HUBEI

Ancient fossils found in upper Yangtze River

Archaeologists have identified four species of organisms from frondose fossils, which once lived at the bottom of the ocean 550 million years ago, in the Shibantan Biota in the Three Gorges area of Hubei province, in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. The fossils in the shape of "leaves" are actually early animals. The four paleontological species, which are now extinct, have a body length of about 10 centimeters. These ancient "leaves" have round suckers at the bottom that attached to the seabed, while the "stems" and "leaves" stood upright in the sea.

BEIJING

New support centers bolster IPR protection

China has approved the establishment of two new centers for intellectual property rights protection, according to the National Intellectual Property Administration. So far, the country has 36 IPR protection centers nationwide. The new centers－the fourth and fifth IPR protection sites in the country's western region－are located in Gansu province and Kunming, capital of Yunnan province. Such centers aim to solve the difficulties in obtaining evidence and reduce the duration and costs involved in IPR protection.

Xinhua