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Focuses on the use of fetal-cell injections for patients with spinal cord injuries and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Beijing, China. Historical background of the unconventional treatment for neurological disease; Assessment of the effectiveness of the technique of injecting fetal cells into patients; Claims of Hongyun Huang who developed the treatment concerning the efficacy of the technique in improving the quality of life for people with spinal injuries.

The article reports on the requirements of Chinese universities for the doctors of philosophy degree (PhD) candidates to publish papers in high-impact journals before acquiring their degree.

The article outlines the research of Jake Bailey in disproving the pre-historic microfossils discovered in 1998 in South China as fossils of Algae. Two researchers influenced his work. Samantha Joye presented evidence of reductive cell division in giant sulfur bacteria from the Gulf of Mexico. Heide Schulz researched in biochemical activities in giant sulfur bacteria in the formation of phosphorite. In his paper, Jake Bailey declares the microfossils as fossilized giant sulfur bacteria.

The article discusses the use of isotopes in quartz to reveal the age of China's Peking Man. The Peking Man fossils which belong to Homo erectus were found during archaeological excavations in the 1920s and 30s. The cave in which they were found collapsed leaving the question of their age unanswered. Topics include the collaboration of Darryl Granger and Guanjun Shen and colleagues to produce a suitable method in which the age of the fossils could reliably be determined using isotopic analysis.

The article discusses about the Chinese government investing in universities and research institutes. Topics include the increase in researchers and research articles in China, and fundamental reforms needed to improve the quality of research. Recruiting world class professionals and mentoring junior staff, assessing the salary and promotion of the faculty every three years, and merged tenure system are also mentioned. The steps taken at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) are also given.

The author discusses the rise of regional research collaboration which is changing the balance of science worldwide. The author states that collaboration is a good practice, in which knowledge is better transferred and co-authored writings are cited more frequently. The author also mentions co-authorship as a valid alternative for collaboration that reflects tangible engagement between countries such as Germany and Great Britain as well as China and the U.S.

Discusses the lack of high-quality research papers published by scientists from China. Factors attributed to the trend; Comparison in the number of high-impact papers published by scientists from China and the United States; Solutions to the low number of productive biologists.

In this article the author discusses aspects on judging chemistry and other scientific fields research on the reader impact factors in China. He revealed that some Chinese administrators turn to journal and research impact factors to determine the funds allocated for research and on chemist salaries, in which he argues that it should not be the case because impact factor is only a measure in a given amount of time. He says that chemistry should not be turned into a field of fame and game.

The article focuses on the problem of research misconduct such as plagiarism in science paper in China. It mentions Yang Wei, president of Zhejiang University (ZJU), to improve research ethics in the university as well as in the country after his work was plagiarized by He Haibo. Wei argues that his effort is to make researchers much aware that they are doing something that is wrong.

In this article, the author discusses the need for China to improve the quality of its research publication. According to a 2011 report of the Londons's Royal Society, China produced the second highest quantity of scientific papers but is ranked ninth in the citation aspect. He presents several areas that must be addressed by China to improve its research's quality including the importance of wide data sharing, better data access, and international collaboration improvements.

The article presents Hefei, China's contribution to the Nature Index based on weighted fractional count of scientific articles published in 2013, with the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) as the city's largest contributing institution. USTC's contributed papers include topics on chemistry such as the development of graphene-like materials and carbon aerogels, and on physics like quantum optics. The Hefei University of Technology focused on engineering topics like nanowires.

Statistical graphs are presented showing China as the second leading country for high-quality scientific research output, including the weighted fractional count for the contribution of authors from collaborating countries, and from collaboration between China's institutions in ten leading cities.

The article profiles Chinese neuroscientist Mu-ming Poo and the Institute of Neurosciences (ION) of Shanghai, China. It says that Poo had made numerous research accomplishments in the field of neuroscience in the U.S. and is bringing the Western approach to ION to make Chinese postdoctoral students remain in the country for their training. Moreover, the research institute is planning to expand through 2020, which indicates an impending boom in China's neuroscience setting.

China must do more to protect the integrity of its policies that encourage greater participation by Chinese researchers overseas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented on the potential fall of the U.S. from being the leading scientific nation in the 19th century. It recounts the rise and fall of former science powers and notes the influence of economic progress on a country's transformation towards scientific growth. It further cites the factors needed to achieve excellence in science as well as highlights the implications of China's emergence as a science power.

