BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The following are the highlights of China's key technology news from the past week:
LUNAR ORBITER
A microsatellite developed by the Harbin Institute of Technology in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, which is now orbiting the moon, took photos of Earth during the solar eclipse in the early hours of July 3 (Beijing time).
The microsatellite, weighing 47 kg and named Longjiang-2, was sent into space on May 21, 2018, together with the Chang'e-4 lunar probe's relay satellite "Queqiao." Chinese research team cooperated with amateur radio operators in Spain and Germany in taking and receiving the photos.
NANOSPONGE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Chinese scientists in Anhui Province have developed a kind of nanosponge that can effectively absorb diesel and remove it from contaminated water and soil.
A research team from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences developed the new type of hydrophobic nanosponge with amino silicon oil and silane coupling agent, which can effectively absorb diesel in water and soil under various conditions.
TECH TO TREAT CONTAMINATED SOILS
Chinese research institutions and enterprises have jointly developed a new technology that aims at restoring arsenic-contaminated soils.
Led and developed by the Yunnan Institute of Environmental Science, Kunming University of Science and Technology and Yunnan Investment Ecology, the technology improves the technical system for the collaborative disposal of arsenic-containing waste in cement kilns.
DETECTING LEAD CONTAMINATION
A Chinese research team has developed an effective colorimetric method to detect lead contamination in water via fluorescent test strips.
The research team with the Institute of Intelligent Machines, Chinese Academy of Sciences, developed fluorescent nanoprobes with the proportional mixing of blue carbon dots and red carbon dots. As the amount of lead ions increases, the coloring changes from blue to red with UV light in five minutes.
VR TREATMENT FOR DRUG ADDICTS
More than 1,000 drug users in Shanghai have undergone an eight-month virtual reality treatment program over the last three years to overcome their addiction.
According to the local judicial department, more than 70 percent of the participants have reduced desire for drugs after undergoing the treatment.
