to global warming, temperatures in China might rise 1.3 to 8.9 degrees Celsius in the 21st century, and the average precipitation will increase by over 10 percent.

Toshiba Buys Shares of Chinese Air Conditioner Maker Midea Holding Co. Ltd., a leading Chinese home electric appliances maker, will sell a 20 percent stake of its air conditioning division to Japanese electronics giant Toshiba.

PalmSource in License Talks with China's Bird, TCL PalmSource Inc says it is talking with Chinese mobile phone maker Ningbo Bird and an arm of TCL about licensing its Palm operating software for handheld devices.

China to Establish Joint Technology Park in Austria China will establish a joint technology park in Austria under a document signed in Vienna on Wednesday. It was first proposed by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.

China to Fight Text Message, Internet Fraud China has kicked off a two-month campaign to fight fraud by cell phone text messages or via Internet, hoping to curb the new form of crime in the fast-advanced information society.

Nation's 1st Astronaut Ends UN Tour China's first astronaut Yang Liwei said Monday in Beijing that his UN visit strengthened exchanges with foreign astronauts and aeronautic and space organizations.

China's Online Game Market Booming Online gaming market estimates show China has the highest growth potential in the Asia-Pacific region.

What Have Online Games Done to Us? "What people ultimately seek and find in games is a sense of achievement unattainable in real life," says A-Du, a 23-year-old Beijing game lover, adding "They also experience joy in the exquisite imagery, symphonic music and thrill of creating fantasy."

Drought-resistant Hybrid Rice Strain Developed Agricultural scientists in southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region have developed a new strain of drought-resistant high-yield hybrid rice after more than ten years of research.

1st Sino-Brazilian Regional Jets Ready for Delivery The first two ERJ145 regional jet aircraft, a Sino-Brazilian product, are ready to be delivered to the client soon, according to sources with its manufacturer based in Harbin, capital of the northeastern Heilongjiang Province.

Technology Helps Deliver Multimedia News Words, sounds and images, which way will you choose to know about the story when some news happens in the world? A combination of the different senses will make the news more striking.

China's First HDTV Documentary Shown The first high definition television (HDTV) documentary in China was premiered in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou cities recently.

Canada Expects Hydrogen Energy Cooperation with China A Canadian delegation composed of 14 clean energy firms voiced its willingness Friday to enhance cooperation with Chinese counterparts in hydrogen energy.

China Encourages High-tech Cooperation with Foreign Firms China is encouraging domestic enterprises to cooperate with their foreign partners in the high-tech sector while high-tech product exports have become a major pillar of the country's total exports.

Scientific Literacy Among Chinese Grows A survey organized by the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) shows that scientific literacy among Chinese adults between the ages of 18 to 69 grew steadily while still being low and lagging behind that in developed countries.

Sino-Russian Science Center to Enhance Understanding Northeast China's Liaoning Province will set up a Sino-Russian science center soon, according to officials from the Liaoning Provincial Personnel Department.

HK, Mainland to Boost Science Exchange An agreement was signed in Hong Kong Monday to boost exchange and cooperation in science and technology between Hong Kong and China's mainland.

Beware of Microsoft's Technology Empire Microsoft partnered with China United Telecommunications Corp at the end of last month to promote a new high-end handset with Windows Mobile 2003 -- a similar program to the personal computer version of Windows.

HK, French Universities Launch Masters Program in Actuarial Science City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and University of Paris Dauphine signed an agreement, launching a joint masters program Thursday.

Nation to Boost Public Science Awareness A spokesman of China's Ministry of Science and Technology said Wednesday that his ministry will organize 10 nationwide events from May 15 to 21 to promote science and technology awareness among the public.

Israel, China to Jointly Develop Hybrid Crops China's national rice research center and a famous Israeli bio-technology company signed a cooperation agreement Monday to jointly test bio-technology components in selected crops and develop super hybrid rice.

First DNA Bank Opens in Taiwan Taiwan has opened its first DNA bank, close to four years after the emergence of an ovum and umbilical cord blood bank in the island province. The bank encourages people to preserve their DNA cells in the bank in case the need for genetic treatment or generational identification should arise.

China Builds Largest Observation Field on Wind-sand Science China is building the world's largest observation field on wind-sand science in Zhongwei county of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Largest Online Sci-tech Databank Completed in China With over 300 specialized databases and a data volume of 82 billion bytes, the largest sci-tech databank in China after nearly 20 years' construction, was completed the other day in the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Fossils Show 'Roof of the World' Was Oasis 130 Mln Years Ago Fossils suggest that Ngari Prefecture, the peak of Tibet Autonomous Region, known as the "roof of the world", was once a land where the climate was mild and humid, and plenty of big arbors were grown some 130 million years ago.

Next-generation Network: Changing China, Changing Lives Why is it necessary for China to develop the next-generation network? Professor Wu Jianping, director of the Internet Center, China Education and Research Network, and others look at the Internet's past, present and future and analyze China's role at each stage.

China's First Brain Death Standard Approved China's first standard to accurately judge brain death has been approved by the Ministry of Health.

Over Half of Asthma Cases Caused by Rhinitis Doctors have found that 66 percent of asthma cases are caused by rhinitis, and that allergic rhinitis is the main reason many respiratory diseases relapse.

New Software to Censor Porn, Violence New software to screen out pornographic text and images and to stop those under 18 from surfing the Internet will soon be installed in more than 110,000 computers in Shanghai's 1,329 Internet cafes.

Scientists to Develop 3D Chip To improve computer's calculation speed, scientists in China and Japan are applying a special technique to developing 3D chip for computer.

Satellite Constellation to Be Launched for Disaster Monitoring China will set up a small satellite constellation for that will enable round-the-clock environmental and disaster monitoring and prediction in the next six years, the first of its kind in the world. In the second phase, China expects to introduce international partners to the project.

HK Practical Inventions Help Enhance Productivity The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Poly U) and Hong Kong Inventor Association showed their winning inventions at a press briefing Monday, which would help enhance productivity.

First Gene Treatment Medicine Developed China has succeeded in developing the world's first ever gene treatment medicine. Utilizing gene technology, the medicine is used to cure cancers through killing tumor cells.

Leonardo Da Vinci: Inventor of Automobile? The Museum of History and Science in Florence has unveiled the first "automobile" built based on some of the sketches from Leonardo da Vinci's famous notebooks.

Hydrogen Listed into Energy Development Strategy China has listed rational use of hydrogen into its energy development strategy and will hike up investment for research of automobiles powered by hydrogen cells.

Chinese Scientist Honored Member of US Academy Chinese scientist Wang Xiaodong has been elected to America's National Academy of Science, one of the highest honors attainable by American scientists. Moreover, Prof. Wang thus becomes the academy's youngest member.

Venture to Promote 3G Development Hangzhou-based electronics firm Eastern Communications Co Ltd (Eastcom) revealed Tuesday it had signed a joint venture agreement with conglomerate Samsung Electronics of Republic of Korea.

Genes Replicate Like Hairs of Monkey King Chinese scientists announced recently that they have discovered a novel mechanism in the genesis of genes, the building blocks of all organisms on Earth.

China Develops First Nano-satellite China successfully sent into space Nano-satellite I, the first nanotechnology-based satellite ever developed by the country independently, early Monday.

Researcher Wins Top Scientific Prize A leading scientist was announced Thursday the winner of the "Top Scientific Award" in northwest China's Shaanxi Province and a bonus of one million yuan (about US$120,000) for his contribution to helping farmers produce more oil from rapeseed.

New Rocket Ejection Seat Developed A new type of rocket ejection seat has been successfully developed and adapted to new fighters to fit for the weight and figure changes of pilots, according to the Aviation Medical Research Institute of the PLA Air Force.

China Developed First 'Nanometer Optical Tweezers Equipment' An optical tweezers system has passed appraisal by experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, marking a breakthrough achievement in this field.

Chinese and French Gov'ts to Launch Internet Cooperation Chinese Ministry of Information Industry and French Ministry of Research and New Technologies will beef up cooperation between CNGI (China Next Generation Internet) and FNGI (France Next Generation Internet).

Hi-tech Fair Focuses on Financial Development The development of the financial and capital markets and the growth of high-tech enterprises will be two of the highlights of the seventh session of China (Beijing) International High-tech Expo, which is expected to be held from May 21 to 26 in the capital.

Health Tourism Helps Get Well While Have Fun Asia's cultural diversity, perfect beaches and fabulous cuisines mixed with a pinch of Oriental mysticism have long drawn tourists from around the world. Recently, many of the region's top tourist destinations have added a new ingredient into the mix: health tourism.

Foreign Trade of Hi-tech Products Increases 52% China has continued its rapid increase in foreign trade in high-tech products, soaring by 52.1 percent in the first quarter, senior trade official said.

Rhodia Nunveils Asia-Pacific R&D Center The nation's economic hub was named on Friday as the first Asia-Pacific research and development (R&D) center for French specialty chemicals firm Rhodia.

New Diesel Technology Runs Cheaper, Cleaner A Chinese research team has developed an affordable solution to diesel engine emissions, opening the door for expanded use of the cheaper-than-gasoline fuel.

China, EU to Reinforce Space Cooperation European Union Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin is in China to broaden EU-China relations and reinforce cooperation in science and technology. Space policy and nuclear fusion research will top the agenda during meetings with Chinese authorities during his six-day visit.

Lenovo to Produce Linux-based PCs China's largest PC maker Lenovo Group has announced it will launch two Linux-based business computers in China. The two models, Kaitian M 4600 and Qitian M 2000, will be installed with the Red Flag Linux operating system and will become the first two domestic made Linux PCs.

China, US Sign MOU on Aviation Cooperation The General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC) and US Trade and Development Agency (TDA) signed in Beijing Tuesday the Memorandum of Understanding on aviation cooperation program.

Information Security System to Be Built A national information security system will be built in five years and the central government will reduce the requirements for market access to information security products, officials said.

Bird Flu Requires Tight Watch Vaccines used in China's chickens to combat bird flu have so far proved effective, with no new cases of the deadly virus reported in any of the nation's flocks. But a recent report in the UK magazine New Scientist warns that vaccinations can lead to the evolution of new bird flu strains, increasing the risk of human pandemics.

Guangdong Plans Biggest Nuclear Power Plant Officials in south China's Guangdong Province are speeding up preparations for the construction of the country's biggest nuclear power plant. The nuclear plant, to be located in Yangjiang, one of the province's coastal cities, is expected to help stem the chronic power shortages along the nation's prosperous Pearl River Delta, which includes the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

First Domestic Produced 64-bit PC to Debut China's first 64-bit PC, cooperatively produced by Tsinghua Unisplendour Corporation and Advanced Micro Devices, or AMD, will appear on the market Friday.

China to Name Asteroid After Astronaut Yang Liwei Nanjing Purple Mountain Observatory, in east China's Jiangsu Province, hopes to name one of the asteroids it discovered in honor of China's first astronaut, Yang Liwei.

China Develops Core Router for Next-generation Net Tsinghua University announced on Monday a new breakthrough in the development of key next-generation Internet technology, making China one of the few countries to develop a successful Ipv6 core router. The router offers transmission and forwarding capacity compatible with both the current generation and the larger, faster and more secure next-generation Internet.

First Ovum Bank to Be Set up in Beijing Beijing is to build China's first "ovum bank" to help women who are reluctant to have children in order to pursue their careers or have other worries.

Youthful Scientists Exhibit Best Hundreds of Chinese students gathered at the China Science and Technology Museum over the weekend to exhibit their latest inventions, bringing promising prospects of China's scientific development to visitors.

China's Kingsoft to Challenge Microsoft Microsoft, the world's No. 1 software giant, may soon face competition in its profitable office software business as a Chinese firm has plans to promote its own.

Military Manufacturing Industry Heading for Informationization and Digitization China's military manufacturing industry is going over from traditional "mechanic" to "digital military industry", said Sun Laiyan, Secretary-General of Commission for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.

Clone Cows to Give Births Wang Yinxiang, chairperson of directors of Shandong YinXiang Industrial Group, said the five clone cows born during January and February in Shandong Province have all been pregnant and are expected to give births in early or mid April.

Fourteenth Planetoid Named for Chinese A planetoid found by China's National Observatory Station has been named after late scientist Wu Heng, bringing to 14 the number of planetoids in the solar system named for Chinese scientists and literature.

China to Put 11Bln Yuan into State R&D Programs China will spend 11 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) this year to support key state research and development programs, announced the Ministry of Science and Technology on Mar. 22.

UN Special Advisor: China's Scientific Development Strategy Lightens a Sustainable Future The scientific development strategy has provided hope for China's sustainable future, said a senior advisor of the United Nations (UN) in Beijing Monday.

Electric Cars on Their Way to Markets Chinese scientists have made a remarkable progress in developing pollution-free electric vehicles, now that the commercialization of such cars has been listed as a key part of the country's science plan for the next decade.

China Opens Trial Network Based on Next-generation Internet Protocol The China Education and Research Net 2 (CERNET2), a backbone network based on IPv6, the next-generation Internet protocol, was put on trial Friday.

IT Software Exploits Financial Services Information technology firms are vying to strike gold in China's growing financial market, which is in great need of efficient software support to improve its competitiveness in the opening industry.

Oracle, Dell Forge Strategic Partnership in China Oracle, the world's largest enterprise software company, established a strategic partnership in China with Dell Thursday to create a major force in the Chinese market.

China's First Large Aircraft to Fly by 2018 Decades after shelving earlier attempts to develop its civil aviation industry, China has listed large aircraft in its massive science and technology development program for the coming 10 to 20 years. A senior aviation industry executive said Wednesday he anticipates China's first large aircraft to fly by 2018.

Five Planets to Adorn Evening Skies The five classic "naked-eye" planets will line up in the early evening skies on March 27, providing a rare treat for stargazers. This particular configuration of Earth's neighbors in space only occurs once every 32 years.

China Ranks No. 1 in DSL China's digital subscriber line (DSL) population has raced past Japan to take the No. 1 position in the world. Growth in the domestic online entertainment industry has led the way in building the DSL market.

HK Scientists to Join New Mars Exploration The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China scientists will get another job in Mars exploration after the British-made Beagle II landing craft carrying their tools failed the mission recently.

China to Become Biggest ATM Market Mark Hurd, CEO of US-based NCR Corporation made a forecast during his visit in Beijing recently that China would become the world's largest market for ATM machines by 2007. He said there were 50,000 ATM machines in China while the figure was 324,000 in the US.

