BEIJING — The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) will further foster original innovation and push forward the frontier of science, its president Bai Chunli said at a seminar on Nov 19.

"We will build CAS into an important source of original innovation through promoting basic research in forefront areas and accelerating breakthroughs in key core technologies," Bai said at the seminar held by the State Council Information Office to focus on CAS' scientific achievements during the past seven decades.

Drawing from the experience of its development over the past 70 years, the CAS will push forward big science projects, nurture young talent, as well as promote interdisciplinary research and international cooperation to generate innovative achievements that meet the country's long-term development demands, Bai said.

Muming Poo, director of the Institute of Neuroscience under the CAS, said at the seminar that China is aiming for breakthroughs in neuroscience and brain disease research.

Poo said the development of neuroscience could help address some health issues as it provides a scientific basis for the diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases.

Poo and his team have produced the world's first cloned monkeys and is dedicated to nonhuman primate disease modeling research.

"Compared with rodents, nonhuman primates are more appropriate experimental animal models as their brains are more similar to those of humans. We are now cooperating with the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica to develop new drugs for brain diseases and test the effectiveness of drugs," Poo said.

Wu Ji, a researcher from CAS National Space Science Center, said at the seminar that China will further deepen space science research.

Chinese researchers have achieved fruitful results from the launch of several space science satellites, including the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE), the Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS) and the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT).

"We will launch a new science satellite in 2020 to monitor gamma-ray bursts, which will help enhance the understanding of the universe," Wu said.