Focuses on a paper that genetically analyzes China. Writing by J. Y. Chu and 13 Chinese co-authors; Appearance of paper in 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences'; History of China's genetic distribution; Differences in physical appearance between northerners and southerners; Methods of testing used; Models used and their adequacy; Conclusions to be drawn from analysis; Usefulness of surnames as genetic markers; Advance in biological and cultural understanding that Chu has caused.

A letter to the editor is presented in which the author agrees with Jie Zhang, President of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China, who said that change is needed to improve the Chinese research papers quality.

The article presents a profile of the proceedings of the 2014 International Symposium on Research Assessment and Evaluation, held in Shanghai, China held in October 2014, focusing on the primary theme of boosting the quality of scientific research being conducted in China. Featured presenters mentioned include Yang Jianrong, Kurt Würthrich, and David Sweeney.

The article presents a profile of the activities and administration of the Chinese Academy of Sciences as of 2015, highlighting its reappraisal of research evaluation methods. Topics addressed include an overview of the size and scope of the Academy's research and organizational reach, its transition away from relying on quantitative metrics and ranking for research evaluation, and how it is seeking to promote more cooperation and communication between fellow members of its institutes.

An introduction is presented in which the editors present a supplement on China's Nature Index, a snapshot of results for Chinese research papers published for year 2013 that features the cities, institutions, and individuals who contributed high-quality research comprising scientific disciplines.

The article presents Shenzhen, China's contribution to the Nature Index based on weighted fractional count of scientific articles published in 2013, with the BGI Shenzhen, formerly the Beijing Genomics Institute as the city's largest contributing institution. BGI's contributed papers include topics on the genomes of bats, domestic goats and green turtles, while Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology's output is on chemistry, such as articles on quantum dots and amplification binding assays.

The article reports on the controversial issues faced by the tiger breeding facility, Hengdaohezi Feline Breeding Centre, in Harbin, China. With about 800 Siberian tigers in its collection, the facility is facing media attention due to violent videos taken from its tourism programs. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) meeting, held in Hague, Netherlands on June 2007, likewise criticizes China's tiger-breeding program and threatens to reintroduce its 600 tigers into the wild. Meanwhile, scientists are also considering the genetic diversity of Siberian tigers through artificial insemination to avoid their extinction.

A letter to the editor is presented on topics related to finding nature, degree and location of soil pollution and contamination in China and its future bioremediation prospects.

A letter to the editor is presented regarding the impact of the increased of scientific papers published in China which are being inflated by a payment scheme offered by some Chinese institutions to boost journal publications.

The article discusses aspects of China's scientific research. The author is critical on the performance of China in making high-quality scientific papers due to lack of collaboration among Chinese, unorganized division of work and efforts. Moreover, he relates the incapability of Confucius and Zhuang Zhou's writings to the improvement of Chinese scientific research due to its negative influences in the society.

The article reports on the discovery by paleontologists of fossils that bridge the gap between the types of bony fishes, the sarcopterygian or lobe-finned fishes and the actinopterygian of ray-finned fishes. The fish Meemannia eos was discovered in east Yunnan, southwestern China. The formation of the enamel structure and the progress to include pore channels are discussed.

Reports on the prevalence of plagiarism in misconduct findings. Percentage of cases involved with plagiarism; Ratio of misconduct cases in the past six years accounted by the National Natural Science Foundation of China; Obligations of editors on concerns raised about improper attribution.

The article reports on an increase in investment in scientific research work in China as the country aims to become global research leader. Topics discussed include plan of the country to reduce its dependence on imported technology, increment of investment in academic research and invention patents, structural reformation in science policy to improve research output and investment to develop clean energy as a solution to increased emission from fuels.

The article offers information on the termination on the China-based researcher from London-based drug firm GlaxoSmithKline. It states that Jingwu Zang, head of a neurodegenerative-disease research unit in Shanghai, China, for GlaxoSmithKline has received a letter of official termination of employment on June 9, 2013. It informs that result obtained from investigation showed that certain data in the paper were in fact misrepresented.

The article reports on the demonstrations of environmental protesters in Qidong, Jiangsu province in China pushing officials to scrap plans for a pipeline which carries toxic waste from a paper-manufacturing plant. Shifang, Sichuan province residents also protested the construction of a copper-molybdenum processing plant which could release toxic fumes into the air. Li Bo, Friends of Nature's director, says that the Chinese has regulatory avenues to express concern on environmental damage.