China Considering Space Docking After Planned New Manned Spacecraft: Official China is manufacturing Shenzhou-6, a spacecraft for more than one astronauts, planning Shenzhou-7 and conducting feasibility studies on future space docking and the setting-up of a permanent laboratory in orbit, a senior designer said Friday.

China Launches First Biobank China recently launched its first biobank, a database with information on people's medical history, lifestyle, occupation and blood sample for DNA analysis in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province.

Siamese Twins Are Separated Successfully Chen Maomao is under intensive care after being successfully separated with a conjoined but immature fetus.

Chinese, Scottish Scientists to Cooperate Chinese and Scottish scientists exchanged ideas for cooperation on Monday at a symposium titled "Sino-Scottish Science -- Sharing Ideas" organized by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE).

China to Send Woman into Space After putting a man in space for the first time in October last year, China plans to train female astronauts for space voyages, the country's largest women's organization confirmed in Beijing Sunday.

Computer Safety Standard Draft on Way China will draft a national standard for computer security chips and use them on computer main boards, in another attempts at building the country's own standard system, said an industrial source on Friday.

National R&D Projects Cost 9 Billion State Funds China's Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) invested 9 billion yuan (US$108 million) of state budgetary funds into 15,000 national research and development projects in 2003.

Scientists: Psychological Pressure Threatens People's Sleeping Hours The latest research indicates that more and more people suffer from insomnia because of various psychological pressures, according to experts at an international congress on sleep disorders held in Zhuhai this week in south China's Guangdong Province.

Science Academy Provides Annual Sci-tech Reports The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has published three reports on Chinese and international scientific and technological advancements.

Geological Early-warning System Set Up in Three Gorges West China's Chongqing Municipality has established a system to monitor geological movements and help forecast disasters in the Three Gorges.

Scientists: GM Products Are Safe After strict testing, the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture has awarded its first batch of safety certificates for foreign genetically modified crops used for processing purposes in China, with the first given to US biotech giant Monsanto. Scientists say the government's official seal of approval is a good indication that transgenic products are safe.

Weather Project Aims to Make It Rain Facing persistent drought, the worst natural calamity for China's economy and ecosystem, the country is set to launch extensive weather modification operations to seek extra precipitation from water-droplet clouds.

160-million-year-old Fish Fossil Discovered A fossilized fish dating back 160 million years has recently been discovered in Yibin City of southwest China's Sichuan Province. The discovery of the fossilized fish has provided valuable materials for studying the changes of landforms, relief and climate in the Changning area, experts noted.

Officials: Gene-altered Crops Are Safe China will make sure the controversial genetically modified (GMO) crops don't cause negative impacts on the country's bio-environment, the Ministry of Agriculture said Wednesday.

Scientist Awarded Top Meteorological Prize A gold medal, a parchment scroll and a financial award of 10,000 Swiss francs were what prestigious Chinese scientist Ye Duzheng received Tuesday from Dr. A.I. Bedritsky, president of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), as the winner of the 2003 WMO top prize.

Scientists Find Dragon Artifacts Chinese archaeologists claim they have discovered material evidence explaining the belief that "Chinese people are descended from the dragon," an old saying that dates back thousands of years.

Science Programs Focus on Food Security The Ministry of Science and Technology will carry out a new series of scientific programs ranging from agriculture to public health, the ministry's head Xu Guanhua announced at a national working conference for science and technology which concluded Sunday in Beijing.

10 Sci-Tech Projects of 2008 Beijing Olympics Ten key sci-tech projects, revealed at a recent meeting in Beijing, demonstrate BOCOG's continued determination to make the 2008 Olympic Games clean, green, safe and friendly.

Software Wizard Want to Be China's Bill Gates Gus Tsao had waited for 13 years to settle an account with Bill Gates, co-founder of the dominating US software powerhouse Microsoft.

Warning Issued on Side Effects of Medicine China's top medicine watchdog has asked manufacturers, doctors and patients to look out for side effects of the drug Airuohua (leflunomide), used to treat arthritis.

HK, Mainland Scientists to Set up Chinese Brain Bank Scientists in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland will establish a pioneering Chinese brain bank to help lab researchers learn more about human brains and diseases, a university spokeswoman said Wednesday.

First HIV Vaccine Test Starts in Germany For the first time, German scientists will begin testing a vaccine against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, on humans.

Scientists Tracking Source of Bird Flu The coming spring will also likely bring the fear of widespread avian influenza across North China. Beginning next month, migratory birds will begin flocking to the north, possibly carrying with them the virus that has swept across Asia.

Stem Cell Bank Opens in Shanghai Shanghai's first stem cell bank opened recently, spurred by growing interest in the potential life saving benefits for children of donors.

Laptop Fuels Computer Sales in China Sales of computers in China jumped 17.4 percent year-on-year in 2003 thanks to the fast-growing laptop sector, a Beijing-based information technology consulting firm said Tuesday.

Microchips Make It onto Global Computer Menu Made-in-China microchips will be sold overseas for the first time after leading Chinese and US computer firms formed a new alliance.

