A positive feedback loop between mesenchymal-like cancer cells and macrophages is essential to breast cancer metastasis

With the support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, Prof. Song Erwei＇s laboratory at Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat Sen University, reported that a positive feedback loop between mesenchymal-like cancer cells and macrophages is essential to breast cancer metastasis, which was published in Cancer Cell （2014, 25（5）： 605 620）.     

The voltage-gated calcium channel α2δ1 subunit was identified as a novel liver cancer stem cell marker and therapeutic target

Hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） accounts for 80%--90% of primary liver cancers and is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths in China. Cancer stem cells （CSCs） are proposed to be respon- sible for the initiation, progression and treatment failure for many cancers including HCC. Therapies that eradicate CSCs may lead to cancer cures.     

NSFC Strengthens its Funding in Wenchuan

NSFC Earth Sciences Department is about to approve two Director＇s Fund projects to provide better scientific support to the rescue and relief efforts and collect first-hand data with major scientific significance in post-earthquake Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province. One project is on the relation between the stress field of post-earthquake （M=8.0） deformation and the strong aftershocks in Wenchuan County and the other is on the field investigation and studies on geological hazards and secondary disasters of blocking up river caused by earthquake in the County.     

Crystal structure of HIV co-receptor CCR5

Human immunodeficiency virus（HIV）has been well known to cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome（AIDS）.The first step of HIV infection is membrane fusion between the virus and the target cell,which is mediated through interactions of the viral envelope glycoprotein gp120 with the receptor CD4 on the cell and also with the co-receptor,either CCR5 or CXCR4.     

Hunting out NUB1 for Huntington＇s disease： New ways to target neurodegeneration

Huntington＇s disease （HD） is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder afflicting at least 1 ： 100000 people world-wide. It is caused by an expanded polyglutamine-encoding repeat in the gene hun- tingtin （HTT） that leads to the accumulation of the mutant HTT protein （mHTT）. It has been well es- tablished that the gain of toxic mHTT function is the main cause of the disease and thus reducing mHTT levels may suppress all downstream toxic effects and treat the disease.     

Dynamic reassortments model of the human-infecting influenza A （H7N9） virus

With the support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, Prof. George F. Gao＇s laboratory at the CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, with collaborators reported the genetic heterogeneity of the human-infecting influenza A （H7N9） virus and posed virus dynamic reassortments model, which was published in Nature Communications （2014, 5. 3142）.     

Lipid homeostasis and metabolic disorders

I.ipid homeostasis is referred to as the maintenance of stable levels of plasma and cellular lipids and is the result of coordinated regulation of various lipid metabolic pathways. Disruption of lipid homeostasis of- ten results in the development of metabolic disorders including obesity, diabetes and fatty liver formation. With the support from NSFC, Dr. I.i Peng＇s laboratory from Tsinghua University has discovered that CI- DE proteins （Cidea, Cideb and Fsp27） are important regulators of lipid homeostasis and has delineated no- vel molecular pathways in controlling the development of metabolic disorders.     

International cooperation in NSFC

International cooperation is an important strategy for all the funding agencies in the world. It plays a key role in the internationalization of China＇s scientific research. Since its establishment in 1986, National Natural Science Foundation of China （NSFC） has been developing international cooperation to fulfill its mission of supporting basic research, fostering talented scientists, and promoting socioeconomic develop-ment.     

Role of cyclic AMP signaling in the production and function of the incretin hormone glucagon-like peptide-1

Pancreatic cells express the proglucagon gene （ gcg ） and thereby produce the peptide hormone glucagon , which stimulates hepa tic glucose production and thereby increases blood glucose levels. The same gcg gene is also expressed in the intesti nal endocrine L cells and certain neural cells in the brain. In the gut, gcg expression leads to the production of glucagon-like peptide-1 （GLP-1）. This incretin hormone stimulates insulin secretion when blood glucose, level is high. In addition, GLP-1 stimulates pancreatic cell proliferation, inhibits cell apoptosis, and has been utilized in the trans-differentiation of insulin producing cells.     

