BEIJING, June 29 (Xinhua) -- The following are the highlights of China's science news from the past week:
CHANG'E-4 PROBE
The lander and the rover of the Chang'e-4 probe have resumed work for the seventh lunar day on the far side of the moon after "sleeping" during the extreme cold night.
The lander woke up at 9:45 a.m. Thursday, and the rover, Yutu-2 (Jade Rabbit-2), awoke at 1:26 p.m. Wednesday. Both are in normal working condition, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration.
BIRTHPLACES OF NEW SUNS
Chinese astronomers plan to use the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), by far the largest telescope ever built, to search for birthplaces of new suns so they can better understand how stars and life substances are formed.
Astronomers at the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences recently caught the birth of a dark molecular cloud for the first time by using three telescopes of the United States and Europe.
HEAVY METAL IN RICE
Chinese researchers have discovered a gene which plays an important role in cadmium accumulation in rice, providing a reference for the cultivation of low-cadmium rice varieties.
By using the genome-wide association study technology and gene annotation system, researchers from the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences and China Agricultural University successfully identified a rice grain cadmium accumulation related gene called OsCd1.
DIESEL FUEL REMOVAL
Chinese scientists have developed a hydrophobic nanosponge that can efficiently remove diesel fuel from contaminated water and soil.
Researchers fabricated an environmentally-friendly adsorbent for diesel fuel. The modified hydrophobic nanosponge could effectively control diesel fuel migration and then remove it from water and soil.
ATMOSPHERIC MERCURY ACCUMULATION
Dark-colored biological dust called cryoconite found on the surface of glaciers during the intensive melting season creates a large accumulation of atmospheric mercury deposition on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
The glacier surface biological dust is a granular aggregate, comprised of both mineral and biological materials, and is known to accumulate atmospheric mercury contaminants.
PRIMATES THREATENED BY CLIMATE CHANGE
Primate populations may be increasingly threatened by extreme climatic events including cyclones and droughts, according to an international study.
Results showed that 16 percent of the primates are vulnerable to cyclones, particularly those in Madagascar. About 22 percent of the primates are vulnerable to droughts, and they are mainly distributed in the Malaysia Peninsula, North Borneo, Sumatra and tropical moist forests of West Africa. Enditem
