MATCH-MAKING DAY: A mother looks at marriage-seeking leaflets during a "blind date" event in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, on May 25. The event attracted more than 5,000 participants, including young singles and their parents (XU YU)

Remote Sensing

A satellite data receiving station was launched on May 24 enabling China to observe the South China Sea.

The Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth under the Chinese Academy of Sciences set up the station in Sanya, south China's island province of Hainan.

China will be able to obtain satellite remote sensing data of the country's southern territorial waters for civil use directly from its ground-based receiving facilities, according to a statement from the institute.

The station has two sets of data receiving and transmission systems to communicate with more than 10 satellites.

A research center based at the Sanya station has also been launched, which will conduct scientific research in disaster monitoring, marine sciences and of the environment.

Boilers to Close

Beijing vowed to eliminate most coal-fired boilers in the city center by the end of 2015 to reduce pollution from fine particulate matter, especially during the heating season.

After reducing coal use by 700,000 metric tons last year, Beijing plans to cut another 1.4 million tons this year. According to a plan released by the city's Environmental Protection Bureau and Commission of Development and Reform, Beijing will use no more than 21.5 million tons of coal in 2013.

Beijing still has a large number of coal-fired central heating boilers that produce large amounts of coal dust and noise during winter.

H7N9 Findings

A new report by 30 hospitals in seven Chinese provinces shows 90.1 percent of 111 H7N9 avian influenza patients developed coughs, while all exhibited symptoms of fever. Men and the elderly are more likely to be infected.

According to the report, published recently on the website of the New England Journal of Medicine, one of the world's most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals, 76.6 percent of the studied patients were admitted to an intensive care unit while 27 percent died.

The median age of the patients was 61 years, and 42.3 percent were 65 years or older.

Research Performance

Research papers published by China-based authors in Nature-branded journals in 2012 increased by 35 percent on the 2011 figure, according to the Nature Publishing Index 2012 (NPI) China shows.

The report, published on May 29 as a supplement to Nature, shows that authors from institutions in China contributed 8.5 percent, or 303 papers, of all research papers published in Nature journals in 2012, up from 7.0 percent in 2011 and 5.3 percent in 2010. In 2000, just six articles published in Nature journals had co-authors from institutions in China.

The NPI also provides indicators that China, traditionally strong in physical sciences, is making gains in high quality life sciences research.