Technology News丨Omicron strain may contain cold virus gene fragments; South Korea's artificial sun is 8 times hotter than the real sun

【Today’s cover】

Zhegu Lake is located in Cuomei County, Shannan City, Tibet. The lake area is about 70 square kilometers and the average water depth is about 20 meters. The water source of Zhegu Lake nourishes the grassland. Many wild animals and livestock such as yaks enjoy natural pastures here and coexist harmoniously with the natural environment. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Shen Hongbing, source: Xinhuanet

News Station

Image source: @Xinhua News Agency

●On December 5, the "Exploration One" research vessel successfully completed the second leg of its 21st research voyage. So far, the full-sea-depth manned submersible "Struggler" has carried a total of 27 Chinese researchers on 21 10,000-meter dives. (Source: Xinhua News Agency)

Video screenshots

●According to South Korean media reports, a South Korean research team recently successfully maintained the operation of an "artificial sun" at 100 million degrees Celsius for 30 seconds, breaking the previous record of 20 seconds. In this vacuum container, a nuclear fusion reaction similar to that of the sun is taking place, and the temperature generated is 8 times that of the sun. (Source: CCTV.com)

Pure Technology

During the day, the exoplanet GJ 367b (artist's illustration) is so hot that the iron it contains is almost hot enough to begin to melt. Image credit: SPP 1992 Patricia Klein

●Astronomers have discovered the smallest, metal-dominated planet yet - an iron-rich world 31 light-years from Earth that orbits its star every eight hours. The planet, called GJ 367b, is three-quarters the size of Earth but much denser. It is more like Mercury, composed mostly of iron, and the blazing radiation from its star makes it very hot. GJ 367b has a daytime temperature of 1,500 degrees Celsius, almost hot enough that iron begins to melt. The discovery was published in Science on December 2. (Source: China Science Daily)

●Interim results of a multicenter clinical trial showed that transplanted cells can secrete insulin in patients with type 1 diabetes. These implanted cells are composed of pancreatic endoderm cells derived from human pluripotent stem cells, and researchers conducted safety, tolerability and efficacy tests in 26 patients. Although the insulin secreted by the implanted cells has no clinical effect on patients, this is the first time that scientists have reported that differentiated stem cells from patients can regulate insulin secretion through diet. The relevant papers were published in Cell Stem Cell and Cell Reports Medicine on December 3. (Source: China Science Daily)

Photo courtesy of China Agricultural University

●Recently, a domestic and foreign haploid breeding technology research team led by China Agricultural University published a research result entitled "In vivo maternal haploid induction in tomato" in the well-known plant journal "Plant Biotechnology Journal". For the first time, a tomato haploid induction system was established, laying the foundation for the creation of a cross-species haploid rapid breeding technology system for monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous crops. (Source: Science and Technology Daily)

New findings

Comparison of spike protein mutations between the Delta strain and the Omicron strain. Image source: Rome Children's Hospital

●U.S. researchers found that the mutated novel coronavirus Omicron strain has at least one mutation caused by a special gene fragment, and this gene fragment exists in many other viruses, including a virus that causes the common cold. This research report was published on December 2 on the website of a non-profit organization in the United States that shares scientific research information, and has not been peer-reviewed. (Source: CCTV News Client)

Grand View Garden

The "three stars in one line" was photographed by Tianjin astronomical photography enthusiast Yang Jing at the Tianjin Cultural Center on December 2, 2021. Image source: Xinhua News Agency

● According to astronomical science experts, after the nightfall of December 7, 8 and 9, a crescent moon will "visit" Venus, Saturn and Jupiter in close proximity. As long as the weather is fine, people from all over my country will be able to watch this interesting astronomical phenomenon with their naked eyes. (Source: Xinhua News Agency)

Image source: @Xinhua News Agency

● New discoveries in archaeological research on the Haihunhou Kingdom: Plant remains extracted from the granary of the tomb of Haihunhou Liu He were confirmed by researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China to be rice, millet, hemp, melon and plum. Experts speculated that rice, millet and hemp were important "members" of the "five grains" in the south during the Han Dynasty. (Source: Xinhua News Agency)

Editor: Zhang Qiqi

Reviewer: Wang Xiaolong

Final judge: He Yi

Source: Science and Technology Daily