The article offers world news briefs. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will review the petition on the reclassification of the chimpanzee captivity from threatened to endangered in the U.S. An outbreak of the wild poliovirus is detected in China for the first time. The first commercial nuclear plant of Iran had begun to produce electricity on September 4, 2011 in which the workers connect the pressurized water reactor of 1,000-megawatt, according to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.

Information on the second workshop concerning the Third Pole Environment (TPE) international program led by the Academy of Sciences' Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research (ITP) is presented. The workshop aims to help scientists plan an international research campaign to adress the worsening global warming at the Tibetan plateau in China, as well as understand and mitigate changes at the third pole. Moreover, TPE science committee plans to draft research papers on the effect of climate change.

The article reports that results from Google Inc.'s main search engine are censored by the government of China. With reference to the decision of Chinese government, ecologist Xiong Zhenqin comments on the increasing dependency of scientific discoveries, academic papers, and details of conferences upon the Google's search engine and highlights its affected results. Google's senior vice president David Drummond speculated that the company might withdraw China altogether and commented on cyber attacks on Google Mail which were believed to come from within China. As stated Drummond would like to discuss the entire issue with the Chinese government according to which the company could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law.

The article reflects on the implications of the death sentence handed out to Zheng Xiaoyu, former head of China's State Food and Drug Administration on the country's effort to build a fair drug regulation regime. He relates that Zheng's death sentence do not prove anything on the country's sincerity in building an effective regulatory process. Rather, he stresses that it only confirms the worst fears of the pharmaceutical industry that fair business is less likely to happen in China

The article reports on the lack of open discussion and independent press scrutiny of research misconduct in China despite the structures of research agencies to handle investigations of misconduct allegations. The Internet has the power of identifying scientific fraud as demonstrated by the case of South Korean cloning researcher Woo Suk Hwang. There is also a lack of effective provisions to protect whistleblowers.

Explains the lack of development in modern scientific research in China. History of modern scientific research in the country; Quality of science education; Factors that influence the style of scientific research; Cultural obstacles to Chinese research institutions.

The article focuses on international cooperative research between China and other countries and the role that China's diaspora is playing in making it a growing center of international collaboration. It states China's largest collaborator is the U.S., with Germany as its next strongest collaborative partner. It mentions the increase in collaboration for research chemistry and the physical sciences. It presents charts of China's global research network and links between China and other nations.

The hominin record from southern Asia for the early Late Pleistocene epoch is scarce. Well-dated and well-preserved fossils older than ∼45,000 years that can be unequivocally attributed to Homo sapiens are lacking. Here we present evidence from the newly excavated Fuyan Cave in Daoxian (southern China). This site has provided 47 human teeth dated to more than 80,000 years old, and with an inferred maximum age of 120,000 years. The morphological and metric assessment of this sample supports its unequivocal assignment to H. sapiens. The Daoxian sample is more derived than any other anatomically modern humans, resembling middle-to-late Late Pleistocene specimens and even contemporary humans. Our study shows that fully modern morphologies were present in southern China 30,000-70,000 years earlier than in the Levant and Europe. Our data fill a chronological and geographical gap that is relevant for understanding when H. sapiens first appeared in southern Asia. The Daoxian teeth also support the hypothesis that during the same period, southern China was inhabited by more derived populations than central and northern China. This evidence is important for the study of dispersal routes of modern humans. Finally, our results are relevant to exploring the reasons for the relatively late entry of H. sapiens into Europe. Some studies have investigated how the competition with H. sapiens may have caused Neanderthals' extinction (see ref. 8 and references therein). Notably, although fully modern humans were already present in southern China at least as early as ∼80,000 years ago, there is no evidence that they entered Europe before ∼45,000 years ago. This could indicate that H. neanderthalensis was indeed an additional ecological barrier for modern humans, who could only enter Europe when the demise of Neanderthals had already started. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's opinions on Chinese policy regarding science research and finance, focusing on the opportunities of younger scholars. Assertions are made advocating for younger researchers to be given adequate funding and resources to develop Chinese learning and scholarship. Topics addressed include scholar retention, general trends in science investment, and the difficulties facing newly graduated Chinese doctoral students.

The author argues that the unavailability of public data held by Chinese government agencies is a problem facing researchers in China. Topics include transparency in relation to air-pollution data, problems with access to academic research and internet search engines, and the lack of data in economics, public health, and environmental issues in China.

