Challenges and opportunities for modeling coupled human and natural systemsOA

<正>The Earth is a very large and complex system that consists of human and natural components interacting bidirectionally with each other,thus forming coupled human and natural systems (CHANS)[1].The increasing dominance of human impacts,especially after the 1950s [2],marked a new era for the Earth,the Anthropocene,which means humans have become the main drivers of the evolution of changes in the Earth system.Therefore,modeling CHANS is essential for understanding the emergent system prope...     

Robotic mobile and mirror milling of large-scale complex structuresOA

<正>Large-scale complex structures,such as spacecraft cabins,aircraft composite skins and launch vehicle fuel tanks,are the core components of the equipment in aerospace,energy,shipbuilding and other fields.Their milling quality and efficiency are factors directly affecting the performance and productivity of spacecraft,aircraft and other key equipment.This kind of structure generally features large dimension,high accuracy,     

Pathways toward wearable and high-performance sensors based on hydrogels:toughening networks and conductive networks

Wearable hydrogel sensors provide a user-friendly option for wearable electronics and align well with the existing manufacturing strategy for connecting and communicating with large numbers of Internet of Things devices.This is attributed to their components and structures,which exhibit exceptional adaptability,scalability,bio-compatibility,and self-healing properties,reminiscent of human skin.This review focuses on the recent research on principal structural elements of wearable hydrogels:tough...     

Glacial expansion of cold-tolerant species in low latitudes: megafossil evidence and species distribution modellingOA

<正>The Pleistocene was a time of repeated glaciations that severely affected the land biota over large areas of Eurasia and North America. Drastic climatic fluctuations during the Pleistocene drove largescale extinctions, migrations and diversification in plant and animal populations.These dramatic processes had a strong impact on the distribution of modern flora and fauna.     

Campaign on Atmospheric Aerosol Research Network of China: CARE-China

<正>Serious air pollution and the involved complex aerosol components in China are aggravating the uncertainties of regional and global climate change,hence it is essential to investigate the distribution of aerosol components over China.Based on a network of field stations supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS),"Campaign on Atmospheric Aerosol Research"network of China(CARE-China)was recently     

Theoretical progress and practical challenges in controlling complex networks

<正>The issue of control has gained signiicant prominence in engineering,useful for aircrat control,manufacturing processes,communication systems and soon.Yet,the control of complex networks was barely studied,as we lack powerful theories to address it in a quantitative fashion.     

MAGUS: machine learning and graph theory assisted universal structure searcherOA

Crystal structure predictions based on first-principles calculations have gained great success in materials science and solid state physics.However,the remaining challenges still limit their applications in systems with a large number of atoms,especially the complexity of conformational space and the cost of local optimizations for big systems.Here,we introduce a crystal structure prediction method,MAGUS,based on the evolutionary algorithm,which addresses the above challenges with machine learni...     

Learning physical characteristics like animals for legged robotsOA

Physical characteristics of terrains,such as softness and friction,provide essential information for legged robots to avoid non-geometric obstacles,like mires and slippery stones,in the wild.The perception of such characteristics often relies on tactile perception and vision prediction.Although tactile perception is more accurate,it is limited to close-range us e;by contrast,establishing a supervised or self-supervised contactless prediction system using computer vision re quires adequate labele...     

The China power grid: a network science perspective

<正>Power grid is a very large scale and highly non-linear dynamical system,and its stable and reliable operation poses a great challenge to scientists and engineers.As a complex dynamic network has a tendency of catastrophic failure,sophisticated analysis and control are required.In an interview with NSR,Professor Yusheng Xue,member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering,Honorary President of China’s State Grid Electric Power Research Institute,talked about the economic impact,technical challenges,and future development of power grid in China.     

Reconfigurable Robots for Planetary Exploration

With the support of the National High-techDevelopment Program(dubbed “863 Program”), CAS re-searchers have made progress indeveloping modular reconfigurablerobots for planetary exploration.Like in other space exploration,robots for planetary probes are bothexpensive and at high risk. To copewith the problem, developing modu-lar reconfigurable robots become amajor option for the mission.Modular reconfigurable robot-ics is an approach to building ro-bots for various complex tasks. In-stead…     

Late Ordovician Mass Extinction: Earth,fire and iceOA

The Late Ordovician Mass Extinction was the earliest of the ‘big’ five extinction events and the earliest to affect the trajectory of metazoan life. Two phases have been identified near the start of the Hirnantian period and in the middle. It was a massive taxonomic extinction, a weak phylogenetic extinction and a relatively benign ecological extinction. A rapid cooling, triggering a major ice age that reduced the temperature of surface waters, prompted a drop in sea level of some 100 m and intr...     

