Research & Expertise News at HSE University

Sergey Loesov, professor at the Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies (Faculty of Humanities), and his colleagues document endangered languages while working in the field in Tur Abdin and Qalamoun. In this interview, Prof. Loesov discusses field linguistics, Kurdish assistants, and a ‘bold analogy’ with the Prague Linguistic Circle.

The conference programme covers five research topics: economics; human capital and society; instrumental methods and models; foresight research; and international research. Hundreds of scientists from around the world will take part in the conference.

The HSE Faculty of Humanities has held the fourth Terra Hominis conference, a scientific event for students, doctoral students, and prospective researchers. This year, more than 700 applications were received (1.5 times more than last year) and more than 400 participants and 200 attendees from different regions of Russia and foreign countries took part. The conference partners were the Main Information and Computer Centre of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Centre.

Professors from HSE University–St Petersburg and researchers from Mexican universities discussed vectors for the development of higher education. The experts highlighted the important role of the academic community in promoting people's well-being.

Scientists at HSE University have discovered that in preeclampsia—one of the most severe complications of pregnancy—the placenta remodels its lipid metabolism, reducing its own cholesterol synthesis while increasing cholesterol transfer to the foetus. This compensatory mechanism helps sustain foetal nutrition but accelerates placental deterioration and may lead to preterm birth. The study findings have been published in Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences.

HSE researchers evaluated the accuracy of technology forecasts in the transportation sector over the past 50 years and found that the average accuracy rate does not exceed 25%, with the lowest accuracy observed in aviation and rail transport. According to the scientists, this is due to limitations of the forecasting method and the inherent complexities of the sector. The study findings have been published in Technological Forecasting and Social Change.

A team of scientists, including researchers from HSE University, has proposed a method for assessing stress resilience using physiological markers derived from wearable devices and saliva samples. The participants who adapted better to stress showed higher heart rate variability, higher zinc concentrations in saliva, and lower potassium levels.  The findings were published in the Journal of Molecular Neuroscience.

HSE researchers have found that the likelihood of quitting smoking rises with increasing financial struggles. While low levels of financial difficulties do not affect smoking behaviour, moderate financial stress can increase the probability of quitting by 13% to 21%. Responses to high financial stress differ by gender: men are almost 1.5 times more likely to give up cigarettes than under normal conditions, whereas no significant effect is observed on women’s decisions to quit smoking. These conclusions are based on data from the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS-HSE) for 2000–2023 and have been published in Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes.