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

Medicine & Technology 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.

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.

China Space Probe Returns from Trip to the Moon—3rd Place in ‘Space Race’

Nov 01, 2014

About 40 years late to the “Space Race”, this morning Saturday Nov. 1, 2014, China became the third nation in the world to successfully orbit the moon and return to Earth to tell the tale. As China’s space agency continues to move forward in its ambitious space program, the lunar orbiter marks a great first success for the mission, and undoubtedly shows its growing presence as a space agency in the world. The eight day turn-around trip came to a close this morning after the test lunar orbiter landed about 500 km away from Beijing, in the Siziwang Banner of China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region according to the nation’s Xinhua state-run news agency.

China Space Probe Returns from Trip to the Moon—3rd Place in ‘Space Race’

Nov 01, 2014

About 40 years late to the “Space Race”, this morning Saturday Nov. 1, 2014, China became the third nation in the world to successfully orbit the moon and return to Earth to tell the tale. As China’s space agency continues to move forward in its ambitious space program, the lunar orbiter marks a great first success for the mission, and undoubtedly shows its growing presence as a space agency in the world. The eight day turn-around trip came to a close this morning after the test lunar orbiter landed about 500 km away from Beijing, in the Siziwang Banner of China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region according to the nation’s Xinhua state-run news agency.