First Artificial Breeding of Yunguiensis Successful in China

Cheng Xiao, Associate Research Professor and other researchers of the Botanical Garden of the Kunming Institute of Botany, CAS, recently successfully developed a set of techniques for breeding the endangered fern allies artificially， after many years of research and dozens of times of experiments. Using the technology, researchers have successfully cultivated, for the first time in China, the Yunguiensis , a kind of wild plants clarified as a first class wild plants for national protection.

The successful artificial breeding of Yunguiensis proves to be specifically important for effective protection of the endangered fern allies and sustainable use of biodiversity.

New Function of Beta-arrestin is Discovered

On Dec. 2 ， 2005, an unexpected function of beta-arrestin was reported on Cell by Dr. Pei Gang's group of the Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, CAS and Dr. Ma Lan's group of the Pharmacology Research Center, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University. In that paper, beta-arrestin functioned as a cytoplasm-nucleus messenger in GPCR signaling and elucidate an epigenetic mechanism for direct GPCR signaling from cell membrane to the nucleus through signal-dependent histone modification. This innovative work from the close cooperation of these two groups indicates that the relevant research in signal transduction and molecular pharmacology is now taking lead in the field of the world.

State Key Lab to be Built Jointly by CAS and Yunnan Province

On Dec. 3, 2005, Chen Zhu, Vice President of CAS met with Mr. Liu Ping, Vice Governor of the Yunan Provincial Government and held a sound discussion on relevant issues of jointly building of the State Key Laboratory for Biodiversity by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Yunnan Province in Kunming. Zhang Yaping, Director of the Kunming Institute of Zoology (KIZ), CAS, made a report on the joint building plan. The meeting concluded that the establishment of the State Key Laboratory of Biodiversity is of critical importance in strengthening and promoting the implementation of the overall program of substantial scientific research bases in China.