Problems of aged linked to lifestyle

More than half of China's elderly have health problems, and their lifestyles are believed to be a leading contributor, officials and medical experts say.

China's population is rapidly aging and the number of citizens older than 60 is expected to reach 202 million by the end of this year, including 23 million older than 80, said Wu Yushao, vice-president of the China National Committee on Aging.

By then, 37.5 million elderly Chinese, or 19 percent of the senior population, will require daily care because of disabilities.

Only about 40 percent of Chinese people over 60 are considered healthy, compared with 60 percent in developed economies, Wu said, citing 2008 statistics from the World Health Organization.

Tao Guoshu, a retired doctor from the Chinese PLA General Hospital who specialized in geriatrics in Beijing, said cardiovascular disease, cancer and cerebrovascular disease are common among elderly Chinese patients, and about 60 percent of health issues were triggered by unhealthy lifestyles.

Youth ignorant on matters of sex

As China reported at least 13 million abortions each year on the mainland, family planning officials called for strengthened sexual health and contraception education, particularly among those aged 15 to 24.

In the latest reproductive health survey among China's young people, more than 22 percent of the 22,000 respondents reported having had premarital sex.

Half of them took no contraceptive measures when they first had sex, according to the survey conducted by the National Working Committee on Children and Women under the State Council.

Notably, 21.3 percent of the females said they had an unwanted pregnancy, and 91 percent of those sought abortions. Nearly 19 percent of those who had abortions said they later had more. Mo Lixia, deputy director of the family development department under the National Health and Family Planning Commission, said a top priority will be put on reproductive health education for young people, such as college students.

She called on schools, universities and communities to help improve young people's knowledge of safe sex.

Science

Citations demonstratetechnological prowess

China became one of the world's top five countries that have the highest total citation of scientific and technology papers.

On Sept 27, the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China published its latest report on the performance of Chinese science and technology papers, with data updated last month.

Since 1987, the annual report has been a source of decision-making support for government agencies.

The report, the Statistical Data of Chinese S&T Papers, showed Chinese researchers have published 1.14 million international science and technology papers since 2003, ranking second in the world. These papers had total citations of nearly 7.1 million times, ranking it fifth, moving up one place from last year.

"In the country's science and technology development plan during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15), we set the goal of entering the top five countries for paper citation by 2015," said He Defang, director of the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China. "It seems we have achieved the goal ahead of schedule."

The four countries with top paper citations are the US, Germany, Britain and Japan.

Space station may be home for six months

Astronauts will stay in China's future space station for up to six months, a senior official said on Sept 27.

Wu Ping, spokeswoman for the country's manned space program, said at the 64th International Astronautical Congress that the space station will be completed by 2022.

"During the operational phase of the mission, the space station will be manned by a crew of three astronauts, who will alternate every six months."

To maintain the station's operation, cargo spaceships will resupply the station once or twice a year, Wu said. The cargo spaceship is due to be completed and launched to conduct propellant refilling tests by 2016.

The space station will provide an open platform to space-faring countries, and China will strengthen international exchanges and cooperation in the development, operation and application of the space station, she said.

Secrets of life in a very old fish

The fossilized remains of a 419-million-year-old fish that could be the most primitive known creature with "what we would recognize as a face" has been discovered in China, scientists reported in an article in Nature on Sept 26.

The fish, Entelognathus primordialis, literally "the primordial complete jaw", was a heavily armored creature about 20 centimeters in length with small eyes and toothless jaws.

An international team of researchers led by Zhu Min of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences unearthed the fossil in Yunnan province in 2010. During the Late Silurian Period, when Entelognathus lived, the region was submerged beneath a warm coastal sea.

At first glance, Entelognathus appears to be a typical arthrodiran placoderm, an extinct group of armored fish from the Silurian and Devonian periods (4.35 million years to 3.6 million years ago). They are generally recognized as the most primitive of jawed vertebrates.

Regulation

New rules drawn up for dairy products

Authorities will impose a ban on the import of dairy products from overseas companies that are not registered in China starting next year, a move analysts believe will strike a blow to agencies that now play a major role in the supply of foreign baby formula.

The notice, issued by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, said the authority will ban agencies from importing large packs of baby formula products and reselling them in smaller amounts.

Meanwhile, imported baby formula products must have labels in Chinese on the products, the notice said. Imports of products without labels in Chinese or ones that fail to meet the requirements of labeling under Chinese regulations will be banned.

Baby formula products will also be banned from being imported if the date of quarantine inspection and expiration day is within three months.

Environment

Humans 'dominate global warming'

Humans are "extremely likely" to have made more than half of the contribution to increased temperatures from 1950 to 2010 and more and longer heat waves are expected, a report from a United Nations-endorsed global research organization says.

"It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century," said the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change in its latest assessment report.

"Continued emissions of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and changes in all components of the climate system."

More than 800 scientists and researchers from 39 countries contributed to the report, the panel's fifth since the Stockholm organization was established in 1988. The previous one was published in 2007.

The scientists said the evidence for human influence on global warming has grown, thanks to increased observations, improved understanding of climate system response and better climate models.

China Daily

Chinese President Xi Jinping, second from left, and his wife Peng Liyuan, left, pose with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, second from right, and his wife Ani for photographers before a meeting at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Oct 2. Xi is making state visits to Indonesia and Malaysia, and will attend the APEC's 21st informal economic leaders' meeting on Oct 7 to 8 in Indonesia's resort island of Bali. Achmad Ibrahim / AP

( China Daily European Weekly 10/04/2013 page3)