A team of interdisciplinary researchers established a chronology for the appearance of different groups of hominids in the Denisova Cave using various methods such as studying feldspar microcrystals.

Giuseppe Lo Porto, Head of the Consulate General of Italy’s Department of Education in Moscow, came to NSU for an official visit. Issues related to a project to expand the study of the Italian language in Russia were discussed at the meeting.

NSU conducted the 2019 Winter School “Introduction to Multifactorial Disease Genomics” in cooperation with the Institute of Cytology and Genetics SB RAS, and the Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics (University of Edinburgh, UK). The NSU Laboratory of Theoretical and Applied Functional Genomics (“Synthetic Biology” Strategic Academic Unity at the NSU Department of Natural Sciences) organized the school that was attended by undergraduates, graduate students and young researchers from Moscow, Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, and Kazakhstan. This year, School participants were able to not only listen to lectures on the genetics of complex human traits, but also take part in practical exercises, and prepare reports on the most relevant current topics.

The head of NSU’s Vega Observatory monitored the recent lunar eclipse in the United States. Only the beginning of this astronomical phenomenon was visible from Russia.

Human breath contains hundreds of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) created by various metabolic processes in the body. VOCs provide information about a person’s age, habits and diseases. The compounds can serve as biomarkers for clinical diagnosis and monitoring of diseases. Breathing analysis has great potential to become an important method for clinical diagnosis. It is non-invasive which means samples can be collected without the aid of surgical instruments.

The New Year is a time of magic and gifts, as well as a time for congratulations and good wishes not only for family members and loved ones, but for everyone around us. Last weekend, NSU volunteers congratulated Great Patriotic War veterans on the upcoming New Year. In addition to talking to the veterans, they gave them gifts.