BEIJING, July 22 (Xinhua) — The following is a summary of published science and technology news of China.

MIXED-DIMENSIONAL ATTAPULGITE CLAY

An efficient solution has been found for the effective utilization of mixed-dimensional attapulgite clay, a multi-functional natural nanomaterial with a wide range of uses, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

Researchers at the Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics (LICP) of CAS have been able to tackle the challenge of color whitening of the brick-red mixed-dimensional attapulgite (APT) clay by structural evolution, and collaborated with enterprises to realize batch production, said Wang Aiqin, a researcher from LICP and head of the study team.

SALINE SOIL

A national agricultural innovation alliance on the comprehensive use of saline soil was jointly launched by the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and related units.

China is one of the countries facing the most serious salinization. In the “No. 1 central document,” the first policy statement released by China’s central authorities this year, the country outlined the support to transform suitable saline land into arable land in an appropriate and orderly manner.

BROOD CARE AMONG INSECTS

Chinese researchers have traced the earliest brood care among insects dating back to the Middle-Late Jurassic period, according to a recent research article published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The founding pushed back the evidence of insect brood care by more than 38 million years, the China Science Daily reported.

Brood care is an important adaptive behavior referring to parental protection, care, and feeding of eggs or offspring. It has evolved independently multiple times in animals such as mammals, birds, dinosaurs, and arthropods, especially various lineages of insects.