Research Progress

• Giant pandas may have only recently switched to eating mostly bamboo

  Jan 31, 2019
• Stable isotope analysis provides insights into the diet evolution and habitat contraction of giant pandas

  Today, giant pandas are represented by one iconic species, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, and live only in the understory of particular mountains in southwestern China. The ancestral panda Ailurarctos lufengensis excavated at the Shihuiba site in Lufeng, Yunnan from the late Miocene (7-8 Myr), is thought to have been carnivorous or omnivorous. The first chronospecies in the genus Ailuropoda, the pygmy panda (A. microta), emerged in the late Pliocene and is thought to have been a specialized bamboo feeder. Records show that A. microta and later A. baconi (always found in abundance among Ailuropoda-Stegodon fauna during the Pleistocene), had a widespread distribution and occupied different habitats over southern, central and northwestern China that extended as far north as Beijing and as far south as Myanmar, northern Vietnam, Laos and Thailand.

  Jan 30, 2019
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  Scientists identify biological invasion hotspots for promoting the green development of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)

  Recently, a team led by Prof. LI Yiming from the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, conducted a comprehensive study evaluating the invasion risk of global alien vertebrates, to help facilitate the balance between development and conservation for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

  Jan 25, 2019
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  Biosecurity strategy needed for China's Belt and Road Initiative, researchers say

  China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), launched five years ago, includes more than 120 countries, linked by six proposed land-based Economic Corridors between core cities and key ports along traditional international transport routes. But, as new evidence reported in the journal Current Biology on January 24 shows, the risk of introducing invasive species into new areas is substantial as it would threaten native species and biodiversity.

  Jan 25, 2019
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  Scientists Identify Toxic Antipredator Defense Mechanism in Locusts

  Animal aggregation is a very common phenomenon with important biological significance in the nature world. High-density locusts can form large swarms that are placed at a high risk of exposure to predators. Therefore, effective defense strategy of gregarious locusts is very crucial for their survival and migration.

  Jan 24, 2019
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  Wisdom is Power: Female Budgerigars Prefer Males with Stronger Cognitive Abilities

  Dr. Jiani Chen, Yuqi Zou and Prof. Yue-Hua Sun from Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, published a research paper "Problem-solving males become more attractive to female budgerigars" on Science, which was online on January 11, 2019. This is a story of male budgerigars gaining favor by learning feeding techniques.

  Jan 16, 2019
• Inhibition of PDE10A rescues impaired social behavior, learning and memory in mice with partial loss of MIR137

  Nov 07, 2018
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  Research Shows Benefit of Giant Panda Conservation Far Exceeds Cost

  The giant panda is a flagship species of wildlife conservation worldwide, and its black and white pelage and cute appearance attract people all over the world. It is also an umbrella species of wildlife conservation; protecting the giant panda also protects other endangered wildlife sympatric with pandas.

  Jun 26, 2018
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  Hematopoietic hierarchy – an updated roadmap

  Hematopoiesis, a dynamic and well-organized process, is maintained by a rare number of multipotent cells – hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). HSCs not only can self-renew to sustain the stability of HSC pool, but also can differentiate into different types of mature blood cells.

  Jun 22, 2018
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  Human Embryonic Stem Cells-derived Dopaminergic Neurons Alleviate Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease in Monkeys

  Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the leading neural degenerative disorders, which is primarily caused by death of dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra. This type of disorder is now possibly treated using stem cell-based strategy, such as transplantation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) differentiated derivatives.

  Jun 13, 2018