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The first semi-final of the new season of Science Battles took place at VDNKh. Four researchers from the Moscow, St Petersburg, and Nizhny Novgorod campuses of HSE University came together on one stage to prove that science recognises neither geographical nor disciplinary boundaries. The theme of the evening—Conquering Mountain Peaks—perfectly reflected the spirit of the competition: chemical formulas, social problems, psychology, and law all appeared side by side.

On March 5–6, 2026, the International BRICS School: New Generation was held at the Russian House in New Delhi. The event was organised by the BRICS Russia Expert Council with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and was dedicated to BRICS under India’s 2026 chairmanship.

More than 400 specialists from Russia and other countries participated in the 'Genetics and the Heart' Congress hosted by HSE University. Experts discussed the latest advances in clinical and molecular cardiology, new approaches to managing rare diseases, challenges in genome editing, and the role of artificial intelligence in interpreting medical and genetic data. A central theme of the congress was the practical integration of genetic knowledge into routine clinical practice.

HSE University and Nauka Publishers have signed a cooperation agreement. Nauka Publishers, Russia’s oldest scientific publishing house, which will celebrate its 300th anniversary next year, is also one of the largest in the world. Under the agreement, the parties will work together to promote the results of HSE University’s research and to advance science communication.

Researchers of the International Laboratory of Landscape Ecology took part in a major multi-institutional study of the carbon balance of Russia’s taiga peatlands

Scientists at HSE MIEM, in collaboration with colleagues from China, have developed a method to improve the durability of perovskite solar cells by addressing iodine loss from the material. The researchers introduced quaternary ammonium molecules into the perovskite structure; these molecules form strong electrostatic pairs with iodine ions, effectively anchoring them within the crystal lattice. As a result, the solar cells retain more than 92% of their power after a thousand hours of operation at 85°C. The study has been published in Advanced Energy Materials.

An international team, including researchers from HSE University, has created the first comprehensive map of quadruplexes—unstable DNA structures involved in gene regulation. For the first time, scientists have shown that these structures function in pairs: one is located in a DNA region that initiates gene transcription, while the other lies in a nearby region that enhances this process. In healthy tissues, quadruplexes regulate tissue-specific genes, whereas in cancerous tissues they influence genes responsible for cell growth and division. These findings may contribute to the development of new anticancer drugs that target quadruplexes. The study has been published in Nucleic Acids Research.

Valeria Vinogradova, a researcher at HSE University, together with British colleagues, studied how language proficiency affects cognitive processing in deaf adults. The study showed that higher language proficiency—regardless of whether the language is signed or spoken—is associated with higher activity and stronger functional connectivity within the brain network responsible for cognitive task performance. The findings have been published in Cerebral Cortex.

In late January 2026, HSE University hosted a discussion titled ‘Development and Urban Planning: Which Specialists Is the Market Waiting For?’ The event marked the launch of a new Bachelor’s programme in Development and Urban Planning created by the HSE Faculty of Urban and Regional Development in partnership with a consortium of developers, whose key members include MR and A101 Group.

On February 4–5, 2026, the HSE BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre (BRICS Competition Centre), together with the Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA), held a meeting of the BRICS Working Group for the Research of Competition Issues in Food Markets in Cairo. The antimonopoly authorities agreed to launch a joint analysis of the grain sector to be conducted with the support of the BRICS Competition Centre and based on the centre’s research report. On the sidelines of the event, a cooperation agreement was also signed between the St Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange (SPIMEX) and the Egyptian Mercantile Exchange.