Tag "IQ"

A team of researchers from HSE University, the RAS Research Centre for Medical Genetics, and the Moscow State University Institute of Anthropology have examined the impact of the human genotype on the production of trehalase, an enzyme responsible for metabolising 'mushroom sugar'. The researchers examined 1,068 DNA samples collected from inhabitants of northern and Arctic regions of Russia and found that the overall risk of trehalase deficiency in certain indigenous northern populations can be as high as 60–70%. The paper has been published in Problems of Nutrition.

News avoidance is a global phenomenon that affects millions of people around the world. Despite their conscious refusal to consume media content, many argue that the most important news still finds them. Researchers at the HSE Laboratory for Studies in Economic Sociology have studied how people perceive the ‘news-finds-me’ effect. The results of the study were published in the Bulletin of Moscow University.

Optimising a city's transportation system requires insights into the dynamics of urban traffic to understand where, how, when, and to what extent people travel within the city. The rationale behind route selection and the choice of transportation mode are also of importance. The primary source of this data is the travel diary, a tool designed to survey people's transport behaviour. Based on a paper by Maria Sergienko, a master's student of the HSE Faculty of Urban and Regional Development, IQ.HSE examines how people's daily travel can be described in detail and why an automated diary cannot yet completely replace its manual counterpart.

The history of the invention of telephony reads like a captivating detective novel, but even more intriguing are the events that contributed to the worldwide adoption of this  technology. In this series of columns on IQ.HSE, Anton Basov, HSE Faculty of Computer Science editor, discusses how telephones have become an integral part of our everyday life. The second episode in the series recounts the story of Alexander Graham Bell, who along with his wife and partners embarked on the journey of creating their 'start-up', seeking investments, promoting the telephone in Europe, and grappling with the absence of patent laws.

A team of researchers, including scientists of the HSE Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, have analysed the evolutionary path of the coronavirus from the Wuhan variant to Omicron. Their findings indicate that many genomic mutations in SARS-CoV-2 are shaped by processes occurring in the intestines and lungs, where the virus acquires the ability to evade the inhibitory effects of microRNA molecules. The study findings have been published in the Journal of Medical Virology.

Researchers from HSE University and MEPhI have analysed which physiological indicators recorded when watching a movie can predict the audience's assessment. It turned out that the activity of zygomaticus major (the ‘smiling muscle’), heart rate variability and EEG indicators can tell us most about the viewer’s impression of the movie. The results of the study were published in the Frontiers journal. The Government of the Russian Federation supported the research with a mega-grant as part of the ‘Science and Universities’ national project.

HSE University economists have found that more than 60% of Russians rely on self-treatment instead of visiting a doctor, something which is facilitated by the easy availability of medicines in Russian pharmacies. This is especially typical for mild illnesses. Buying medicines depends on income, and quite often people replace expensive medicines with cheaper ones. The article was published in the International Journal of Health Economics and Management.

The telephone was invented more than 150 years ago. The history of its invention reads like a detective novel, replete with painstaking work, serendipitous discoveries, moments of enlightenment, and legal battles. Even more intriguing are the events that led to the worldwide adoption of this technology. In this series of columns on IQ.HSE, Anton Basov, HSE Faculty of Computer Science editor, discusses how telephones have become an integral part of our everyday life. The first episode in the series recounts the story of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil demonstrating Bell's telephone at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.

Researchers from HSE University have analysed why people feel happier when they help others. It turns out that joy is caused by different reasons, depending on who we help — relatives or strangers. In both cases, happiness brings moral satisfaction from doing a good deed, but helping loved ones is also associated with satisfying the need for belonging and acceptance, while helping strangers provides a sense of autonomy. The results of the research were published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.

Researchers from HSE in Nizhny Novgorod and the Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory (CAO RAS) examined data on microwave emissions from several active solar regions. Astronomers discovered that a few hours prior to a flare, there was an increase in oscillations in the region with the highest observed brightness of the microwave emission during the flare. This method can potentially be used to achieve more accurate predictions of severe solar flares. The study has been published in Geomagnetism and Aeronomy.