‘Seeds in Space’ project a milestone for China-Pakistan sci-tech cooperation

Islamabad : After six months in China’s spacescraft under the first-ever Sino-Pak ‘Seeds in Space’ project, seven kinds of Pakistani medicinal seeds returned to the earth and their motherland.

According to China Economic (CEN), the seeds, three kinds provided by the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi and four by Hamdard University, have made history as the first to aboard the Chinese space station and opened a new chapter for S&T cooperation between China and Pakistan.

This is an extraterrestrial way to enhance food production. Space-bred varieties have proved to be able to perform better in terms of production and resistance, and the return of seeds from space is only the start.

After Pakistan’s medicinal seeds return to the earth, Pakistan and China will conduct joint research on their genetic stability, material basis, effectiveness and safety by comparing the seeds on board with their mother seeds on the earth to screen out new medicinal materials with higher quality and higher yield, Dr. Jiang Ning, Deputy Secretary-General of Sino-Pakistan Cooperation Centre on Traditional Chinese Medicine, National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China, told China Economic Net in an interview.

“There is no way to transform plant seeds in a set direction, but it is possible to achieve our intended outcomes by sending them to space. For medicinal plants, we hope they can grow better with stronger resistance, survival rate, and efficacy.

All can be achieved via genetic mutation in space”, said Dr. Wang Yan, Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi.