On Sept. 29 in Beijing the Chinese Academy of Sciences unveiled the Frontier
Science Extreme Breakthrough Plan and its first project batch. The initial 10
projects target four frontier problem areas: new‑element synthesis, the nature
of dark matter and dark energy, microscopic measurement of chemical bonds, and
artificial synthetic cells. CAS also proposed a package of reforms to research
project management and evaluation. It published a list of next‑priority fields
to receive focused support — materials science, life sciences, earth system
science and space science — aiming to produce a set of major original results
with global impact in areas tied to the national economy and long‑term
development.
