News

Having a mortgage increases the likelihood that a Russian family will plan to have a child within the next three years by 39 percentage points. This is the conclusion of a study by Prof. Elena Vakulenko and doctoral student Rufina Evgrafova from the HSE Faculty of Economic Sciences. The authors emphasise that this effect is most pronounced among women, people under 36, and those without children. The study findings have been published in Voprosy Ekonomiki.

Superconductivity is a unique state of matter in which electric current flows without any energy loss. In materials with defects, it typically emerges at very low temperatures and develops in several stages. An international team of scientists, including physicists from HSE MIEM, has demonstrated that when defects within a material are arranged in a specific pattern rather than randomly, superconductivity can occur at a higher temperature and extend throughout the entire material. This discovery could help develop superconductors that operate without the need for extreme cooling. The study has been published in Physical Review B.

Regular, long-term seminars are an important part of the work of HSE research teams. Petr Parshakov, Professor at the School of Economics and Finance of the Faculty of Computer Science, Economics, and Social Sciences at HSE University–Perm and Head of the International Laboratory of Intangible-Driven Economy, talks about the laboratory’s regular seminars: why such meetings are needed, how they are organised, the secret of successful seminars, and the place seminars hold today in academic life.

Researchers at HSE University have developed a new methodological approach to studying motor planning and execution. By using 3D-printed objects and an infrared tracking system, they demonstrated that the brain initiates the planning process even before movement begins. This approach may eventually aid in the assessment and treatment of patients with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s. The paper has been published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

Rainer Matos Franco, HSE University–St Petersburg graduate and candidate of historical sciences, has launched the podcast Russia Aloud (Rusia en Voz Alta). The goal of the project is to dispel myths, prejudices, and distortions in the perception of the country.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) pose challenges not only in medicine, but also in education, social policy, and technology. Scientists, doctors, educators, and government representatives have discussed how science and practice can help people with such disorders at the conference ‘Autism. Challenges and Solutions.’ For the first time, the event has been held at HSE University.

The HSE University campus in St Petersburg invites all first-years and friends of the university to HSE SPB Day at Sevkabel Port on September 13. The event combines an educational programme and recreational activities.

From pre-Petrine times to Soviet neighbourhoods, students from Russia, Brazil, Turkey, China, and Germany spent three weeks studying the multi-layered history of St Petersburg not just in the classroom but also on the city streets. The participants of the International Summer School at HSE University–St Petersburg visited imperial residences and Soviet communal apartments, Orthodox and Lutheran churches, the historical centre and residential areas.