BEIJING, March 19 (Xinhua) -- The following is a summary of published science and technology news of China.

EINSTEIN PROBE

China plans to launch a new X-ray astronomical satellite, Einstein Probe (EP), at the end of this year, said Yuan Weimin, principal investigator of the satellite project.

Yuan, who is also a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC), revealed the latest progress of the EP project at the recent 35th National Symposium on Space Exploration.

"The satellite has entered the final stage of development," he said.

According to the scientist, the probe is expected to capture the first light from supernova explosions, help search for and pinpoint gravitational wave sources, and observe the mysterious transient phenomena in the universe.

GLOBAL MOUNTAIN FORESTS

A team of Chinese researchers along with their counterparts from Britain have found that global mountain forests are disappearing at an accelerating rate, putting increasing pressure on threatened species.

The study published on Saturday in the journal One Earth under Cell Press showed that about 78.1 million hectares or 7.1 percent of mountain forest have been lost since 2000, and what made it worse, much of the loss took place in tropical biodiversity hotspots.

The researchers from the Southern University of Science and Technology in China and the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom tracked changes in mountain forests on a yearly basis from 2001 to 2018.

BIODEGRADABLE, RECYCLABLE GLASS

A group of Chinese material scientists created a biodegradable and recyclable form of glass with a minimal environmental footprint, which may contribute to the sustainable economy if commercialized in the future.

Glass is essential to human life, but the widespread use of non-biodegradable glass that cannot be naturally eliminated causes long-term environmental hazards.

The major challenge of manufacturing glass of biological origin is that its molecules are thermally unstable and tend to decompose easily at high temperatures.