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Reports Achievements in 2003 The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) made achievements in 2003 in six major areas, which includes researches into crucial issues, publishing of research findings, and major academic subject construction.

China Launches Campaign to Promote Science and Technology A long-term plan is underway to boost public awareness of science and technology in China to levels similar to moderately developed countries by 2049, or New China's 100 birthday.

Lie Detection Put to the Test People could be able to put their spouse or business partner through a lie detector test for the first time in China, if a new scheme is approved.

China's First Self-Built Nuclear Power Plant Set Safe Operation Record From May 10, 2001 to Feb. 4, 2004 a thousand days passed and China's first independently designed, built and operated nuclear power station - Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant operated safely with no unplanned shutdowns. It has set up a new safe operation record for prototype nuclear power plants.

Cloned Goat Becomes Great-Grandmother Yangyang, a female goat cloned from the somatic cells of an adult goat by Chinese scientists in 2000, has become the happy great-grandmother of a female kid. The kid was born at 3:50 a.m. Friday, slightly premature, at the sheep-breeding base of the northwest China Science and Technology University for Agriculture and Forestry in this capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

NASA: Spirit Rover "Healed" Back to Work NASA on Friday pronounced its Spirit rover cured of the computer ills that crippled the vehicle for two weeks and had threatened its mission to search for geologic evidence that Mars was once a wetter planet.

Vietnam Decodes Flu A Virus Genes Vietnam has succeeded in decoding H5 genes of flu virus type A, Vietnam News Agency reported on Thursday.

HK Receives Grants for Chinese Medicine Study Projects Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) announced Wednesday that the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) has awarded CUHK grants to carry out two Chinese medicine study projects.

Volunteers to Receive SARS Vaccine Test Chinese scientists will select 30 volunteers to receive clinical tests for developing a vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), said sources with China's SARS vaccine research team.

China Plans Its Own LAN China's information technology authority Tuesday reiterated its determination to promote a unique wireless technology standard nationwide in order to protect information security.

China to Start Astronaut Training for Shenzhou VI China's astronaut team is to start training in March for the nation's second manned space flight on Shenzhou VI, reported the Beijing Youth Daily on Monday.

Mydoom Already Infects Some 200,000 Computers in China Just as the Lunar New Year celebrations are coming to a close, many computer users in China are waking up to e-mail boxes full of trouble.

China Develops Its First DNA Computer The rudiments of China's first DNA computer have been developed at Shanghai Jiaotong University. The computer is an improvement on the proto type developed by Israeli scientists.

China Has Great Potential to Attract Giant Software Companies Computer maker IBM announced recently that it will recruit 15,000 new staff around the globe, among which 70 percent will be recruited in China, India and other emerging markets.

Scholar Launches Online Exhibition on Sex Culture All the exhibits including pictures of ancient Chinese sex toys and sculptures and paintings were collected by Ma Xiaonian, who organized a real life exhibition on Chinese sexual culture in Beijing two months ago and was ordered to close the show shortly after it started.

China Cultivates Space Technology Talents China says it is willing to cultivate more space technology and application talents for the Asia and Pacific region.

Orbital Module of Shenzhou V Keeps Flying Smoothly On the stroke of midnight to mark the start of the Chinese Lunar New Year, the orbital module of the Shenzhou V spacecraft which completed China's first manned space flight three months ago, accomplished the fifth readjustment procedure to maintain its orbit.

Official Stresses Technology Transfer in China-France Economic Relations A senior Chinese trade official said in Beijing Tuesday that China hopes the French government would encourage its businessmen to increase technological transfer to China.

3G Standard Development Speeding up This year will be an important one in which to step up the commercial and industrial development of TD-SCDMA (time division synchronous code division multiple access), the homegrown third generation (3G) mobile communication standard.

Fossil Find Filling in Primate Puzzle Four Chinese paleontologists recently announced in Nature magazine that they had discovered a skull and the jawbones of the oldest, well-preserved primate fossil unearthed in Asia.

US Doctor Claims to Clone Human Embryo A Kentucky fertility specialist said Saturday he had implanted a cloned human embryo in a 35-year-old woman--a claim met with skepticism by many scientists.

China to Attract More Foreign Research Centers The Chinese government is to take measures to attract more foreign companies to set up research centers here, Vice-Minister of Commerce Wei Jianguo said in Beijing Friday.

Links Between SARS, Human Genes Discovered Hong Kong researchers found that individuals with HLA-B*7303 gene type have much higher risk of getting Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) while those with HLA-DRB1*0131 gene type have much lower risk than the general population.

HK Sets up Steering Committee to Promote Innovation, Technology The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government Wednesday announced the establishment of a new Steering Committee on Innovation and Technology to further promote the development of innovation and technology in Hong Kong.

Chinese Firms Buy US$2.3 Billion IT Products from US Five Chinese companies signed 11 contracts Tuesday with US-based firms on purchasing electronics and communications equipment with a total value of US$2.32 billion.

