News Plus慢速英语:中国将成为首个到达月球背面的国家 五味子中发现抗艾滋病毒成分

You are listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing.
China is planning to be the first country to land a lunar probe on the far side of the moon.
The mission will be carried out by Chang'e-4, and is scheduled to be launched before 2020.
Related government departments and experts have been assessing the plan over the past 12 months.
If successful, China will be the first country to have completed the task.
The far side of the moon, or "dark side of the moon" as it is more commonly called, is never visible to Earth because of gravitational forces. The far side of the moon has a clean electromagnetic environment, which provides an ideal field for low frequency radio study.

The Chang'e-4 can handle more payload than previous lunar rovers. It will be used to study the geological conditions of the dark side of the moon.
China plans to launch its Chang'e-5 lunar probe around 2017 to finish the last chapter in China's three-step moon exploration program, including orbiting the moon, landing on it and returning to earth from the moon.
This is NEWS Plus Special English.
A 20-year-long study has found that a sex-booster herb, widely used in traditional Chinese medicine for 2,000 years, has shown promise in treating HIV and AIDS.
Schisandraceae, a plant native to Northeast China, has been used in traditional Chinese medicine treatment as a tonic that enhances the function of the liver and kidneys and improves memory and sexual performance.

Notably, several derivatives of the herb's lignin, which is the compound extracted from the leaves and stems of the woody vine plant, have strong anti-HIV properties and low toxicity.
According to the study team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the lab-engineered derivatives can kill HIV, so the finding paves the way for future anti-HIV drug research and development.
The researchers say that whether the finding will lead to a cure for HIV and AIDS won't be known anytime soon; and it will require more research and take a long time.
Preclinical research into the anti-HIV derivatives has been carried out with the support of the National Major Scientific and Technological Special Project.