The article presents a letter to the editor in which the author agrees with the views of Jie Zhang, President of Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China, who states that universities in China require quality faculty in order to compete internationally.

Nearly three-quarters of the growth in global carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels and cement production between 2010 and 2012 occurred in China. Yet estimates of Chinese emissions remain subject to large uncertainty; inventories of China's total fossil fuel carbon emissions in 2008 differ by 0.3 gigatonnes of carbon, or 15 per cent. The primary sources of this uncertainty are conflicting estimates of energy consumption and emission factors, the latter being uncertain because of very few actual measurements representative of the mix of Chinese fuels. Here we re-evaluate China's carbon emissions using updated and harmonized energy consumption and clinker production data and two new and comprehensive sets of measured emission factors for Chinese coal. We find that total energy consumption in China was 10 per cent higher in 2000-2012 than the value reported by China's national statistics, that emission factors for Chinese coal are on average 40 per cent lower than the default values recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and that emissions from China's cement production are 45 per cent less than recent estimates. Altogether, our revised estimate of China's CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production is 2.49 gigatonnes of carbon (2 standard deviations = ±7.3 per cent) in 2013, which is 14 per cent lower than the emissions reported by other prominent inventories. Over the full period 2000 to 2013, our revised estimates are 2.9 gigatonnes of carbon less than previous estimates of China's cumulative carbon emissions. Our findings suggest that overestimation of China's emissions in 2000-2013 may be larger than China's estimated total forest sink in 1990-2007 (2.66 gigatonnes of carbon) or China's land carbon sink in 2000-2009 (2.6 gigatonnes of carbon). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the spatiotemporal patterns of emergence and circulation of new human seasonal influenza virus variants is a key scientific and public health challenge. The global circulation patterns of influenza A/H3N2 viruses are well characterized, but the patterns of A/H1N1 and B viruses have remained largely unexplored. Here we show that the global circulation patterns of A/H1N1 (up to 2009), B/Victoria, and B/Yamagata viruses differ substantially from those of A/H3N2 viruses, on the basis of analyses of 9,604 haemagglutinin sequences of human seasonal influenza viruses from 2000 to 2012. Whereas genetic variants of A/H3N2 viruses did not persist locally between epidemics and were reseeded from East and Southeast Asia, genetic variants of A/H1N1 and B viruses persisted across several seasons and exhibited complex global dynamics with East and Southeast Asia playing a limited role in disseminating new variants. The less frequent global movement of influenza A/H1N1 and B viruses coincided with slower rates of antigenic evolution, lower ages of infection, and smaller, less frequent epidemics compared to A/H3N2 viruses. Detailed epidemic models support differences in age of infection, combined with the less frequent travel of children, as probable drivers of the differences in the patterns of global circulation, suggesting a complex interaction between virus evolution, epidemiology, and human behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2013 the occurrence of human infections by a novel avian H7N9 influenza virus in China has demonstrated the continuing threat posed by zoonotic pathogens. Although the first outbreak wave that was centred on eastern China was seemingly averted, human infections recurred in October 2013 (refs 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). It is unclear how the H7N9 virus re-emerged and how it will develop further; potentially it may become a long-term threat to public health. Here we show that H7N9 viruses have spread from eastern to southern China and become persistent in chickens, which has led to the establishment of multiple regionally distinct lineages with different reassortant genotypes. Repeated introductions of viruses from Zhejiang to other provinces and the presence of H7N9 viruses at live poultry markets have fuelled the recurrence of human infections. This rapid expansion of the geographical distribution and genetic diversity of the H7N9 viruses poses a direct challenge to current disease control systems. Our results also suggest that H7N9 viruses have become enzootic in China and may spread beyond the region, following the pattern previously observed with H5N1 and H9N2 influenza viruses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture faces great challenges to ensure global food security by increasing yields while reducing environmental costs. Here we address this challenge by conducting a total of 153 site-year field experiments covering the main agro-ecological areas for rice, wheat and maize production in China. A set of integrated soil-crop system management practices based on a modern understanding of crop ecophysiology and soil biogeochemistry increases average yields for rice, wheat and maize from 7.2 million grams per hectare (Mg ha−1), 7.2 Mg ha−1 and 10.5 Mg ha−1 to 8.5 Mg ha−1, 8.9 Mg ha−1 and 14.2 Mg ha−1, respectively, without any increase in nitrogen fertilizer. Model simulation and life-cycle assessment show that reactive nitrogen losses and greenhouse gas emissions are reduced substantially by integrated soil-crop system management. If farmers in China could achieve average grain yields equivalent to 80% of this treatment by 2030, over the same planting area as in 2012, total production of rice, wheat and maize in China would be more than enough to meet the demand for direct human consumption and a substantially increased demand for animal feed, while decreasing the environmental costs of intensive agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid industrialization and urbanization in developing countries has led to an increase in air pollution, along a similar trajectory to that previously experienced by the developed nations. In China, particulate pollution is a serious environmental problem that is influencing air quality, regional and global climates, and human health. In response to the extremely severe and persistent haze pollution experienced by about 800 million people during the first quarter of 2013 (refs 4, 5), the Chinese State Council announced its aim to reduce concentrations of PM2.5 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 micrometres) by up to 25 per cent relative to 2012 levels by 2017 (ref. 6). Such efforts however require elucidation of the factors governing the abundance and composition of PM2.5, which remain poorly constrained in China. Here we combine a comprehensive set of novel and state-of-the-art offline analytical approaches and statistical techniques to investigate the chemical nature and sources of particulate matter at urban locations in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xi'an during January 2013. We find that the severe haze pollution event was driven to a large extent by secondary aerosol formation, which contributed 30-77 per cent and 44-71 per cent (average for all four cities) of PM2.5 and of organic aerosol, respectively. On average, the contribution of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) and secondary inorganic aerosol (SIA) are found to be of similar importance (SOA/SIA ratios range from 0.6 to 1.4). Our results suggest that, in addition to mitigating primary particulate emissions, reducing the emissions of secondary aerosol precursors from, for example, fossil fuel combustion and biomass burning is likely to be important for controlling China's PM2.5 levels and for reducing the environmental, economic and health impacts resulting from particulate pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented on the development of water recycling plan in China.

