Chinese researchers have announced the world’s first engineered mammal using reprogrammed genes. The remarkable breakthrough hints at the significance of chromosomal rearrangement in evolution and the creation of new species. The results have the potential to lead to cures for diseases and conditions like infertility, cancers and even childhood leukaemia. The Beijing-based Chinese Academy of…
A lab in China’s southern city of Hefei recently announced the launch of the world’s most powerful magnet. Only 33 millimetres in diameter, the modestly sized object is a million times more powerful than the Earth’s core, and strong enough to lift an aircraft carrier. The project’s results come after making a significant “technical breakthrough”,…
Kenya has officially launched its long-awaited Nairobi Expressway after concluding months of trials. Kenyan president, Uhuru Kenyatta, announced the completion of the project at a ceremony in July, saying the 27-kilometre tolled highway would ease traffic flow and cut travel times significantly. The Nairobi Expressway was commissioned in 2019, six years into Kenyatta’s presidency. Also…
A team of Chinese scientists say they have created a magnetic levitation (maglev) line that can keep train carriages suspended in mid-air, even when the power goes out. The 800-metre prototype ‘Red Rail’ line is situated in Xingguo country, north of Guangzhou. The experimental maglev line possesses its remarkable sticking power thanks to powerful magnets…
A Chinese tech company has just released a graphics processing unit (GPU) that it claims has world-beating computing abilities. The state-of-the-art processor will be used for cloud-based AI training in data centres and has already attracted interest from several server providers. A product of Shanghai-based Biren Technology, the BR100 seven-nanometre chipset was launched mid-August and…
After years of research and development, Chinese internet giant, Baidu, has launched its self-driving robotaxi services to the public. The citizens of Wuhan and Chongqing will be the prospective customers for the autonomous ride-sharing business, according to a press release issued in early August 2022. The Beijing-based tech firm launched its Apollo autonomous driving platform…
Chinese officials have announced a massive infrastructure project that will reroute water from the Three Gorges Dam to Beijing, in an effort to boost food production in the country’s drier regions by as much as 540 million tons. Freshwater resources are concentrated predominantly in the country’s south and east. China’s two great rivers, the Yangtze,…
China has successfully launched the penultimate module for its space station. In late July, the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) released a statement to the press confirming one of two laboratory modules entered orbit and is meeting up with the almost-complete Tiangong space station. The launch comes while the US space agency, NASA, and its…
China has constructed the world’s longest single-tower suspension bridge, completed on schedule thanks to some robot helpers, according to engineers. Nestled high in the mountains of the country’s south-eastern hills, the half-mile Luzhijiang bridge cuts travel times between major cities in the Yunnan region significantly. One of many belt and road initiative projects underway in…
A Chinese electric vehicle (EV) giant has completed a round of funding where it raised $100 million to develop and manufacture “rideable robot unicorns” for kids. Xpeng Robotics and several backers concluded the Series A round in a month where total investments in China have slumped under the weight of an increasingly volatile global marketplace.…