When Supercomputing Encounters "National Treasures", the National Supercomputing Chengdu Center signs a strategic cooperation agreement with the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base

Tech 2023-10-20 04:11:43 Source: Network

On October 19th, the National Supercomputing Chengdu Center and Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base held a strategic cooperation signing ceremony and the unveiling ceremony of the Endangered Animal Genetics and Computing Innovation Center in Chengdu.Red Star News reporter learned that in the future, both sides will better leverage their respective advantages in technology and scientific research, use cutting-edge information technology to break through research technology bottlenecks, and jointly explore the unlimited possibilities of supercomputing in multiple research and application fields such as the protection of endangered species such as giant pandas, the construction of giant panda national parks, and digital ecology, promoting industrial innovation and development, and the transformation of scientific and technological achievements

On October 19th, the National Supercomputing Chengdu Center and Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base held a strategic cooperation signing ceremony and the unveiling ceremony of the Endangered Animal Genetics and Computing Innovation Center in Chengdu.

Red Star News reporter learned that in the future, both sides will better leverage their respective advantages in technology and scientific research, use cutting-edge information technology to break through research technology bottlenecks, and jointly explore the unlimited possibilities of supercomputing in multiple research and application fields such as the protection of endangered species such as giant pandas, the construction of giant panda national parks, and digital ecology, promoting industrial innovation and development, and the transformation of scientific and technological achievements.

Sign strategic cooperation agreement

Endangered Animal Genetics and Computing Innovation Center officially unveiled

Endangered Animal Genetics and Computing Innovation Center officially unveiled

Ran Hao, Chairman of Chengdu Data Group, stated that the National Supercomputing Chengdu Center is a strategic highland for promoting technological progress and economic development, and a strategic platform for national technological innovation. In this cooperation, the National Supercomputing Chengdu Center will fully leverage its software and hardware advantages, work together with the Chengdu Research Base for Giant Panda Breeding, establish a "genetic big data computing platform for endangered animals", and conduct in-depth research on projects such as genomics big data and genetic diversity of giant pandas, providing strong support for the breeding and protection of giant pandas and endangered wildlife in China.

In recent years, with the rapid and high-quality increase in the number of artificially bred giant pandas, China's giant panda protection has achieved preliminary results. However, wild giant pandas still face threats such as habitat loss and degradation, and reduced genetic diversity. Conducting genetic diversity research on giant panda populations is crucial for the long-term survival of endangered wildlife such as giant pandas.

However, the calculation of genetic sequence and genetic diversity data for giant pandas requires a large amount of computation and multiple tasks, resulting in high requirements for computation and storage. In order to break through this data computing bottleneck, both parties will rely on the Endangered Animal Genetics and Computing Innovation Center, integrate the power of genetics and computing science, and greatly shorten the calculation time of giant panda gene sequence, gene structure, and other data through supercomputing. This will help researchers to more efficiently, comprehensively, and accurately understand the genetic data of endangered animals, thus formulating scientific and effective protection plans.

Yin Zhidong, Director of Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base, mentioned in his speech that the collaboration between the two sides will build a bridge for supercomputing to support natural science research, develop a link between the application of new intelligent computing and the protection and research of rare and endangered species, release new energy from data elements, build a strong computing foundation and new support, and make positive contributions to China's ecological civilization construction and the construction of innovation driven new engines.

Arithmetic empowerment

How does supercomputing integrate into panda conservation work?

On site, Wang, the director of the Genetic Research Office for in situ Conservation of Endangered Wildlife at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base, also shared the application of Chengdu supercomputing in giant panda conservation.

We are experiencing the sixth biological extinction, and the rate of species extinction is 100 times higher than in natural conditions. "Wang also introduced that according to the fourth national wild survey of giant pandas, there are currently 1864 wild giant pandas, separated into 33 populations, of which 15 populations have a high extinction risk of 90%. If there is no intervention, these 33 isolated small populations may further differentiate into more populations, with a higher risk of extinction. From the perspective of captive population, as of December 2022, the number of captive giant pandas has reached 698. After decades of unremitting efforts by several generations, the endangered level of giant pandas will be lowered from "endangered" to "vulnerable" in 2022.

So, how are giant pandas protected? Wang also mentioned that the core means of giant pandas are on-site protection and ex situ protection. In situ protection mainly involves the protection of natural ecosystems and the establishment of natural reserves. Ex situ conservation directly affects the protected species and constructs self-sustaining captive populations. The two are not completely separated, and the ultimate goal of ex situ protection is on-site protection.

AIAIHow does supercomputing integrate into panda conservation work?

In fact, the technology of Chengdu Supercomputing Center has been successfully applied to the on-site protection of giant pandas, assisting in precise field investigations of giant pandas. For example, using the "fecal DNA targeted capture technology" to break through the problem of outdated fecal genetic identification and provide new technologies for precise field investigations of giant pandas. In terms of ex situ protection, Chengdu Supercomputing Center is assisting in the broad-spectrum screening of giant panda pathogens. Wang also stated that without supercomputing assistance, it used to take one week to calculate data. With the assistance of supercomputing, this time can theoretically be reduced to 24 hours.

In Wang's view, new technologies and methods for biodiversity conservation will rely more on supercomputing, which will promote the precision of conservation work from all levels and be one of the fundamental tools for future biodiversity conservation work.

Red Star News Reporter Peng Xiangping

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