The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Thursday has invited top-level international scientists to Beijing to share their latest research and discuss the newest achievements in frontier sciences. The conference, for the first time jointly organized by the CAS Institute of Biophysics and the Biophysical Society of China, aimed to provide a platform to promote the interdisciplinary exchanges and reinforce links between scientific communities, the CAS wrote in a press release.

"Science and technology have always been the key driving force for the progress of human civilization," CAS President Bai Chunli said in his opening speech. He added that although the new era of technological revolution brings advances such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, quantum communication and computing, at the same time, climate change and environmental pollution, infectious diseases, and uneven development are challenging the global society. 

"The global scientific community needs to strengthen scientific and technological cooperation to jointly address these challenges and completely change people's way of life," he said.

Bai noted that the CAS has always attached importance to international scientific and technological cooperation.

Particle physicist and Nobel-prize winner Samuel Ting, physics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, spoke about the results of 40 years of American collaboration with Chinese scientists in the field of physics. President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Sergeyev and more than 50 top international scientists and over 1,000 students from different areas of frontier sciences attended the various forums.

The conference, under the theme of how science and technology innovation improves people's lives, was held to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the CAS, in the year when the People's Republic of China also marks the 70th anniversary of its founding. Frontier sciences promote international collaboration in basic research in fields such as life sciences, geosciences, or information and technological sciences. Recently, the CAS jointly launched ANSO, the Alliance of International Science Organizations with 36 national universities, research institutions and international organizations from the "Belt and Road" and other regions to promote global cooperation in science and technology.

(Cover: Nobel-prize winner Samuel Ting, physics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was a keynote speaker at the International Conference on Frontier Sciences hosted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences on November 7, 2019, in Beijing, China. /VCG Photo)