China Hikes Cigarette Tax in Hopes of Curbing Consumption

Medicine & Technology May 09, 2015

If you're a smoker in China, you'll be paying about a penny more per puff, now that the Chinese government has decided to hike taxes on cigarettes. In an effort to curb the public's avid consumption, while at the same time raise tax revenue, the government announced Friday they will be increasing taxes on cigarettes from 5% to 11%, beginning May 10.

Bigger Is Better—Apple iPhone 6 Plus Sales Skyrocket After Chinese New Year

Apr 29, 2015

When it comes to China’s tech industry, the bigger truly is better. So when Apple released the larger-screen version of their iPhone 6, the iPhone 6 Plus, earlier this year economists saw a huge spike in sales courtesy of the ever-growing Chinese market. And with booming electronic sales well into the Chinese New Year, as they new Plus-sized iPhones remained at the top of everyone’s wish list, people started referring to China as the “golden goose” for Apple, who has made quite a mint on its new and improved product.

China Shocks World By Genetically Engineering Human Embryos

Apr 24, 2015

China has shocked the world and has since been ordered to "rein in" its scientists who have edited the DNA of human embryos for the first time, a practice that has been banned in many parts of the world.

Think That China’s ‘Great Firewall’ Was Bad? New Security Tactic Reveals Far More Threats

Apr 11, 2015

When it comes to digital censorship, China does it best. In fact, as enemies of the freedom of speech movement on the internet, one nation has devised ingenious ways for covering their tracks and making sure that the Chinese public does not see websites or an unadulterated view outside of the “Great Firewall”. But in a new study published this week by the University of Toronto and the University of California, Berkeley, researchers are saying that China’s recent attacks on the internet instead used a new weapon—and it’s one with far more nefarious applications.

China and Google Clash Over Digital Certificates

Apr 02, 2015

A Chinese Internet administrator blasted Google on Thursday, after the U.S.-based tech giant decided to stop recognizing digital certificates issued by the group, following a lapse in security.

Does This Gobi Desert Stone Formation Holds Secrets From the Past?

Apr 02, 2015

Formations similar to Stonehenge have been discovered in the Gobi Desert. Will the Chinese government allow archaeologists to learn what these sites were used for?

The Charming Tale of Giant Pandas—Why These Wall Flowers are the Life of the Party

Mar 29, 2015

When they’re chomping down on bamboo shoots they may not seem like the lives of the party, but in a new study published this week in the Journal of Mammalogy researchers with Michigan State University provided the first in-depth look into the lives of Giant Pandas and revealed that there may be more than meets the eye with this not so colorful bunch. Though the endangered species has been the face of many international campaigns, little is truly known about the species and their behavior in the wild. So to find out the truth, researchers electronically tracked five wild pandas for more than 2 years, while they explored the bamboo forests of southwestern China and revealed that though they seem like solitary creatures it appears that panda bears can party with the best of them.

New GPS Study Reveals Giant Pandas Hang in Packs in the Wild

Mar 27, 2015

While they may have millions of admirers around the world for their unique looks and lackadaisical personalities, little is truly known about the nature of China’s giant pandas in the wild. Researchers to date have sought to discover exactly how it is that these picky eaters have survived in the wild bamboo forests, but with strict laws governing who and what research is conducted on the endangered species, biologists have had little to no luck in finding out exactly what happens behind the bamboo curtains of the pandas’ homes. That is, until now.

China Seeks Cleaner Air Without an Environmental Movement

Mar 16, 2015

China's latest stance on the environment can be called contradictory even for them. A powerful documentary on air pollution, produced with official support, went viral after it was released online only to be blocked and wiped clean on the Chinese Internet by the government days later. Then, President Xi Jinping vowed to punish "violators" who damage the environment "with an iron hand" and Premier Li Keqiang calling pollution "a blight on people's quality of life" and promising significant cuts in emissions.

China's Lunar Rover Reveals Moon's Complex Geological History

Mar 13, 2015

Preliminary results from China's first lunar rover, Yutu, has suggested that the moon's geological history is much more complex than previously thought.

Self-Mummified Monk Found in 1000-Year-Old Buddha Statue

Feb 23, 2015

Though the studies of space and the seas reveal many unknowns, the most interesting field of science may perhaps be the study of us—humans. Anthropologists and archaeologists excavate remains and remnants deep within the soils of our past, only to reveal what makes humans unique unto themselves. And in this quest for knowledge, researchers have often come to find that while tales of kings and ancient pharaohs may satiate the public, it’s the stories of religion and artifacts that really create the big picture.

China’s Space Program Reaches New Milestone on the Moon

Jan 13, 2015

China's space program has achieved a new milestone with its missions to the moon, as its latest spacecraft service module has entered orbit around the moon, months after being used in the country's test flight that sent a prototype sample-return capsule on a flight around the moon and back to Earth.

First Case of Deadly Bird Flu Confirmed

Dec 30, 2014

The first case of the deadly bird flu has been confirmed in Hong Kong and health officials fear that this season may see many more infections that past cases of H7N9 -- the newest strain of the disease. Patient zero, a woman from Hong Kong, is in critical condition, and has been confirmed as having the lethal strain of the influenza virus, marking the first case of the deadly flu this winter.

How a Crop Found in Beer Helped Early Man Survive in Frigid Tibetan Plateau

Nov 22, 2014

In spite of the harsh climate, freezing many regions of Tibet’s upper plateaus in the mountains of Asia, researchers have uncovered a rich anthropological history of the past amidst frozen objects of the past. And what they reveal is that even in the far off past, the surmounting odds against survival in the region known as the “Roof of the World” created many interesting challenges for ancient man.

China’s Supercomputer Tianhe-2 Reigns Supreme

Nov 18, 2014

While the U.S. and the E.U may lead the pack in many sectors of technological advancements, and the concept of smart cities, it’s China’s supercomputers that continue to reign supreme. Commemorating the opening day of the SC14 Supercomputing Show in New Orleans, Monday Nov. 17, a team of researchers from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the University of Tennessee and German tech company Prometeus issued the 2014 list of the top 500 most powerful computing systems in the world. And though the race was close this year, China’s massive Tianhe-2 supercomputer topped the list at No.1, for the fourth time in a row.