Sino-US Energy-saving Building Completed An energy-saving building was completed in Beijing Monday morning, showing the latest partnership between China and the United States in science and technology.

Karst Discoveries Made by China-Italy Team Fengshan county of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region boasts the most fully developed large-sized karst halls and dripstone sediments in China, said Zhang Yuanhai, a senior engineer with the institute of karst geology at the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences.

China to Nurture 10 High-and-New-Tech Multinationals China will strive to cultivate about 10 large high-and-tech export-oriented enterprises or multinationals, disclosed Wei Jianguo, deputy Minister of Commerce at a national working conference on Invigorating Trade with Science and Technology held in Beijing on January 7.

Let's Make China a Big IT Power: Official A senior official has called for making China a major power in the IT industry, as it is a fundamental, guiding and pillar industry, and plays a decisive role in the country's reform, opening and modernization drive.

China Successfully Completes Tests of Equipments for Future Lunar Probe China's domestically developed satellite technology, which will be used in a future lunar probe has passed the first round of tests. When the test is finished, the set of equipment will be installed in a satellite, which will orbit the Moon to gather scientific data.

58 Engineers Elected to Chinese Academy of Engineering The names of 58 new academicians were announced at a news conference Monday at the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE). According to Shen Guofang, vice-president of CAE, the number of the CAE's academicians has now reached 663, of whom 36 are women. The average age of the new academicians is 69.6.

Official: No Specific Plan for Mars Mission Now China will intensify studies of Mars, but an exploration of the Red Planet is still years away, space officials and scientists said on Sunday in Beijing.

'Shenzhou V' Escape Capsule Successfully Destroyed Recently, an engineering academy of the General Staff of People's Liberation Army (PLA) successfully destroyed the escape capsule of Shenzhou V spacecraft with the technology of high-energy charge armor-breaking detonation.

China, Europe to Share Data from Geospace Satellites China and Europe will share the data collected by each other's satellites in their space exploration programs, a Chinese space expert Wednesday said of the Probe No. 1 satellite launched successfully Tuesday.

Chinese VXP Chips Holding World's Largest Market Share Over 10m pieces of the fifth-generation VXP series of digital multimedia chips have been sold in international market and dominated some 40 percent of the world's computer image input chip market.

Long March Rocket Sees 33rd Successful Launch in Seven Years China launched a high-altitude orbiting satellite into the preset orbit successfully Tuesday morning, using a Long March 2C/SM carrier rocket, according to witnesses at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China.

Research Satellite to Be Launched Next Week The National Space Administration of China said Saturday it will launch a satellite next Tuesday or Wednesday in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA).

Home-made Unmanned Plane Takes Maiden Flight A Chinese multi-function unmanned plane made its maiden flight Friday in the southwestern province of Guizhou.

SARS Specimen Bank Planned Guangdong was planning to set up a bank to store materials related to SARS, the provincial disease prevention and control center said.

State-owned Labs to Open to Foreigners All of Shanghai's State-owned laboratories and scientific platforms, except for those that concern sensitive technology and State secrets, will open to foreign businesses and institutions next year.

Illegal Online Games Rampant Lured by cheating software and fast progress, more players are moving away from legitimate online gaming, crippling a fast-growing industry.

University Science Parks Boost Progress Education and science authorities are backing scientific parks created by universities, said sources from the Ministry of Science and Technology.

British Nobel Prize Winner Visits Beijing Sir John Sulston, 2002 British Nobel Prize winner for Physiology and Medical Science, arrived in Beijing last week to launch the Chinese version of his book, The Common Thread: A Story of Science, Politics, Ethics and the Human Genome.

Zhu Mingdao: An Entrepreneur Distinguished for Academic Qualities The Sixth China Beijing International High-Tech Expo was held last September, Beijing's best season, when summer's heat has disappeared and winter's cold still seems distant. Although short, the expo impressed and pleased every participant with its comfortable atmosphere for exchange, cooperation, and pursuit of mutual benefits.

HK Scientists to Join Int' HapMap Project A group of three Hong Kong scientists will take part in the international HapMap project aiming to find genes that affect human health.

Trilateral Forum on High Technologies and Commerce Starts More than 300 investors, entrepreneurs and officials from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) convened in Beijing Wednesday to discuss technological and commercial cooperation in the information industry, pharmaceutical manufacturing, energy and the environment.

HK Researchers Find Key Genetic Link to Schizophrenia The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) said in Hong Kong Tuesday that its researchers have made a major breakthrough in revealing the cause of schizophrenia.

Institute for Nutritional Sciences Launched in Shanghai The Institute for Nutritional Sciences under the Shanghai Life Science Institute, a branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), was unveiled in this oriental metropolis Monday.

Internet Helps Improving Government Work in Yantai The city government of Yantai in Shandong Province, east China, has expanded its offices into the Internet, in a move to be getting closer with the general public and helping them solve their problems.