A letter to the editor related to the need of improving China's long-term interest in poorer universities by shifting the educational focus in order to enhance employment and help job seekers, is presented.

An interhemispheric hydrologic seesaw-in which latitudinal migrations of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) produce simultaneous wetting (increased precipitation) in one hemisphere and drying in the other-has been discovered in some tropical and subtropical regions. For instance, Chinese and Brazilian subtropical speleothem (cave formations such as stalactites and stalagmites) records show opposite trends in time series of oxygen isotopes (a proxy for precipitation variability) at millennial to orbital timescales, suggesting that hydrologic cycles were antiphased in the northerly versus southerly subtropics. This tropical to subtropical hydrologic phenomenon is likely to be an initial and important climatic response to orbital forcing. The impacts of such an interhemispheric hydrologic seesaw on higher-latitude regions and the global climate system, however, are unknown. Here we show that the antiphasing seen in the tropical records is also present in both hemispheres of the mid-latitude western Pacific Ocean. Our results are based on a new 550,000-year record of the growth frequency of speleothems from the Korean peninsula, which we compare to Southern Hemisphere equivalents. The Korean data are discontinuous and derived from 24 separate speleothems, but still allow the identification of periods of peak speleothem growth and, thus, precipitation. The clear hemispheric antiphasing indicates that the sphere of influence of the interhemispheric hydrologic seesaw over the past 550,000 years extended at least to the mid-latitudes, such as northeast Asia, and that orbital-timescale ITCZ shifts can have serious effects on temperate climate systems. Furthermore, our result implies that insolation-driven ITCZ dynamics may provoke water vapour and vegetation feedbacks in northern mid-latitude regions and could have regulated global climate conditions throughout the late Quaternary ice age cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gnathostome (jawed vertebrate) crown group comprises two extant clades with contrasting character complements. Notably, Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish) lack the large dermal bones that characterize Osteichthyes (bony fish and tetrapods). The polarities of these differences, and the morphology of the last common ancestor of crown gnathostomes, are the subject of continuing debate. Here we describe a three-dimensionally preserved 419-million-year-old placoderm fish from the Silurian of China that represents the first stem gnathostome with dermal marginal jaw bones (premaxilla, maxilla and dentary), features previously restricted to Osteichthyes. A phylogenetic analysis places the new form near the top of the gnathostome stem group but does not fully resolve its relationships to other placoderms. The analysis also assigns all acanthodians to the chondrichthyan stem group. These results suggest that the last common ancestor of Chondrichthyes and Osteichthyes had a macromeric dermal skeleton, and provide a new framework for studying crown gnathostome divergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]