An AIDS research laboratory, headed by Tian Bo, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, recently began operating at the Wuhan University in central China's Hubei Province.
People have to pass three decompression gates to enter the laboratory. A 12-square-meter operation room has a platform on which is installed the most up-to-date NICON microscope.
On the wall is a USA-made Nuaire biological safety cabinet for virus experiments. The cabinet, with an automatic warning system, can control operators' postures. A highly efficient ventilation system filters the air. On the top of the wall is an ozone?sterilizing lamp that emits a mildly fragrant purple light.
According to workers, the room is especially designed to protect the experimental workers. Video cameras also maintain 24?hour supervision, and electronically-controlled doors and windows can guarantee that virus will not escape.
The laboratory of the Jiangsu Ludao Purifying-Equipment Company is the largest and most advanced of its kind in China, according to its spokesperson. The company has contracted to construct more than 30 domestic biological safety laboratories.
The spokesperson revealed that the workers of the laboratory are making efforts to develop new types of AIDS-prevention medicines and vaccines suitable for Chinese AIDS patients. The laboratory conducts AIDS research through genetic modification technology instead of the chemical cocktails adopted by foreign counterparts.
(Sichuan News Net December 4, 2001, translated by Li Jingrong for www.china.org.cn)
