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Amplified detection of nucleic acid by G-quadruplex based hybridization chain reaction.

Dow opens Photovoltaics Films Application Lab in Shanghai.

Researchers discover molecular mechanisms of left-right asymmetric control in the sea urchin.

China mulls new rule on human genetic research.

China to phase out organ donation from executed criminals.

Charles River Laboratories to expand research models business in China.

Chinese Science Academy Chief urges seizing on new technological revolution.

BGI contributes genome sequencing and bioinformatics expertise.

Taiwan government to encourage formation of smaller biotech funds.

The rapid fall of the Ben Ali regime in Tunisia on January 14, 2011 has not only sparked a wave of uprisings across the Arab region, but has also raised many questions about the rotes of socio-economic inequality, youth unemployment, corruption, and government oppression in the making of the Tunisian uprisings. This paper argues that what seemed to be an island of stability in the region was in fact a ticking time bomb that was set off by Mohamed Bouazizi in December 2010. It further argues that the overthrow of the Ben Ali regime could not have taken place had it not been a leaderless revolt. As a result, the paper provides a critical analysis of the making of the Tunisian revolution by investigating the key factors that maintained stability, and the mechanisms that set the stage for the uprisings. In doing so, the analysis reveals the radical social transformation that took place since the early 1990s leading to the breakdown of the social contract, and the gradual drift of the middle class away from its implicit support of the Ben Ali regime. The new political landscape opens up a real opportunity for democratic transformation, vibrant civic engagement, and sustainable economic revival. Therefore, our analysis would be incomplete without a careful look at the new dynamic between the forces of political Islam, secularism, and the middle class. Finally, the paper closes with a summary and some concluding remarks.

The reception of Gandhi in China has been influenced by the changing ideological dynamics of domestic Chinese politics since early 1920s. From the expanding mutual moral and political solidarity between the radical elements of the Chinese and Indian liberation movements during colonial times, Gandhian ideas were to emerge antithetical to China’s Communist Party’s revolutionary ideals. Since 1949, Communist China and independent India were to further diverge as antithetical political systems making Mao denounce Indian leadership as bourgeoisie. But, Gandhi’s ideas gradually became popular among China’s common people and began to be debated amongst China’s academics and received some serious engagement in recent times. This chapter explores these emerging academic debates on Gandhi and his ideas. It elucidates China’s institutionalisation of the study of Gandhian ideas within the context of changing ideological dynamics of their contemporary bilateral equations. This chapter contends that, over the years, Chinese academic institutions, scholars and publications have witnessed an increased focus on Gandhi and Indian politics in general. As Gandhian ideas are being increasingly revisited in different parts of the world, it is imperative to examine the nature and scale of attention being paid to Gandhi among China’s academics. Given China’s rapidly changing ideological dynamics with power elite laying increasing emphasis on its traditional cultural moorings, this chapter also seeks to contextualise this increasing engagement of Gandhi and its reinterpretations. And in doing so, it uses both English and Chinese language writings.