Technology News丨World's first 35 kV kilometer-level superconducting cable put into operation in Shanghai

【Today’s cover】

Recently, as the temperature dropped sharply, the Hukou Waterfall on the Yellow River presented a different spectacle: the splashing waves solidified into huge ice waterfalls on the cliffs on both sides, dotted with exquisite and translucent icicles; the stirred up water mist, under the reflection of the sun, stretched across the rainbow, like a scroll painting. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Tao Ming

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●On the 22nd, the world's first 35 kV kilometer-level superconducting cable demonstration project was officially put into operation in Shanghai. This is a major core technology breakthrough in the construction of new domestic power systems, marking that my country's superconducting power transmission applications have entered the world's leading ranks. (Source: Science and Technology Daily)

●On the 22nd, the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Science and Technology Department of Qinghai Province, and the People's Government of Haixi Prefecture of Qinghai Province signed a cooperation agreement in Beijing to jointly build the "Qinghai Lenghu Astronomical Base". The parties will jointly build a world-class astronomical observation base in the Lenghu area of ​​Qinghai. It is reported that the site of the astronomical observatory was selected after three years of monitoring, and its optical observation conditions can be comparable to those of world-class large observatories. (Source: Science and Technology Daily)

Data map. Image source: CCTV News Client

●On the 22nd, according to the Tianjin Epidemic Prevention and Control Command, the Tianjin Center for Disease Control and Prevention conducted high-throughput sequencing and sequence analysis of the whole genome of the 148th confirmed case of COVID-19 in Tianjin and the environmental samples of the patient's home. The sequencing analysis results showed that the virus belongs to the Delta variant, which is the same branch as the Delta variant currently prevalent in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, indicating that this case is from the same transmission chain as the epidemic in Shaoxing, Zhejiang. (Source: Science and Technology Daily)

Pure Technology

●A genetic research paper recently published in Nature Communications believes that European wine grapes originated from the hybrid offspring of domesticated table grapes from West Asia and their local wild relatives. This research result provides some new insights into the history and genetic ancestry of European wine grapes. (Source: China News Network)

Image credit: LINDSAY_IMAGERY/ISTOCK

●Recently, a new study led by Stockholm University in Sweden found that the spray of ocean waves can throw "perfluorinated and polyfluoroalkyl substances" (PFAS) into the atmosphere. A chemical engineer from the Canadian Environment and Climate Change Research Institute who was not involved in the study believes that the study helps explain how PFAS enters glaciers and ice sheets. The relevant research results were published in Environmental Science and Technology. (Source: ScienceNet)

New findings

Photo of the archaeological excavation site at the Prince's Mausoleum. Image source: Guangming Daily

●Recently, experts have confirmed that the "stone tools with polished traces" unearthed in the west of Zhangyantai Village, Sungezhuang Manchu Township, Jizhou District, Tianjin, are Neolithic tools with polished traces from the Paleolithic Age. This type of tool is rare nationwide and provides a very important sample for studying the transition from the Neolithic Age to the Paleolithic Age, the history of early Chinese humans processing and using polished stone tools, and the origin of polishing technology. (Source: Guangming Daily)

See the world

Webpage screenshot

●NASA announced on the 21st local time that due to the bad weather at the Guiana Space Center launch site in Kourou, French Guiana, the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope will be postponed from December 24 to December 25. (Source: CCTV News Client)

●According to the Associated Press, data released by the U.S. Census Bureau on the 21st local time showed that from July 2020 to July 2021, the U.S. population increased by 392,665, a growth rate of only 0.1%, setting a record low since the founding of the country. At the same time, this is the first time since 1937 that the annual population growth in the United States has been less than 1 million. (Source: CCTV News Client)

Source: Science and Technology Daily

Editor: Zhang Qiqi

Review: Yue Liang

Final review: Liu Haiying