Sci tech

Establishing a village where farmers can work and live in the urban areas is the dream of those who work at a software company in HCM City. Organic vegetables are planted at the experimental zone of information technology application in agriculture of HCM City-based Quang Trung Software City. — VNA/VNS Photo Quang Trung Software City, which was founded in 2001, is the first and largest software park in Vietnam. Located in a total area of 43 hectares, it has been assigned to develop the Vietnam software industry and start-up community. The ‘Smart Village’ model is the new model of Quang Trung Software City, combining village life and high-tech agricultural production. It has been piloted in a 5,000 square metre area. It is designed for farmers to live and work at the same place. The cultivation process is organic, chemical-free farming. The model will take advantage of successful projects of Quang Trung Software City, such as automated hydroponic system, tropical green house, irrigation monitor, mushroom greenhouse, and industrial microwave dryer system for agricultural production activities. The crops grown are common vegetables and flowers. Currently, between eight and 10 types of vegetables have been planted in the village. The model is expected to be implemented at the end of this year. Lam Nguyen Hai Long, director of Quang Trung Software City said this was the new trend of applying high technology in agriculture, creating a network of agricultural technologists and creating commercial products. Smart Village, according to Long, would be an upgraded model helping farmers to easily apply high technology to each product. It will be a place worth living for people with a technology platform for sustainable development. Waste will be treated and recycled to continue serving agricultural production, he said. High technology applied in the project includes biotechnology (plant varieties, soil improvement, irrigation water treatment), …

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For the first time, Vietnamese scientists have successfully developed a technological process used for sequencing the SARS-CoV-2 virus genome through PacBio long-read genome sequencing technologies. The technological process of sequencing the SARS-CoV-2 virus genome by using the modern sequencing machine PacBio is the result of a scientific project assigned by the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) to the Institute of Biotechnology for implementation. This is being done for the purpose of supporting the country’s handling of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Prof. Dr. Truong Nam Hai, project leader, stated that the Institute of Biotechnology has collaborated alongside the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City and the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE) to develop this technical process through six steps. Including, culture and isolation of viral RNA and synthesis of double-stranded DNA from viral RNA. These two steps are carried out at the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City and NIHE in a clean room of class III biosafety. This is in addition to preparing the DNA library for gene sequencing, sequencing the whole genome of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, de novo assembly of the viral genome, and annotation and analysis of viral genomes. These steps can performed at the Institute of Biotechnology in roughly 48 hours. Furthermore, Prof. Hai added that to sequence the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Vietnam, domestic units must use short-read sequencing technology, then assemble and reference the previous genome. This technology can take up to four days to read the complete genome and it is possible that errors occur in the reading process. This process can sequence the entire genomes of four strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, with a length of over 29,500 nucleotides/genome. The genome assembly results indicate no reading errors or blanks and boasts an accuracy of 99.99%, Prof. Hai emphasised. Through the development …

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More than 30 earthquakes have occurred in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum over the past month with the strongest measuring 3.9 on the Richter Scale. According to the Earthquake and Tsunami Warning Centre, the 3.9-Richter Scale earthquake was recorded in Kon Plong District, at around 6:10 on May 21 at a depth of 8.9 kilometres. The district faced five consecutive earthquakes on Thursday, including one measuring at 3.5 on the Richter Scale. Part of Thuong Kon Tum Hydropower Plant's Reservoir. -- Photo: VOV According to experts, the recent earthquakes in Kon Plong would be partially due to the water storage of Thuong Kon Tum Hydropower Plant that had become operational since March 24. Dtinews …

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