地球之外的冰雪世界——行星冰冻圈研究综述

文章介绍了太阳系和太阳系外行星冰冻圈。太阳系各行星和卫星的表面温度差异很大,它们的冰冻圈发育各不相同。水星和月球的两极陨石坑的永久阴影区中可能有水冰存在。金星太热,表面既没有液态水,也不可能有水冰存在。火星两极存在永久性冰帽,包括水冰和干冰(固态CO2)。在太阳系雪线之外,存在很多冰卫星和富含水的矮行星,它们的主要是由水冰组成的;在极低的温度下,水冰甚至比地球上的岩石还要坚硬,并成为这些星体的壳层。除了水冰,其他易挥发组分如CO2、CH4、N2、CO等在极低温度下都会凝固为冰,形成不同于水冰的冰冻圈。因此,行星冰冻圈具有与地球冰冻圈迥然不同的丰富多样性。对行星冰冻圈的研究有助于我们扩大视野,更深入地理解地球冰冻圈,也将有助于我们理解太阳系的形成、地球水分的来源、地球深时古气候环境和生命演化,以及开展未来的系外生命探测。     

Tianwen-1 and China's Mars exploration program

About every 26 months, the distance between Earth and Mars reaches a minimum, and that is the best time window for Mars exploration from Earth. In July 2020, three spacecraft started their journey to Mars: the Hope orbiter of the United Arab Emirates, the Tianwen-1 mission of China and the Perseverance rover of the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). If all go well, these spacecraft will reach Martian orbit in February 2021 and start their scientific observations.Tianwen-1 is China''s first mission to Mars. It includes an orbiter, a lander and a rover. It carries 13 scientific payloads and will investigate the topography, soil composition, water-ice distribution, internal structure, atmospheric environment and physical fields (electromagnetic and gravitational) of Mars. In this interview, we talked with the mission''s Chief Scientist Yongxin Pan (潘永信) and Scientific Payload Sub-System Director Chi Wang (王赤) about this scientific mission and China''s future plans for Mars exploration.     

行星地质学:地质学的“地外”模式

行星地质学是从天文学和地质学中发展形成,借鉴传统地质学的方法和手段研究太阳系中行星、卫星、小行星、彗星和行星环等固态天体的形成和演化过程的一门交叉学科。其研究领域随着太阳系探测的发展而不断拓展,涵盖行星固体圈、行星表面环境、行星资源以及生物或适生环境演化等多个方面。行星地质学与月球和深空工程探测相辅相成,工程探测为学科的发展提供了重要的研究基础,而行星地质学的新发现又能很好地促进工程探测的实施。但目前我国行星地质学的发展还相对落后,在研究平台和研究队伍上仍存在很多短板。行星地质学是跳出地球看地球,进一步比较、拓展、深化和推动地球科学的创新发展。随着国家深空探测科技战略的深入推进,行星地质学研究的制约愈发明显,需及早布局、大力发展,以满足学科发展和工程探测的迫切需要。     

Progress in the brain–computer interface: an interview with Bin He

What can the brain–computer interface (BCI) do? Wearing an electroencephalogram (EEG) headcap, you can control the flight of a drone in the laboratory by your thought; with electrodes inserted inside the brain, paralytic patients can drink by controlling a robotic arm with thinking. Both invasive and non-invasive BCI try to connect human brains to machines. In the past several decades, BCI technology has continued to develop, making science fiction into reality and laboratory inventions into indispensable gadgets. In July 2019, Neuralink, a company founded by Elon Musk, proposed a sewing machine-like device that can dig holes in the skull and implant 3072 electrodes onto the cortex, promising more accurate reading of what you are thinking, although many serious scientists consider the claim misleading to the public. Recently, National Science Review (NSR) interviewed Professor Bin He, the department head of Biomedical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, and a leading scientist in the non-invasive-BCI field. His team developed new methods for non-invasive BCI to control drones by thoughts. In 2019, Bin’s team demonstrated the control of a robotic arm to follow a continuously randomly moving target on the screen. In this interview, Bin He recounted the history of BCI, as well as the opportunities and challenges of non-invasive BCI.     

世界主要空间国家空间科学发展态势综述

文章从发展战略、发展规划、经费投入、计划任务等几个方面,对美、欧、俄、日、印等几个主要空间国家(组织)的空间科学发展战略和计划进行了调研,分析归纳了国际空间科学发展战略的特点,以期为我国制定和实施可持续发展的空间科学发展战略与计划提供参考。     

NASA and the search for life in the universe

Almost from its beginnings in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) set up a life-science program. Because one of the priorities of the organization is to search for life beyond Earth, NASA began designing spacecraft to unravel the mysteries of Mars. The effort to search for life on Mars culminated in the landing of two Viking spacecraft on the surface of the planet in 1976. Although the biology experiments conducted as part of these missions provided some evidence for the possibility of life, the scientific consensus was that they drew a blank. In 1996, however, the 'Mars rock' rekindled interest in life in our solar system. The discovery of an ocean on the Jovian moon Europa, of organic molecules on the Saturnian moon Titan and persuasive evidence that water once flowed on Mars suggests that the solar system is still of considerable exobiological interest. In addition, since 1995 approximately 175 planets have been found beyond our solar system. Although these discoveries are gas giants, NASA spacecraft might soon detect Earth-sized planets. The search for life in the universe continues.     

青年学者投身行星科学与深空探测的机遇和挑战

百年未有之大变局背景下的行星科学与深空探测领域发展,为新时代青年学者提供了千载难逢的机遇。行星科学的前沿科学问题,深空探测的关键技术难题,急需青年学者投身其中。但是,仍然存在一些因素制约了青年学者的发展。文章从青年学者的视角梳理了其投身行星科学与深空探测的机遇和挑战,并提出相应的政策建议,希望能促进青年学者参与实现我国行星科学与深空探测领域的强国梦。     

从“积石山探险事件”看20世纪40年代中国科学文化的状况

发生于1948年的“积石山探险事件”是中国近代科学史上的一起欺诈事件,美国商人雷诺利用民国时期科学界在特殊历史条件下急于发展科学的特殊心态,导演了一场历史闹剧,从中渔利,并愚弄了中国政界与科学界,其过程一波三折。通过对此事件的微观考察,揭示当时中国科学事业的生存环境、经费投入、科学家心态等方面的情况,探究事件的文化背景,以透视20世纪40年代中国科学文化发展状况。     

我国行星物理学的发展现状与展望

半个世纪以来,伴随着人类在深空探测领域内取得的各种重大科学发现,人们对地球、行星以及太阳系有了更深入的认识和理解。这些发现不仅深化了人类对自然的认识,牵引和带动了科学技术的快速发展,同时还孕育并催生了行星物理学等交叉学科的兴起和发展。文章在分析国内外行星物理学发展现状的基础上,阐述了行星物理学与传统学科及我国未来深空探测任务之间的相互关系,指出了我国未来行星物理学研究的主要发展方向,并对该学科的未来发展给予了适当建议。     

场域视野下的地球科学自律性维护———以刘东生的科学实践为例

美国政府退出和重新加入《巴黎协定》表明,非理性社会因素一定程度上阻碍地球科学自律性发展,以地学家为中心的地球科学场域能够有效化解外部干扰。地球科学发展过程中涉及的科学因子不断增多、场域结构逐步扩大,作用力关系日益复杂,放大了社会因子的他律性影响。杰出地学家刘东生的科学实践表明,科学精神、科学习性、科学资本和社会生产、国家体制、国际化进程等内外因素能够形成地球科学场域的良性运作机制。地球科学的自身内涵和社会功能日益丰富,维护它的自律性发展有助于准确认识地球系统演化机制,深化人地耦合关系新认知,为实现“碳中和”国家战略和生态文明建设提供科学基础。     

地球科学∶世纪之交的回顾与展望

地球科学在20世纪取得了空前的进步,21世纪将是其更加迅速发展的时代.简要回顾了地球科学在20世纪的重大成就,展望了该科学领域21世纪初叶的发展趋势与战略重点,并提出了具体措施建议.     

我国科学家在国际科技组织中任职存在的问题及建议探析

结合有关文献材料和案例,本文分析了我国科学家在国际科技组织中任职存在的问题,尝试提出以下建议：加大培训,使科学家的知识结构更趋多元化;制定政策,支持和吸引国际科技组织总部落户中国;出台政策,建立人才储备库,培养国际科技组织任职预备队伍。     

Extraterrestrial artificial photosynthetic materials for in-situ resource utilization

Aerospace milestones in human history, including returning to the moon and manned Martian missions, have been implemented in recent years. Space exploration has become one of the global common goals, and to ensure the survival and development of human beings in the extraterrestrial extreme environment has been becoming the basic ability and technology of manned space exploration. For the purpose of fulfilling the goal of extraterrestrial survival, researchers in Nanjing University and the China Academy of Space Technology proposed extraterrestrial artificial photosynthesis (EAP) technology. By simulating the natural photosynthesis of green plants on the Earth, EAP converts CO₂/H₂O into fuel and O₂ in an in-situ, accelerated and controllable manner by using waste CO₂ in the confined space of spacecraft, or abundant CO₂ resources in extraterrestrial celestial environments, e.g. Mars. Thus, the material loading of manned spacecraft can be greatly reduced to support affordable and sustainable deep space exploration. In this paper, EAP technology is compared with existing methods of converting CO₂/H₂O into fuel and O₂ in the aerospace field, especially the Sabatier method and Bosch reduction method. The research progress of possible EAP materials for in-situ utilization of extraterrestrial resources are also discussed in depth. Finally, this review lists the challenges that the EAP process may encounter, which need to be focused on for future implementation and application. We expect to deepen the understanding of artificial photosynthetic materials and technologies, and aim to strongly support the development of manned spaceflight.     