Direct,nonoxidative conversion of methane to ethylene,aromatics, and hydrogen

With the support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China （（;rant Nos. 21321002, 1107.9005, 21033009 and 21103181） and the Ministry of Science and Technology （the National Basic Research Program of China, （;rant Nos. 2011CBA00503 and 2013CB933100）, Prof. Bao Xinhe＇s team at the State Key I.aboratory of Catalysis, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, developed a new process of direct, nonoxidative conversion of methane to ethylene, aromatics, and hydrogen, which is published in Science （2014, 344：616 619）.     

High-throughput screening of a CRISPR/Cas9 library for functional genomics in human cells

With the support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the National Basic Research Program of China, Prof. Wei Wensheng＇s laboratory at the School of Life Sciences, Peking University, published a research article ＂High-throughput screening of a CRISPR/Cas9 library for functional genomics in human cells＂ in Nature （ 2014, 509（7501）： 487 491）.     

Structure of a bacterial energy-coupling factor transporter

With the support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Ministry of Science and Technology （973 Programs 2009CB918801 and 2013CB910602）, Prof. Shi Yigong＇s laboratory in School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, reported the crystal structure of a bacterial energy-coupling factor transporter, which is published in Nature, 2013, 497（7448）： 272--6.     

Suppression of plant defense by a virus promotes its mutualism with insect vectors

The research team led by Prof.Liu Shusheng of Zhejiang University has made a breakthrough in unraveling the physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying the mutualistic relationship between the vector insect and the virus.They found that,while tobacco plants are relatively poor host plants for the whitefly Bemisia tabaci,tobacco’s suitability to the whitefly was substantially increased when infected by the begomovirus Tomato vellow leaf curl China uirus.     

China＇s need on innovative circular economy indicators

Due to China＇s increasing concerns on resource depletion and environmental pollution, traditional line ar development approach has to be changed. Circular economy, an approach that proposes a closed loop of material flows in the economy, is one feasible option since it can add value to businesses and communities by optimizing the use of energy, materials and community resources.     

A step forward for unveiling the molecular mechanism of programmed cell death in plant sexual reproduction

Plant eliminates unwanted cells by means of programmed cell death（PCD）in many developmental processes including suspensor degeneration during early embryogenesis.Suspensor is an important and terminally differentiated structure that connects the embryo to maternal tissues during embryogenesis in seeds,which was discovered almost 170 years ago.How the suspensor is eliminated and how the elimination is triggered have been attractive questions to plant scientists for many decades.Funded by NSFC and973 project,Prof.     

Agonist-bound structure of the human P2Y12 receptor

With the support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, Prof. Zhao Qiang and Prof. Wu Beili＇s laboratories at Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, reported the crystal structure of the human P2Y12 receptor bound to an agonist, which was published in Nature （2014, 509（7498）： 119--122）.     

Soochow University makes great progress in the field of films＇ growth using a chemical solution approach

Professor Zou Guifu＇s research group at School of Energy, Soochow University, Suzhou, China and co-workers developed a general chemical solution approach polymer-assisted-deposition （PAD） to grow a wide range of materials （ChemSocRev 2013, 42： 439, highlighted on Back Cover）. This work is suppor- ted by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the U.S. Department of Energy through （）f- fice of Basic Energy Sciences＇ user facility at 06NA25396）. Los Alamos National Laboratory （Contract DE-AC52     

Structural analysis and functional exploration of a leukemia-associated protein,IQCG

Supported financially by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Prof. Chen Saijuan and Chen Zhu＇s laboratory at Shanghai Institute of Hematology, Rui Jin Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University （SJTU） School of Medicine, published a research article in Nature Communications （2014, 5： 3811）, entitled ＂Functional and molecular features of the ealmodulin-interacting protein IQCG required for haematopoiesis in zebrafish＇.     

Reactions of xenon with iron and nickel are predicted in the Earth＇s inner core

With the support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China （Grant Nos. 11274136, 11025418 and 91022029） and the Ministry of Science and Technology （the National Basic Research Program of China, Grant No. 2011CB808200）, the research group led by Prof. Ma Yanming and Prof. Zou Guangtian at the State Key Laboratory of Superhard Materials, Jilin University, reported that the chemical reaction of Xe and Fe/Ni takes place under conditions found in the Earth＇s inner core, leading to the formation of inter-metallic compounds of XeFe3 and XeNi3. The result was published in Nature Chemistry （ 2014, 6（7）： 644-648）.