Methane is the second most abundant greenhouse gas which can be found in natural habitats such as wetlands and oceans as well as in artificial systems such as rice paddies and anaerobic digesters. Methane is also an effective biological carbon source and energy which can sustain microbial growth and metabolism, drive biogeochemical cycles of such elements as carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur, and promote the evolution and development of the biosphere.Recently, scholars from Zhejiang University, the C...

[Message from the Editor: The COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping the way people live, work and learn. Faced with the immense uncertainty of the world, what adaptations should universities consider to ensure their long-term resilience? How do we envision the new strategic landscape for universities? At the invitation of International Association of Universities (IAU), President Wu Zhaohui shared his view in the article entitled “New Paradigms for Higher Education in a Post-coronavirus World" pu...

The exhibition themed on “Metropolitan Life in Chang’an: Spectacles from the Capital of the Tang Dynasty” kicked off in Zhejiang University Museum of Art and Archeology on December 1. A selection of 167 artefacts intimately related to the daily life of Chang’an residents were on display, unfolding a scroll of their lively and dynamic life. The audience is thus ushered into the ancient capital of the Tang Dynasty to relive the daily life of the ancient China at its zenith.“Zhejiang Universit...

At the 2020 RoboCup China Competition, two teams from Zhejiang University—ZJUNlict and ZJUDancer—clinched first place in the Small Size League and the Humanoid KidSize League respectively.The Small Size League is one of the oldest RoboCup Soccer leagues. It focuses on the problem of intelligent multi-robot/agent cooperation and control in a highly dynamic environment with a hybrid centralized/distributed system. Due to their small size, robots can move as fast as 4m/s and the ball speed can amou...

On November 28, Zhejiang University College of Agriculture and Biotechnology (CAB) celebrated the 110th anniversary of its founding on Zijingang Campus. Over the past 110 years, CAB has developed in sync with the times. It established China’s first horticulture and entomology, set up the first isotope laboratory in China’s agricultural system and published China’s first research article in agricultural sciences in the journal of Science. It boasts two national “first-class discipli...

Why are some mammals born monogamous? Why do mothers hold an intense affection for their kids? How do spouses maintain a stable relationship as lovers?This is intimately bound up with oxytocin which is released into the bloodstream as a hormone in response to love and in labor. Recent studies reveal that it not only helps with birth and milk production but also plays a critical role in social bonding, such as monogamy, deep maternal love, a strong sense of intimacy between parents and children. ...

Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that can later be released to fuel the organisms’ activities. It is largely responsible for producing and maintaining the oxygen content of the Earth’s atmosphere, and supplies most of the energy necessary for life on the Earth. The reaction center (RC)—the core of the photosynthetic apparatus where charge separation occurs—is thought to have originated a single time and diverged, yieldi...

Spinning, jumping and shooting… In every Olympic Games, static sports icons featured by unique cultures are designed to highlight the beauty of sports, but have you ever seen any animated sports pictogram?At the 2nd Hangzhou International AI Products Exposition, AI kinetic sports pictograms, designed by a team named “Moran” from Zhejiang University, made their dazzling debut. As long as you make any action in front of the camera, such as shooting a basketball, the recorded video will be ...

On November 20, Zhejiang University and Alibaba Cloud unveiled the fruits of “SmartCloud Laboratory” at the Digital and Intelligent Education Summit. A series of innovative platforms designed by the lab, such as “research@ZJU”, “learning@ZJU”, “SmartCloud Classrooms” and “ZJU DingTalk”, have realized “cloud” teaching, research, administration and life at Zhejiang University. In 2018, Zhejiang University and Alibaba Cloud co-established “SmartCloud Laboratory”. In the past two ...

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a severe neurodegenerative disorder that exerts an extremely adverse impact on individuals, families and society at large, with symptoms such as memory loss, cognitive dysfunction mood swings and loss of kinetic abilities. At present, there are about 50 million people worldwide with AD and this number is projected to soar to 152 million. AD is one of the most financially costly diseases. Currently, 1 trillion dollars or so is spent annually worldwide on the trea...