According to the National Bureau of Statistics, approximately one in every five people in China is over 60 years old. This demographic shift towards an ageing population is posing great challenges on agriculture sector. A new study has quantified the impact of ageing through a set of data science research, providing the first explanation of the role of ageing in agriculture and solutions to address the issue. The results were published in Nature on February 22. How does rural ageing th...

Charcot-Marie-Tooth diseases (CMT) are a group of inherited peripheral neuropathies with a prevalence of ~1:2500. According to various causal genes, CMT can be classified into many different subtypes. Despite similar clinical presentation among different CMT2 subtypes, their causal mutant proteins are highly varied in their cellular localizations and functions. It remains unclear whether there is a molecular link across different CMT-causal mutant proteins.On February 3, 2023, Prof. BAI Ge's...

The decline of insect pollinators has captured immense attention worldwide. Popular notion has it that habitat fragmentation and ecosystem decay exacerbate the decline of insect pollinators due to habitat loss. However, the study conducted by Prof. DING Ping’s team at the Zhejiang University College of Life Sciences found that in forest ecosystems, open sunny forest edges are able to support more floral resources and pollinators than the dark interior within closed-canopy forests, leading ...

Alpha is the “king” of a horde of mice. While meeting another mouse in the pipeline, Alpha can scare it away with merely a glance. But one day the situation changes. With unexpected courage, the little “mouse brother” pushes Alpha out of the way directly after confronting the “king” for several seconds. After experiencing the Waterloo for several successive days, Alpha becomes depressed and loses his previous dominance.This reversal was orchestrated by a cohort of brain scientists who witn...

[Editor’s Note: Inspired by the seeds of the flowering plant Erodium, scientists from Zhejiang University, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Syracuse University designed a robotic seed carrier that can drill into the soil on its own, which is suitable for aerial seeding in harsh environments. Their study opens up a new avenue for agricultural seeding, vegetation planting, environmental monitoring, and ecological restoration. Their research findings were published a...

[Editor’s Note: In 2022, young people were seen tossing frisbees around in various public spaces like parks and college campuses daily; an outdoor activity that is getting increasingly popular among the Chinese youth. In addition to frisbees, non-competitive leisure sports like paddle boarding, cycling, and surfing have taken off in popularity as well. Ctrip (China’s largest online travel agency (OTA)) reported that compared to 2021, outdoor travel during the National Holiday increased by an u...

Unobstructed blood vessels are a prerequisite and foundation for our health. However, unhealthy lifestyle and long-term irregular meal pattern may cause excessive deposition of lipids on vessel walls and increase blood viscosity, leading to blood clots and plaques. Regular examination for peripheral vascular diseases is essential to prevent such risks.Chair of SAHZU Nuclear Medicine Prof. ZHANG Hong and his team have developed a novel Near Infrared Region II fluorescence imaging technology ...

WU Yibing, an undergraduate student at the Zhejiang University School of Public Affairs, made history again!Wu became the first Chinese player to win an ATP Tour title, rallying in a three-set, all-tiebreaker thriller to beat John Isner at the Dallas Open on February 12.Wu overcame 44 aces from the big-serving Isner and four match points in the 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (12) victory to claim his first ATP title. He was the first Chinese mainland player to lift an ATP Tour trophy. He will climb into ...

【Editor’s note: At the 8th China International College Students’ ‘Internet+’ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, Zhejiang University clinched a record-high 13 gold medals. Among them, the “Where: Your Digital Twin Guardian” team won the gold medal in the Undergraduate Creativity Category and participated in the Global Finals as the only Undergraduate Creativity Category team. The “Vision Tech—A Digitalized Reconstruction of Braille Information for the Underlying Logic...

It is human nature to seek higher resolution to zoom in on a photo that interests us. However, this magnification is far from infinite, and our curiosity may be demotivated by a blurred pixel point that cannot be resolved more clearly. Unfortunately, the intrinsic property of light, i.e., optical diffraction, imposes this limitation.Breaking the limit of optical diffraction is one of the most formidable challenges in the scientific community. A classic example of tackling this challenge is the d...