The National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing (NIBS) recently published its research findings on a novel genetically encoded fluorescent probe system in Cell, a prestigious academic journal, marking the world's first study conducted in living brains on the core pathological markers of Parkinson's disease. As the first new-type R&D institution founded in Beijing, NIBS serves as a testing ground for sci-tech system reform.

Beijing is home to 10 such new-type R&D institutions. They focus on basic research in key fields including quantum technology, artificial intelligence, brain science and brain-inspired intelligence. These institutions provide researchers with long-term and stable support, give researchers greater autonomy in setting research directions and using research funds, and adopt a long-cycle milestone-based evaluation mechanism.

Beijing has become China's first city with the biomedicine and healthcare industry exceeding 1-trillion-yuan earmark. The number of Beijing-based institutions among the top 200 world-class research institutions has risen to 13, while the city has ranked first globally for three consecutive years in this regard. In 2025, Beijing's research teams published over 340 papers in the top-tier journals including Cell, Nature and Science, accounting for roughly half of the national total output. According to the 2025 Global Innovation Hubs Index, Beijing surged from eighth place globally in 2020 to first in 2025 in terms of the Research Innovation ranking, a key gauge of basic research strength.

(Source: Qianlong.com)