The fifth Beijing Life Sciences Graduate Forum was held in the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) on April 25, 2010. Hundreds of graduate students from biology institutes of CAS, Graduate University of CAS, and other universities and institutions in Beijing area participated the forum and shared creative ideas.

Representatives were invited to report their works on various topics. Graduate student Cai Yimei from Beijing Institute of Genomics, CAS gave a presentation on “Novel microRNAs in silkworm (Bombyx mori)”, which introduced the research progress of identifying novel microRNAs in silkworm by using high-throughput sequencing technologies. The results suggest that miRNAs play an important role in the development regulation of silkworm.

The Beijing Life Sciences Graduate Forum was initiated in 2004 and hosted by Graduate Students Union of Beijing Institutes of Life Sciences, CAS from 2009. By introducing representative works and research progresses, the forum has established a sound platform for the exchange of ideas and opinions of life science graduates.