Ten major advances in China's life sciences in 2020 were announced

5. The blueprint for the dynamic development of the human brain

Brain is the material carrier of human intelligence activities. Studying the establishment of brain structure and function during development will reveal the cellular and molecular mechanism of intelligence formation, and provide theoretical clues and technical solutions for related medical applications. Wang Xiaoqun's team from the Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wu Qian's team from Beijing Normal University and Tang Fuliu's team from Peking University jointly revealed the key time nodes and genes in the development of multiple brain regions, mapped the blueprint of the dynamic development of the human brain in detail, and provided a solid foundation for the diagnosis and treatment of related diseases.

6. Exercise, meditation and other scientific basis for enhancing immunity

Our life experience suggests that behaviors ranging from meditation to physical exercise may boost immunity. However, whether brain activity can directly control immune responses in lymphatic organs such as the spleen has long been without rigorous experimental evidence. In a mouse model, Qi Hai's team from the Institute of Immunology at Tsinghua University, Hu Ji's team from Shanghai University of Science and Technology, and Zhong Yi's team from the McGovern Institute for Brain Science at Tsinghua University, found that if the spleen is innervated, the body cannot produce antibodies normally after vaccination. Further experiments showed that this was because a class of CRH neurons in a region of the brain called the central amygdala and paraventricular nucleus were connected to the splenic nerve. Their findings, for the first time, establish a neural pathway through which brain activity can increase antibody production, pointing to the possibility of enhancing the effectiveness of vaccines and strengthening human immunity through activities such as exercise and meditation.

7. Discover the mechanism of cholesterol synthesis and the target of new lipid-lowering drugs

It takes a lot of energy to make cholesterol, so mammals up-regulate it only after eating and suppress it when hungry, a mechanism that has long been unclear. The laboratory of Song Baoliang at Wuhan University has made a new breakthrough in the field of cholesterol, not only revealing the body's nutrient sensing mechanism, but also proving that the USP20 protein in the liver can be used as a target for the development of new lipid-lowering drugs. This research and its application will benefit the health of all.

8. New breeding strategies for green, high yield and high efficiency

Facing the major strategic needs of national food security and sustainable agricultural development, the research team of Xiangdong Fu of the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has made important breakthroughs in the field of synergistic regulatory mechanisms of rice high yield and nitrogen efficiency. They found a new breeding strategy that can not only ensure high yield but also reduce nitrogen fertilizer input and environmental pollution, laying a theoretical foundation for cultivating green high-yield and high-efficiency new varieties with "less input, more output and environmental protection", which has broad application prospects in agricultural production and can produce huge economic and social benefits.

9. The "golden key" to solve the worldwide problem of Wheat SCab

Wheat scab caused by fusarium is called "cancer" of wheat, and resistance source is scarce, which is a major international problem threatening food security. For the first time in 20 years, a research team from Shandong Agricultural University has cloned Fhb7 from Thinopyrum elongata, a close relative of wheat, and clarified its function, resistance mechanism and horizontal transfer evolution mechanism. At present, a number of new SCAB resistant wheat strains selected by the team have entered national and provincial regional trials or production tests, and have been included in China's wheat improved varieties joint research plan, providing a "golden key" to solve the worldwide problem of wheat SCab.

10. Make CAR T cells better anti-tumor

CAR T cell therapy has been successfully used in the clinical treatment of tumors, but it faces the challenges of cytokine release syndrome and low cell persistence. The collaboration between the Xu Chenqi research Group at the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Huang Chaolan Research group at Peking University Health Science Center, and the Whiff research group at the University of California, San Diego, has made CAR-T cells more sustainable, more potent against tumors, and less at risk of cytokine release syndrome.