BEIJING, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) — The following is a summary of published science and technology news of China:

SPIDER SILK FIBER

Chinese scientists have developed the first whole full-length spider silk fiber obtained from genetically-engineered silkworms, exhibiting a six-fold toughness when compared to a bulletproof vest.

The researchers from Donghua University drew inspiration from nylon and Kevlar, a material used in bulletproof vests, and proposed a theory on the nature of toughness and strength, thus unveiling the basic structure of silk fibers.

IP-DRIVEN INNOVATION

In China’s pursuit of high-quality development, more enterprises are doubling down on their intellectual property (IP) efforts in a bid to increase competitiveness, unleash innovation vitality, and achieve sustained profit growth.

Speaking at the 12th China Intellectual Property Annual Conference held this week, Tencent’s vice president Jiang Bo said the company has spent more than 180 billion yuan (about 25.09 billion U.S. dollars) on research and development since 2020. Tencent is placed second among global internet companies in terms of the number of patents it has applied for and been granted.

VEGETATION STRUCTURAL COMPLEXITY

Vegetation is a crucial part of terrestrial ecosystems and an important indicator of climate change. A team of Chinese researchers has reported that the structural complexity of vegetation may influence satellites’ remote sensing monitoring.

Vegetation indices (VIs), derived from satellite data, are widely used for monitoring terrestrial ecosystems and tracking plant properties, vegetation changes, and environmental stresses.

Researchers from China Agricultural University found that several major VIs from satellite observation over the U.S. corn belt are higher than those over the Amazon rainforest, despite the latter having more leaf area. The contradicting pattern underscores the need to understand the underlying drivers and their impacts to prevent misinterpretations.