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



Why do locusts gather in swarms? What does the new coronavirus look like? How do human organs age? On the 13th, the consortium of Life Science Societies of China Association for Science and Technology announced the selection results of the 2020 "Top Ten Advances in China's life Sciences", eight knowledge innovation and two technology innovation project results were selected, which answered these difficult problems in life sciences.

It is understood that among the award-winning projects this year, the proportion of non-academician-led projects is larger than in previous years, which reflects the strong reserve force in the field of life science research in China. More significantly, the selected projects have outstanding originality and great social significance, among which, "The mystery of locust swarms: 4-vinyl anisole is a swarm pheromone of locusts", which reveals the mystery of locust swarms for the first time on a global scale, and is of great significance for the control and prediction of world locust swarms and the solution of world food problems.

"The analysis of the three-dimensional structure of the first novel coronavirus protein and the discovery of two clinical drug candidates" and "the construction of the novel coronavirus animal model" are of great significance to solving the current global COVID-19 epidemic. "Cloning, mechanism Analysis and Breeding Utilization of wheat Giblet resistant gene Fhb7" and "Mechanism of dietary induction of cholesterol Synthesis and Target discovery of lipid-lowering new drugs" focus on hot issues such as national economy, people's livelihood and people's health.

Since 2015, the Association of Life Science Societies of China Association for Science and Technology has carried out the selection of "Top Ten Progress in China's Life Sciences", aiming to promote life science research and technological innovation, and fully demonstrate the major scientific and technological achievements in the field of life sciences in China. At present, the selection activity has been carried out for 6 consecutive years. After the announcement of the selection results every year, the selected project experts will be invited to write and publish popular science books, and hold reports to reveal the new mysteries of life science to the public, provide new ideas for the development of new life science technologies, new medical breakthroughs and the development of bioeconomy, and greatly improve the social influence of life science.

"Top 10 Advances in China's Life Sciences" in 2020 (ranked in no particular order)

1. The mystery of locust swarms

Locust infestations pose a major threat to agriculture, the economy and the environment. A team of academician Kangle of the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences identified a odor molecule 4-vinyl anisole (4VA) that is specifically volatilized by social locusts. The study not only revealed the mystery of locust swarms, but also was considered a major breakthrough in the field of entomology and chemical ecology, which has important significance for the control and prediction of locust disasters in the world.

2. The three-dimensional structure of the first novel coronavirus protein was analyzed, and two clinical drug candidates were found

Shanghai University of Science and Technology and other institutions formed a joint anti-COVID-19 research team, which took the lead in the world to analyze the high-resolution three-dimensional structure of the main protease and inhibitor complex of the key drug target of the novel coronavirus, which is also the first three-dimensional spatial structure of the novel coronavirus protein to be analyzed in the world, and found that the old drugs or clinical drugs such as ebuse-selenium and disulfiram are antiviral small molecules targeting the main protease. Both have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to enter phase II clinical trials for the treatment of COVID-19.

3. Mechanism and regulation of organ aging

Scientific research on aging is an important basis for dealing with aging. Researchers Liu Guanghui and Qu Jing from the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhang Weiqi from the Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Tang Fuyu from Peking University have systematically analyzed the markers and regulatory targets of primate vital organ aging. The molecular mechanism of susceptibility of elderly individuals to the novel coronavirus was revealed. These research results have deepened people's understanding of the mechanism of organ aging, and laid an important foundation for the establishment of early warning and scientific response strategies for aging and related diseases.

4. Building an animal model of COVID-19

Animal models are one of the five major areas of scientific research in the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic. Qin Chuan's team from the Institute of Experimental Animals of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, in collaboration with Guizhen Wu and Wenjie Tan's team from the Institute of Viral Disease Prevention and Control of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and Jianwei Wang's team from the Institute of Pathogenic Biology of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, bred animals with highly humanized viral receptors through comparative medical analysis. It is the first animal model in the world. The application of animal models has clarified a series of disease mechanisms, screened a series of effective drugs, completed the evaluation of more than 80% of the vaccines deployed by the country, and provided the model development methods and standards to the World Health Organization for international research.

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.