News
Even if a black hole can be described with a mathematical model, it doesn’t mean it exists in reality. Some theoretical models are unstable: though they can be used to run mathematical calculations, from the point of view of physics they make no sense. A physicist from RUDN University developed an approach to finding such instability regions.
Chemists from RUDN University synthesized soluble biopolymers based on chitin from crab shells. Together with palladium, they form effective catalysts for organic reactions, and their nanoparticles can be re-used over ten times.
Having conducted a large-scale study, a team of scientists improved the classification of human diurnal activity and suggested using 6 chronotypes instead of just ’early birds’ and ’night owls’. Two thousand participants, including the employees of the Institute of Medicine of RUDN University, were tested in the course of the research.
Yakov Kuzyakov, a well-known soil scientist, a leading scientist at RUDN Agricultural and Technological Institute and a professor at the King Saud University, has been awarded the title of highly cited researcher in the field of agricultural sciences (according to Clarivate).
A RUDN chemist has obtained a new compound — a dumbbell-shaped phosphate-bridged molybdenum cluster. The cluster accelerates the reaction of the formation of sulfides from oxides and can be used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic manufacturing.
Mathematicians from RUDN University have studied the properties of compositional operators in spaces with mixed Lebesgue norms. It will help describe the diffusion of liquids in materials with cracks and in porous materials. Such spaces are also useful for obtaining estimates for solutions to the Navier-Stokes equation.
A biophysicist from RUDN University and his colleagues modelled the molecular dynamics of growth of microtubules, the most important elements of cell activity. The researchers have built a model for the interaction of microtubule subunits, which takes into account their internal and external connections. The results will help form a more complete model of the dynamic instability of microtubules. It will allow choosing chemical agents for the treatment of certain diseases, including neoplasms and neurodegenerative pathologies.
A RUDN chemist in collaboration with colleagues from N.D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry and N.K. Koltsov Institute of Developmental Biology (IDB), RAS have developed a new method for the synthesis of isoxazole derivatives — substances that destabilize the process of cell division and potentially may become the basis for new anti-cancer drugs. The new method is based on the use of easily available reagents and does not require high temperatures.
A chemist from RUDN University has developed a catalyst for the production of eugenol acetate, a substance that destroys the larvae of mosquitoes transmitting dangerous diseases, being a safe chemical for human health.
RUDN soil scientists have revealed a direct correlation between the rate of soil formation of carbon dioxide, called CO2 emissions, and the content of microbial biomass in it. It is known that CO2 emission from soil is mainly conditioned by respiration of soil microorganisms and plant roots. The more CO2 soil emits, the more microbial biomass it usually contains. It was shown that CO2 emission by chernozem of different ecosystems (or different types of land use) correlates with the content of microbial biomass, and most closely with the rate of its microbial respiration. And the soil with good microbial properties has the “best quality”, is more fertile, provides the highest yield of crops and other plant biomass.
A RUDN chemist has synthesized a catalyst for the production of gamma-valerolactone — an energy-intensive “green” biofuel. The catalyst based on zirconium dioxide and zeolite has shown high efficiency in converting the waste of wood plant materials — methyl levulinate — to gamma-valerolactone.
Biochemists from RUDN University determined which substances in peach leaves provide the antioxidant effect their extract has. They investigated the composition of the powders obtained from leaves of several varieties of peach and found that high polyphenol content correlates with antioxidant properties. The results will help start production of antioxidants from natural sources.