China Rises to World Fifth Place in Sci-tech Papers In 2002, the number of theses from China published in international journals and conferences exceeded 77,000. Both the number of papers cited and times of citation saw an increase of over 30 percent than the previous year.

Nation to Speed up IT Development China pledged to spare no efforts to work together with other nations to accelerate the progress of the development of an information society.

China Promotes Own Internet Domain Local operators have been encouraged to adopt "cn", China's national domain for domestic Websites, and so far the number of Chinese Websites using "cn" has exceeded 300,000, a spokesman for the Internet Bureau of the State Council Press Office said in Beijing Wednesday.

Science Popularization Calls for International Exchanges Nearly 20 popular science writers from China and Britain expressed their strong desire to understand each other at a forum on science popularization Tuesday.

Advanced China-made CPU Commercialized A senior science official responsible for China's high technology advancement said Monday that a kind of advanced central processor unit (CPU) has been created and entered into the market.

Nation Promotes Home-made Online Game Business China will boast more domestic-made online games in the near future as more efforts by the Chinese government and enterprises are being made to boost this market of great potential.

China's IT Output to Lead the World China's information technology industry output will triple in 2010 to become the world's largest, a senior official from the National Development and Reform Committee said Friday at a conference in Beijing.

Joint Research on Breast & Prostate Cancers Launched in HK A joint research initiative to study the efficacy of groundbreaking anti-tumor products for breast cancer and prostate cancer was launched in Hong Kong Thursday.

Scientists Breed New Rival for Pesticides Amid rising concern over the hazards of using pesticide in farming, Shanghai agricultural scientists have come up with an effective alternative: they have produced natural enemies of farm pests in massive numbers.

Experts Pushing Online Security Chinese experts are calling for the government to establish a cyber security force to combat Internet-based financial crimes, information warfare and terrorist activities.

China, France Expand Exchanges in Engineering Education Institutions of higher learning in China and France should step up their exchanges and cooperation in engineering education, said an official with the Chinese Ministry of Education (MOE) in Beijing Saturday.

Dutch Energy Giant to Supply Solar Energy in Remote Regions The solar branch of Dutch energy giant Shell Group announced in Beijing Friday that it has won a contract from the Chinese government to supply solar electricity to the remote areas in southwestern and northwestern China.

Hurdles Remain for SARS Vaccine: WHO The Beijing office of the World Health Organization (WHO) has welcomed China's achievements in developing a SARS vaccine, but cautioned many hurdles remain before a safe and effective vaccine could be produced.

Orbital Debris Threatens Future Space Journeys China's first successful manned space flight received front page coverage worldwide, but little was reported about the group of scientists who kept the launch site at Jiuquan in Northwest China informed of debris in the atmosphere to ensure the safety of the expedition.

Rules to Protect Genetic Resources China does not oppose foreign institutions carrying out human genetic resources research in the country, but they must strictly obey all relevant laws and regulations, an official said Monday in Beijing.

Center for Sustainable Development of Animal Husbandry Inaugurated A China-US research center for sustainable development of animal husbandry was inaugurated Sunday at the Gansu Agricultural University, based in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province in northwest China.

Internet Standardization to Be Promoted Chinese telecommunication operators and research institutes jointly launched an expertise team Thursday, with a view to creating better order in the telecommunications industry, and guarantee smooth operation of networks employing different technical standards.

Digital Cable TV Service to Be Boosted China will push the development of digital cable TV this year in a move to realize the digitization of China's radio and TV service.

Foreign-funded Companies Not Helping in R&D: Survey Foreign-funded enterprises in China are not active in technology research, and contribute little to introducing advanced technology to China, in contrast to the country's original expectations of foreign investment.

IBM Builds Online Expo System in China The China International Exhibition Center Group Corp, China's first exposition group, joined forces with transnational IT giant IBM Tuesday to launch its online information system in Beijing.

China, Israel Expect More Cooperation in Telecommunication Sectors The cooperation between telecommunication sectors of China and Israel enjoys huge potential and great prospects, said an official from the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Monday.

Experts Warn of "New Happy Time" Computer Virus Chinese experts have warned individuals and institutions of paying more attention to a computer virus called "New Happy Time".

China Trains Space-related Professionals from 17 Countries China offered training courses on space technology and remote sensing applications for 29 professionals from the Asia-Pacific region from Oct. 20 to Nov. 14.

China Draws on Global Wisdom in Sci-tech Planning Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Thursday that China is open to the advice of overseas experts in the process of drafting a medium and long-term plan for the advancing of science and technology.

Reagent for Testing SARS Virus in Trial Production A kind of reagent for testing the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus, which was independently developed by a Chinese gene company, has gone into trial production with the approval of the State Food and Drug Administration.

China, France Bid for SARS Vaccine Research teams from Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland and France are working together to try and validate a SARS vaccine.

Sino-German Laboratory Opens to Promote Study of Soils A Sino-German laboratory opened Saturday in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, to promote cooperative studies of soils.

