https://forum4chinese.wordpress.com/2018/01/26/305-chinas-new-innovations
China’s genetically engineered rice gets FDA approval
(People’s Daily Online) 17:03, January 22, 2018
Huahui No.1, a new type of genetically engineered rice developed by Chinese scholars, has received approval from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and is expected to enter the American food market soon.
In an open letter released by the FDA on its official website, Huahui No.1 is described as a product that complies with the legal and regulatory requirements that fall within FDA’s jurisdiction. The letter also noted that human and animal foods from Huahui No.1 rice grain are not materially different in composition, safety, and other relevant parameters from rice-derived human and animal food currently on the market.
Developed by China’s Huazhong Agricultural University (HAU), Huahui No.1 contains a copy of the synthetic DNA sequence with two genes: cry1Ab and cry1Ac. These genes encode for the respective Bt toxins which, being lethal to Lepidoptera, make the plant resist to this group of insects.
According to the FDA, HAU should obtain all appropriate clearances, including those from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), before marketing human or animal food derived from Huahui No.1 rice.
As of press time, HAU has already obtained a letter from the EPA stating that the Cry1Ab/Cry1Ac protein in Huahui No. 1 rice falls under the tolerance exemption for Cry1Ac in 40 CFR 174.510.
Huahui No.1 must be approved by the USDA if it wants to be planted on U.S. soil. But with approvals from both the EPA and the FDA, the genetically engineered rice has already gained access to the U.S. market and can be sold to American customers directly, according to Science and Technology Daily.
Created by Chinese scientists in 1999, Huahui No.1 was awarded a safety certification from China’s Ministry of Agriculture in 2009, and retained the certification upon reapplication when it expired in 2014.
Smog-filtering tower developed by Chinese scientists in trial phase in Xi’an
(People’s Daily Online) 13:32, January 19, 2018
A smog-filtering tower developed by Chinese scientists at the Institute of Earth Environment under the Chinese Academy of Sciences has been built in Xi’an, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, and is in the trial phase.
The tower, which is 60 meters high and 10 meters in diameter, was built in Chang’an District, and is a key experimental project of the institute.
According to the institute, the tower is coated in glass and has a heat collector and a draught fan, which is all designed to help filter air and improve the purification efficiency.
An on-site employee said that the smog-fighting tower has really helped to improve the air quality, according to initial tests, but did not disclose further details.
China’s online quiz craze is attracting millions of players — and tech giants are jumping on board
• Some of China’s biggest tech companies are using cash prizes to draw millions of users to take part in mobile-based online quiz shows
• Over the weekend, search engine giant Baidu and video game maker NetEase launched their own online shows
• Up to 6 million people at a time log into free, live games on their smartphones to answer a series of rapid-fire questions in an elimination battle
• Those remaining share the prize money
It seems like a game everyone wins: some of China’s biggest tech companies, looking to hook in new consumers, are using cash prizes to draw millions of contenders to mobile-based online quiz shows.
Up to 6 million people at a time log into the free, live games on their smartphones to answer a series of rapid-fire questions in an elimination battle, with those remaining sharing the prize money.
Over the weekend, search engine giant Baidu and video game maker NetEase launched their own online shows, joining news feed platform Toutiao, Alibaba Group Holding-owned UCWeb and Wang Sicong, the scion of Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin.
But how they will cash in on the games and stay on the right side of government censors might prove to be a tricky question.
The trivia games have drawn some controversy, heightened by a broader crackdown on online content during the last year under President Xi Jinping, from livestreams and blogs to a campaign against internet addiction.
This month, one quiz show, “Millions Winner,” backed by internet security company Qihoo 360, apologised after it was chastised by a regulator for listing Taiwan and Hong Kong, over which China claims sovereignty, as independent countries in a question.
How firms will monetize the craze is also not yet clear, though some companies, such as online retailer JD.com, have already jumped on the trend, sponsoring shows to help raise their profiles. Many of the games show ads to players during the shows.
“If you ask me why I do this, to be honest, I don’t really know if I can make money,” Zhou Hongyi, chairman of Qihoo, said at an event where he presented a contestant with a 1 million yuan ($156,115.84) prize cheque two weeks ago.
“But from a user’s perspective, I think this is really fun.”
The quiz mania underlines the fierce appetite of China’s consumers for internet entertainment, a trend helping drive billions of dollars of investment into digital news portals, online gaming, internet advertising and television content.
“I heard about this game from a friend who won 1,700 yuan in one day. I immediately decided to join up myself,” Wang Ting, a 26-year-old graduate student in Qingdao, told Reuters. She now spends three hours each day on her phone playing the games.
Questions, read by a live host, might include: “From which country were pineapples imported to China in the 16th century?” “In which dynasty was the lamb hot pot invented?” or “How many fingers does Mickey Mouse have?”
Contestants get 10 seconds — a time frame designed cut out cheating – to select the correct answer from a choice of three. Winnings can be up to 3 million yuan per game, but are often split between many winners.
Toutiao parent Bytedance said that “millions of our users” had taken part in its live quiz “Million Dollar Hero” since the show launched at the start of January. It also has a tougher “Hero Game” with harder questions and bigger prizes.
“We’ve been running for just two weeks, so it’s still in the very early stages, but it’s encouraging to see how the game has taken off across the country, and with all age groups,” the company said in a statement to Reuters.
Toutiao, a highly popular news feed app, was valued at around $20 billion in a fund-raising last year, sources close to the company told Reuters.
Raymond Wang, managing partner at Beijing law firm Anli Partners, said the shows were a “relatively low-cost way to get to users,” but cautioned there were political and technical risks.
Wang Ran, a prominent investor and head of Beijing-based private investment bank CEC Capital Group, posed a question on his WeChat account about the future of the online quiz show trend.
“A) Growing numbers will jump into the market. B) Someone will win 10 million yuan in one go. C) Authorities will strictly crack down on it. 10 seconds. Go!”
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