Science & Technology

4 Apr 2019; AFP: Beauty might only be skin deep, but for those wondering how to keep that skin young, scientists may have found an answer in the form of a protein that encourages cell competition.

The prosaically named COL17A1 might not sound like a fountain of youth, but the new study suggests it does the heavy lifting when it comes to keeping skin intact and unimpaired.

3 Apr 2019; AFP: South Korea launches the world’s first fully-fledged 5G mobile networks Friday, a transformational leap that already has superpowers sparring for control of an innovation that could potentially change the day-to-day lives of billions of people.

The superfast communications heralded by fifth-generation wireless technology will ultimately underpin everything from toasters to telephones; from electric cars to power grids.

BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese agriculture scientists have bred new rice varieties named "Green Super Rice (GSR)" for developing Asian and African countries to reduce hunger and increase the income of farmers.

Supported by the Chinese government and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the project has bred 78 GSR varieties for 18 countries with a total growing area of 6.12 million hectares since its launch in 2008, hoping to benefit 30 million resource-poor smallholder rice farmers in Asia and Africa.

2 Apr 2019; AFP: The head of NASA on Monday branded India's destruction of one of its satellites a "terrible thing" that had created 400 pieces of orbital debris and led to new dangers for astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

Jim Bridenstine was addressing employees of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration five days after India shot down a low-orbiting satellite in a missile test to prove it was among the world's advanced space powers.

TUNIS, April 1. /TASS/. Tunisia’s company TELNET on Monday signed a contract with the Russian operator of commercial launches of Soyuz-2 rockets GK Launch Services for putting in space Tunisia’s first satellite, the Webmanagercenter portal said.

The Tunisian group TELNET held a special ceremony at the Digital Research Center in Sfax on Monday of signing a contract for launching in 2020 its first satellite Challenge ONE with Russia’s Soyuz-2 rocket. Taking part in the ceremony were GK Launch Services CEO Alexander Serkin and TELNET CEO Mohamed Frikha.

MOSCOW, April 1. /TASS/. Members of the first crew of the US Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft have arrived at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in the Moscow Region in order to complete training, the center’s website informed on Monday.

"Today, NASA astronauts Nicole Mann, Mike Fink and Barry Whitmore were introduced to the leadership and the employees of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. The astronauts are getting ready for the first test flight of the International Space Station within the crew of the Starliner spacecraft," the message informed.

WASHINGTON, April 1 (Xinhua) -- American researchers have developed a wearable device that can collect live cancer cells directly from blood in animals, according to a study published on Monday.

The study published in the journal Nature Communications reported the prototype that can help doctors diagnose and treat cancer more effectively in the future.

BEIJING, April 1 (Xinhua) -- A new relay satellite launched late Sunday night will allow videos calls to be made between China's future space station and the ground and provide data transmission and control services for various spacecraft.

The Tianlian II-01 satellite was sent to an orbit at an altitude of 36,000 km by a Long March-3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province at 11:51 p.m. Beijing Time on Sunday.

HANOVER, Germany, March 31 (Xinhua) -- The Hannover Messe, the world's largest industrial show, opened here on Sunday evening with the highlights of 5G network and artificial intelligence (AI).

With the total of 6500 exhibitors from 75 countries and regions, the Hanover Fair will show the latest development of technologies for industrial use, including 5G network, artificial intelligence, light-weighted manufacturing, among others.

BEIJING, April 1 (Xinhua) -- China sent a new data relay satellite into orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province late Sunday night.

The Tianlian II-01 satellite was launched at 11:51 p.m. Beijing Time by a Long March-3B carrier rocket.

As the first satellite to constitute China's second-generation data relay satellite network, the Tianlian II-01 will provide data relay, measurement and control, transmission services for manned spacecraft, satellites, carrier rockets and other non-spacecraft users.