基于高影响力科学家的科技团体创造力分布模型研究

建立了基于高被引科学家数的科技团体创造力频率分布数学模型.研究表明,科技团体创造力频率分布完全符合洛特卡分布。     

The origins of research into the origins of life

Most scientists at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century chose to ignore the question of the origin of life on Earth, regarding it as too mysterious and complex to handle. Yet, in the early 1950s an experimental field devoted to the study of the problem made its first steps. The pioneering theories of several scientists in the first decades of the 20th century played a major role in this transformation, notably those of the Russian biochemist Alexander I. Oparin and the British geneticist and biochemist J.B.S. Haldane. The ideas of the lesser-known American psycho-physiologist Leonard Troland also made a significant contribution to subsequent developments in origin-of-life research. Therefore, it is well worth taking a look at the professional, philosophical and ideological commitments that shaped the approaches of the three scientists to origin-of-life research.     

关于加强科学基金管理 提升青年科技人员科学基金竞争力的研究

青年科学基金在稳定青年科技队伍,培育后继人才,促进青年科技人员快速成长等方面发挥了重要的作用。对青年科学基金不予资助项目的同行专家评审意见进行分析,指出申请过程存在的主要问题,提出了关于加强高校科学基金管理工作提升青年科技人员竞争力若干建议。     

Molecular dissection of complex agronomic traits of rice:a team effort by Chinese scientists in recent years

Rice is a staple food for more than half of the worldwide population and is also a model species for biological studies on monocotyledons. hrough a team efort, Chinese scientists have made rapid and important progresses in rice biology in recent years. Here, we briely review these advances, emphasizing on the regulatory mechanisms of the complex agronomic traits that afect rice yield and grain quality. Progresses in rice genome biology and genome evolution have also been summarized.     

Human capital heterogeneity, collaborative relationships, and publication patterns in a multidisciplinary scientific alliance: a comparative case study of two scientific teams

In this paper, we compare the publication outcomes of two teams within a multi-university scientific alliance. Scientists in one team share similar scholarly backgrounds and work in a well established paradigm, while scientists in the second team have different backgrounds and work in an emergent discipline. While the alliance has increased the productivity of both teams, this increase was highest for the more heterogeneous team. In addition, while the variety of knowledge concepts employed in their research was initially higher for the heterogeneous team, this gap narrowed over time. We discuss the implications of our research for alliance design.     

When ‘national innovation system’ meet ‘varieties of capitalism’ arguments on labour qualifications: On the skill types and scientific knowledge needed for radical and incremental product innovations

The literatures on ‘varieties of capitalism’ (VoC) and ‘national innovation systems’ (NIS) propose very similar arguments about how firms require different types of labour qualifications to pursue strategies of radical product innovation (RPI), incremental product innovation (IPI), and product imitation (PI) respectively. Despite their similar lines of reasoning, however, the VoC scholars are concerned with the skill profiles of a firm's entire workforce, whereas the NIS proponents focus on the knowledge base of scientists. Given that both literatures have developed without explicitly taking the arguments of the neighbouring discipline into account, it is thus unclear whether they explain the same, or different, phenomena. Furthermore, both literatures propose firm level arguments but test them on the basis of macro- rather than micro-level indicators. This paper therefore asks: first, does micro-level evidence support the VoC and NIS arguments that particular types of employee skills and knowledge backgrounds of scientists are needed for different competitive strategies? And, if so, do RPI, IPI, and PI firms need to employ scientists in combination with a workforce having the respective qualifications, or is it sufficient if scientists or employees alone are adequately qualified. Quantitative analyses indicate that a particular mix of scientific knowledge combined with employee skills facilitate RPI, IPI, and PI strategies. The article thus concludes that - despite their similar reasoning - the VoC and the NIS literatures indeed describe different phenomena, without being aware of the synergies created whenever adequate employee and scientific qualifications are hired together.     

Draft Sequence of the Rice Genome:A Milestone Publication

Following China's announcement of its completion of the draft genome sequence of the rice indica subspecies on October 12,2001 (page 126, Bulletin of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Vol. 15 No.3), Chinese scientists published their findings in the April 5 issue of Science, the journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). In the same issue, a team of scientists with the Switzerland-based Syngenta company reported a similar achievement for another major rice subspecies,japonica.