Smooth as Silk:Transcriptomic Study of Silkworms Hints at the Genetic Basis of Silk Production

<正>Silkworms are both a staple of the textile industry and symbols of longstanding historical,economic and cultural significance in China,where the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori(B.mori)was domesticated nearly 5,000 years ago.Today,China remains the world's largest producer and exporter of B.mori cocoons and raw silk,which are primarily used in textile manufacturing.However,breakthroughs in genomics,manufacturing,and material sciences have suggested that silk holds some astounding     

Controlling complex,non-linear dynamical networks

<正>INTRODUCTION An outstanding problem in the ield of complex dynamical systems is to control non-linear dynamics on complex networks.Indeed,the physical world in which we live is non-linear,and complex networks are ubiquitous in a variety of natural,social,economical,and man-made systems.Dynamical processes     

Controlling complex,non-linear dynamical networks

<正>INTRODUCTION An outstanding problem in the ield of complex dynamical systems is to control non-linear dynamics on complex networks.Indeed,the physical world in which we live is non-linear,and complex networks are ubiquitous in a variety of natural,social,economical,and man-made systems.Dynamical processes     

How variable progenitor clones construct a largely invariant neocortexOA

The neocortex contains a vast collection of diverse neurons organized into distinct layers. While nearly all neocortical neurons are generated by radial glial progenitors(RGPs), it remains largely unclear how a complex yet organized neocortex is constructed reliably and robustly. Here, we show that the division behavior and neuronal output of RGPs are highly constrained with patterned variabilities to support the reliable and robust construction of the mouse neocortex. The neurogenic process of ...     

Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology

The CAS Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Tech- nology (SIAT) is jointly founded by CAS and the gov- ernment of Shenzhen, China’s first special economic region. It is the first R&D entity in China specializing in modernized manufacturing and independent innovation with integrated technologies as its disciplinary orientation. Why SIAT? Involving a number of fields of sci- ence and engineering, the integrated technology has gained a rapid development and is recognized for a variety of app…     

Researchers Reveal Ecological Roles of Biological Soil Crusts in Desert

Biological soil crust is a complex organic integrity of cyanobacteria, green algae, lichens and mosses, fungi, and other bacteria. This is a common and widespread phenomenon in desert areas all over the world. Biologically,this kind of soil crust differs a lot from physical ones in terms of physical and chemical properties, and become important biological factors in vegetation succession. Despite its unassuming appearance, the crust plays a significant role in the desert ecosystem, involving the process of soil formation, stability and fertility,the prevention of soil erosion by water or wind, the increased possibility of vascular plants colonization, and the stabilization of sand dunes.     

Machine learning-aided atomic structure identification of interfacial ionic hydrates from AFM imagesOA

Relevant to broad applied fields and natural processes,interfacial ionic hydrates have been widely studied by using ultrahigh-resolution atomic force microscopy(AFM).However,the complex relationship between the AFM signal and the investigated system makes it difficult to determine the atomic structure of such a complex system from AFM images alone.Using machine learning,we achieved precise identification of the atomic structures of interfacial water/ionic hydrates based on AFM images,including t...     

Modular Design and Genome-wide Association Analysis Will Become Important Means of Molecular Breeding in Future

<正>In recent years,with the rapid development of interdisciplinary studies such as molecular biology,genomics and systems biology,and with the breakthroughs in genome sequencing and other technologies,molecular marker-assisted selection and transgenic technology gradually became two important means of plant/animal breeding.Despite of the achievements,however,there are a number of problems in molecular breeding that need to be addressed immediately.As the major agronomic and economic traits of plants or animals are usually very complex and controlled by multiple genes,the modifi cation of a single or several functional genes is inadequate for the overall improvement of the target’s complex traits.Thus efficient,targeted and