Top scientist: ten best scientific discoveries of 2025 named
Experts from the Russian Science Foundation presented the most striking results of Russian researchers in 2025. The collection includes a polymer antenna that allows you to see capillaries and arteries in real time without surgery, new feeds for improving fish quality, the first domestic platform for the mass production of complex chips and much more. Read more about the top ten impressive discoveries of the past year in the Izvestia article.
Neural network predicts forest fires
Preprocessed data from remote sensing of the Earth within the study region in the Irkutsk region on July 11, 2020 with detailed characteristics of vegetation cover
Scientists from Skoltech have created a system based on artificial intelligence and satellite data to assess the state of forests and predict fires with an accuracy of 87%. Unlike its analogues, it takes into account a variety of information, from weather to population activity in a particular region, which improves the quality of predictions. The development will allow responsible organizations to take measures in advance to protect citizens and forests, as well as reduce the risk of fires.
Nanocrystal with memory for record-low processors
Research team: Sergey Makarov, Alexandra Furasova, Prokhor Alekseev and Abolfazl Mahmudpour
Scientists from ITMO University, together with foreign colleagues, have developed a perovskite nanomemristor, an element that changes the resistance depending on the magnitude and direction of the current, while "memorizing" the history of the signals. The device can be used to store information or process data. The electronic component in the tests withstood more than 1.5 thousand rewrite cycles and worked for several months without destruction in room conditions. Traditional perovskite memristors usually fail after tens or hundreds of cycles.
The resulting perovskite nanomemristor will become the basis for energy-efficient and ultra-compact processors that simulate the work of the brain, for artificial intelligence and machine learning tasks.
A "cocktail" of active molecules
Photo of a photochemical reaction plant
Photocatalysts are special substances that accelerate chemical reactions when they are exposed to light. Using the example of phenothiazine, scientists from the Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences have discovered for the first time that, under the influence of light, the photocatalyst changes into new forms that exhibit higher catalytic activity. Such a "cocktail" works much better than a single molecule. Due to this, up to 99% of the desired product is obtained in the reaction, and new forms can work even in the spectral region in which the studied organic photocatalyst phenothiazine was not active before, for example, in red. The concept of a "cocktail of catalysts" opens the way to the creation of a new generation of energy-efficient and versatile reaction accelerators.
The "cosmic" protein
Project Manager Maxim Erokhin
Scientists from the Institute of Gene Biology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, together with foreign colleagues, have found out that proteins that help DNA form inside cells are responsible for the proper functioning of genes that control the development of the nervous system. This important conclusion was reached by a protein discovered by researchers, which hooked onto certain sections of DNA like a hook, formed loops on it and thereby folded. Schematically, such loops are designated as an arc, which resembles the flight path of a space rocket. Therefore, scientists named the protein Vostok in honor of the first manned spacecraft. Knowledge about the formation of DNA loops in the future will make it possible to correct the work of genes, including in hereditary diseases of the nervous system.
Polymer antenna allowed to see the arteries
Close-up of a spherical antenna showing miniature piezoelectric elements
Scientists from the A.V. Gaponov-Grekhov Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, together with foreign colleagues, have developed the world's first spherical multi-element antenna made of flexible piezopolymer material, which makes optoacoustic tomography more sensitive and informative. The device allows real-time monitoring of blood flow in large arteries and tiny capillaries, comparable in size to a single red blood cell.
Beneficial bacteria help sterlet to stress less
Investigation of the effect of developed additives on fish
Scientists from the Don State Technical University have identified new strains of beneficial bacteria that can become effective probiotics for growing sterlet, one of the valuable species of sturgeon. Two groups of bacteria were used in the experiment: the first helped digest proteins and starch, and the second also protected fish from stress and oxidative stress.
Thanks to the introduction of advanced scientific technologies and support from industrial partners, the development will make it possible to quickly put scientific results into practice and increase the efficiency and sustainability of Russian fish farms.
Secrets of the deep biosphere
Deep-sea habitable vehicle "Fendouge"
Scientists from the P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, as part of an international group, discovered thriving communities of organisms at a depth of more than 9.5 thousand meters. m in the hadal zone (deepest areas) The Pacific Ocean is more than twice as deep as the sunken Titanic. This is a unique natural laboratory for studying the conditions under which life could have originated on our planet: organisms live in complete darkness, in water with a temperature close to the freezing point, and at a pressure of almost 1 thousand. times the pressure on the Earth's surface. At the same time, it turned out that the locals feed on chemicals released during the sinking of tectonic plates. The discovery shows the incredible resilience of life and opens up new horizons for exploring the deep biosphere, where nature has learned to extract energy from chemistry rather than light.
New finds from Denisova Cave
Excavations in the southern gallery of the Denisova Cave
Scientists from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, with the participation of an international team, have studied in detail the previously little—studied Southern Gallery of the Denisova Cave in Siberia, the only archaeological laboratory in which the presence of three species of ancient man has been reliably established. There they found stone tools, skeletal remains of fossil hominins, fragments of animal bones, which allowed them to reconstruct the life of the cave's inhabitants. Excavations in the Southern Gallery have clarified data on Denisovans, Neanderthals and modern humans who lived here in different periods for 300 thousand years. The new findings have significantly increased the amount of information about the genetics of Denisovans, dating back to the period of about 200 thousand years. years ago, and allowed us to build a holistic picture of how the habitat was changing and how different types of people reacted to it.
The first two-dimensional alternating magnet
The author's team
The staff of the Kurchatov Institute Research Center and the Far Eastern Federal University have created and researched a new material — a two-dimensional alternating magnet with a thickness of only one monolayer. This opens the way to spintronic devices of the future — energy-efficient memory and computer logic circuits based on electron spin.
The technology developed by the authors makes it possible to create new devices in which information is transmitted not only by the charge of an electron, but also by its spin. This will enable the transition to extremely low-power chips that run faster than modern electronic components.
Unique technologies for manufacturing microwave chips
Plate photo
Svetlana-Rost specialists have created Russia's first library of topologies and models of standard submicron-level elements, allowing the design of powerful microwave chips. Modern technological solutions for the production of domestic gallium nitride and gallium arsenide microcircuits pave the way for the creation of a new element base for navigation, communications and radar systems. They not only provide technological independence in the production of key electronic components, but also enable the development of next-generation domestic microwave systems capable of competing with global counterparts.
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