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China Develops Strong Gene Sequencing Capacity
China now ranks fourth in the world in terms of gene sequencing capacity, thanks to its active participation in the Human Genome Project (HGP).
Scientists from six countries announced on June 26 that they had completed a working draft of the sequencing of the human genome. China completed one percent of the work ahead of schedule in April.
China's gene sequencing capacity has been greatly improved after it introduced 30 sets of the most advanced "gene sequencers, " or gene sequencing machines, from the United States in May, enabling the country to surpass France and Germany in gene sequencing, and placing it fourth after the US, Britain and Japan, said Zhang Meng, a spokesman of the Beijing Genomics Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Beijing on Friday.
Biology, information, space technology, new energy and new materials are regarded as the most important and promising fields in the 21st Century. Many scientists believe that the biological technology will have an even deeper impact on mankind than information technology.
The biological industry in China will not follow the example of the information industry, which does not possess the key technology and has to depend on foreign manufacturers to survive, said Yang Huanming, the chief scientist on Chinese side for the HGP.
He said that by participating in the HGP, China has shared the advanced information, resources and techniques with other countries, and has built up a complete set of gene sequencing technology and provided a solid basis for further studies on gene sequencing of biological resources.
China has begun to launch a series of projects in gene sequencing of plant and animal species. A gene sequencing project of China Hybrid Super Paddy started last month, and a pig gene sequencing project will also be launched within three days.
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