In the battle against tumors, researchers have made constant endeavors to unravel the enigma of the rapid proliferation of cancer cells from the metabolic distinction between normal and cancer cells, thereby curbing tumor growth through targeted therapy.The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1985 was awarded jointly to Michael S. Brown and Joseph L. Goldstein “for their discoveries concerning the regulation of cholesterol metabolism.” In normal cells, the “factory” of lipogenesis gen...

On April 8, Zhejiang University announced the launch of additional convergence research projects on four areas of focus, i.e. Smart Ocean, Precision Medicine, Hypergravity Field and New Matter Discovery and Fabrication. This is the third batch of projects released under the Innovation 2030 Research Framework of ZJU, a strategic movement to advance the construction of “Double First-Class” Initiative. According to the University administration, Innovation 2030 is drafted to serve the strategic n...

Minerals are the smallest unit that makes up the solid part of the earth. Recently, LiAl5O8, a new mineraldiscovered by Professor RAO Can’s research team at Zhejiang University’s School of Earth Sciences, was unanimously approved by the International Mineralogical Association Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification (CNMNC). The mineral is named “Chukochenite” in English.It is the first lithium-aluminum oxide found in nature and is marked by itsidiosyncratic physical prope...

Recently the underlying molecular mechanism of metabolic diseases in liver transplant recipients was explained from the noncoding-RNAs level for the first time. Led by Dr. XU Xiao in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, this study was published in the Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy. Since 2015, China have become the second largest country for organ transplantation. It is estimated that more than 6,000 liver transplants are completed each year. H...

Two plastic “springs” are being tested for their tension. One of them snaps when it is stretched to 1.5 times its original length while the other remains intact even when it is stretched to twice its original length. They are made of the same material, but they are different from each other inthat the second spring has been “light-triggered”.Recently, the research team led by Prof. XIE Tao from the College of Chemical and Biological Engineering developed a topology isomerizable net...

As COVID-19 has struck more than 200 countries/regions around the globe, ZJU community has been navigating the pandemic together with China and the entire world. Drawing upon their first-hand experiences, the panel of medical experts in the first affiliated hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine compiled a handbook of its prevention and treatment as point of reference for international doctors fighting against the COVID-19. With the support of Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foun...

On March 27, Zhejiang University signed a framework agreement on comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with Alibaba Group, marking that both sides will open a new chapter for cooperation in the new era and run an upgraded version of interconnected development.According to the agreement, Zhejiang University and Alibaba Group will abide by the principles of “promoting education, talent cultivation, entrepreneurship and development in a collaborative manner, advocating mutual benefits an...

When it comes to grippers, we will most likely think of a mechanic device similar to a human hand. As a matter of fact, it is far from an easy task for a robotic system to grip objects, for they come in various sizes, shapes and quantities.How can we design a universal gripper? The research team led by Prof. SONG Jizhou from the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics address this challenge by utilizing a simple shape memory polymer (SMP) block. As an emerging smart device, the SMP grip...

Cells are the basic unit of life. In the past several centuries, scientists have been employing such technologies as the microscope and flow cytometry to classify and identify different types of cells on the strength of phenotypic characteristics. However, selecting phenotypic characteristics is, more often than not, a matter of much subjective bias. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) technologies have brought in their wake a revolutionary change to the current cell-type classification syste...

Rendering an object invisible with an invisibility cloak is a long-cherished dream for humanity and in the past decade it has riveted immense attention due to the advent of metamaterials. On March 24, the journal of Nature Photonics published the latest research conducted by the research team led by Prof. CHEN Hongsheng from the College of Information Science and Electronic Engineering, Zhejiang University. They proposed the concept of a self-adaptive cloak driven by deep learning with...