In an era when scientific information surges forward like a rising tide, how can we ensure that every groundbreaking discovery and every hard-earned effort are noticed by academic peers sooner, thereby accelerating scientific progress? And how can we help identify truly valuable scientific accomplishments within the vast, complex flow of scholarly research? On November 21, 2025, a landmark day marking the second anniversary of SMART, the answer became clearer with the official launch of the Langtaosha Preprint Platform.

Led by SMART and jointly developed with the Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Tsinghua University, Westlake University, and other partnering institutions, the Langtaosha Preprint Platform is designed to serve as an efficient and open platform for the dissemination, sharing, and exchange of research findings in the life sciences. Its official launch marks a concrete step forward in China’s efforts to build a scientific infrastructure that is self-reliant and secure, open and collaborative, and highly efficient.

The Langtaosha Preprint Platform (Langtaosha.org.cn)

Shining in the Scientific Tide: Making Every Discovery Visible

Life science research is advancing at an unprecedented pace. Each day brings forth new hypotheses, data, and evidence that could disrupt scientific understanding. Yet, when scientific achievements are held back by lengthy peer-review cycles, the spark of intellectual inspiration in many researchers may quietly fade away during the wait. The name "Langtaosha" – evoking an image of gold that withstands the washes of time – reflects the platform's profound vision: the high-quality scientific findings that endure the test of time are the genuine drivers of scientific progress. Meanwhile, the acronym “LTS” can also be interpreted as "Lifetime Show," symbolizing a record of every discovery and breakthrough in a scholar's career, distilling the essence of their scientific journey into a genuine intellectual footprint. 

Preprints: Earlier Sharing, Faster Exchange

Preprints, which allow the open sharing of research before peer review, have become a vital medium for global scientific communication. Researchers can present their work to the academic community promptly, receive feedback, and accelerate progress at the fastest possible pace. This represents a more open, transparent, and efficient research model that aligns with the global trend toward open science.

Publishing a preprint on Langtaosha enables researchers to:

· Rapidly disseminate findings, making them immediately visible to the global academic community.

· Obtain early peer feedback to refine their research.

· Retain copyright while remaining eligible to submit to domestic and international journals for formal review and publication.

Focus on Life Sciences: Building a More Open and Transparent Platform

The Langtaosha platform concentrates on the life sciences, currently covering 14 major disciplinary areas: Biochemistry and Biophysics, Bioengineering and Biotechnology, Cell Biology, Chemical Biology, Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Developmental Biology and Anatomy, Ecology and Environmental Biology, Genetics and Genomics, Immunology and Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Neurobiology, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Physiology and Pathology, and Botany and Agricultural Science.

To ensure transparency of the research record and version traceability, Langtaosha innovatively incorporates blockchain technology to record submission events and version update history. This technology does not assess paper quality or replace peer review, but provides an immutable, chronological record of research activity, particularly crucial for researchers who value originality and priority in publications.

Langtaosha aims to become a one-stop platform for the initial release of life-science research:

·Free submission and DOI assignment

·Free global open access

·Support for version updates with complete historical records

·Encouragement of originality, innovation, and ongoing exploration

Building Independent Scientific Research Infrastructure in the Open Science Era

Open science has become a defining global paradigm in scientific governance and cooperation. It promotes scientist-led communication and encourages interdisciplinary exchange, cross-regional collaboration, and knowledge sharing. For early-career researchers in particular, open science is especially valuable for enhancing personal academic reputation, promoting research integrity, strengthening research quality and confidence, and expanding scientific impact.

However, openness entails not just sharing but also ensuring autonomy, security, and sustainability. The capacity for independent dissemination of research results, along with secure, stable academic exchange and independently governed data infrastructure, is becoming a critical pillar of national research system.

The launch of Langtaosha is significant in multiple ways:

· Establishing an independent platform for disseminating China's life science achievements, safeguarding the security of research data management and academic communication.

· Promoting an integrated "database-preprint-journal" scientific publication release platform to shape a new paradigm for sharing academic achievements.

· Improving the efficiency of scientific communication, advancing scholarly progress, and enhancing China's voice within the global open-science ecosystem.

Towards an Intelligent Future: Making Scientific Communication Smarter, More Insightful and More Engaging

Currently, Langtaosha offers core functions such as preprint submission and open access. The first-phase development of the platform was led by SMART and has received significant support from numerous research teams, including those from Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Professor Hongwei Wang's team from Tsinghua University School of Life Sciences, Professor Xuan Ding's team from Tsinghua University School of Software, Professor Huaizong Shen's team from Westlake University School of Life Sciences, and Professor Yue Zhang's team from Westlake University School of Engineering.

Looking ahead, while adhering to the principles of non-interference in academic judgment and non-misleading research assessment, Langtaosha will progressively introduce more intelligent features to construct a comprehensive assistant system for the full research cycle, including AI-assisted screening, smart search and recommendation, AI-assisted manuscript refinement, and personalized academic services integrated with scholars' profiles. The goal is to create an intelligent assistant that spans the entire research process, making knowledge acquisition and research dissemination more efficient, seamless, and constructive.

A Sincere Invitation: Join the Tide, Let True Gold Shine

More than a platform; Langtaosha is a declaration: a belief in openness and collaboration, and a conviction that Chinese scientists have both the capacity and the responsibilities to contribute new strength to the development of global life sciences. 

To every researcher dedicated to exploring the frontiers of life sciences, we extend our sincerest invitation:

Bring your discoveries, your inspirations, and your journeys to Langtaosha.

Let the tide of science rise. Let the true gold shine.

Langtaosha.org.cn

Contact us: Ltspreprint@smart.org.cn