Some of China’s scientific research institutions are out in front in the quality of their output, according to the Nature Index’s 2016 Rising Stars, a supplement from the journal Nature, which was published on July 28. Included in the index of the world’s 100 most improved countries were 40 from China, 24 of which have seen a 50 percent increase since 2012. At the top of the index was the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). As the world’s largest contributor of high-quality research papers, the United States ranked second with 11 institutions among the top 100, while the United Kingdom had nine, and Germany, eight.