Chinese Surgeons Replace Thigh for 99-year-old A Chinese hospital in east China's Anhui Province has succeeded in surgically replacing the thigh of a 99-year-old woman.

Macao's Fever for China's First Astronaut Propels Donations to Space Tech The swirl trip of China's first astronaut Yang Liwei in Macao, which ended Thursday afternoon, waged a heat of donations to the research and development of China's space technology.

Appraisal for Sci-tech Projects Gets National Standards China has issued an administrative regulation on standardizing appraisals for government-sponsored scientific and technological projects.

China--made Large CPU Chip Finishes Testing The MicroProcessor R&D Center of Peking University and Agilent Technologies, a leading semi-conductor testing resolution provider, jointly announced in Beijing on October 31 that the Beida Zhongzhi--863 CPU system chip, the biggest of its kind in China which has the nation's own intellectual property, has successfully passed testing at the Agilent 93000 testing system.

Lecture on China's Manned Space Mission Held in HK China's first astronaut Yang Liwei and other visiting experts of China's manned space mission gave a science lecture on China's manned space program in Hong Kong Monday.

China to Launch Moon Probing Satellite in 3 to 5 Years China is to launch its first moon probing satellite in the next three to five years, said Zhang Qingwei, deputy head of the visiting delegation of China's first manned space mission, in an interview with Xinhua on Saturday.

Cloned Animals Appear Safe As Food: US FDA The US Food and Drug Administration has tentatively concluded that milk and meat from cloned animals are safe to consume, a finding that could eventually clear the way for such products to reach supermarket shelves, The New York Times reported Friday.

Sino-Japanese Anti-SARS Project to Be Set in Guangzhou China and Japan are hopefully to set up a joint anti-SARS demonstration area in Guangzhou. The purpose of the project is to introduce advanced hospital infection-control technologies, as well as the methods and management system practiced in Japan, according to the China-Japan Cooperative SARS Prevention Seminar held recently in Guangzhou.

Ethics Needed in Medical Research The general public wouldn't have paid much attention to the revised Ministry of Public Health regulations on assisted reproductive research and human sperm banks, were it not for the media hype on the controversial experiments in South China's Guangzhou involving the technique of human egg nucleus transfer.

DNA to Be Added to Chinese Passport Sources from the first China Strategic Symposium for Tech Development Bio-metrics Password released that bio-metrics, including iris, fingerprint, and DNA, will be added on ID cards and passports for identity confirmation.

Nation to Issue EVD Standard The Ministry of Information Industry (MII) will issue the industrial standard for the home-developed EVD (enhanced versatile disc), a next-generation disc format that will hopefully replace the currently popular DVD (digital versatile disc), in November.

Scientists Promote Biometrics Technologies Scientists from China's top research body, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), suggested Saturday that governmental regulators set uniform technical standards for biometrics products, new hi-tech favorites of places in need of high security, such as airports.

China Urged to Widen SARS Monitoring Program The World Health Organization is urging China to expand an intensive monitoring program for health workers and areas hit hard this year by SARS to ensure that any new outbreak is caught early, a WHO official said on Friday in Beijing.

Nuke Generators Wait for Foreign Bidding The government is working to invite foreign companies to bid for designing and building its four new nuclear power generators that involve contracts worth billions of US dollars.

Laboratories Under WHO Microscope A WHO team of about 10 experts will start investigation and research work on severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) prevention and control in Beijing this week, Henk Bekedam, representative of WHO's Beijing Office, told China Daily in an exclusive interview.

Saltwater Lake Myth Clarified Lop Nur, once the largest saltwater lake in China, did not possess as much salt as it does today about 1,800,000 to 2,500,000 years ago, scientists concluded from a core sample drilled from deep in the lake site.

Third World Science Academy Meeting Issues Beijing Declaration The 14th general meeting of the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) ended in Beijing Sunday by releasing a declaration promoting global scientific advancement, openness and cooperation.

Chinese Scientist Predicts no SARS Outbreak in Coming Winter A leading Chinese scientist on Friday predicted there would be no outbreak of SARS in the coming winter, but warned of the possibility of sporadic cases and urged the public not to ease up on preventive measures.

President Calls for More International Cooperation in Science & Technology Chinese President Hu Jintao on Thursday called for more international cooperation in science and technology to promote the development of developing countries.

Eyes on the Skies China's billion-dollar manned spaceflight program, 11 years after its initiation, paid off Thursday when the country's first astronaut Yang Liwei safely touched down on the northern grasslands, bringing his 21-hour-23-minute space voyage to a perfect end.

China Sets up Three-step Space Program: Officer Now that China's first manned space turned out to be a brilliant success, China will proceed to set up a space lab and then a space station, a senior officer told Xinhua Thursday.

President Hu Hails Successful Launch of Shenzhou V President Hu Jintao hailed China's success in putting its first manned spacecraft into orbit Wednesday, calling it "the glory of our great motherland and a mark of the initial victory of the country's first manned space flight.