Октябрь 2021 г.

Российская наука и мир (по материалам зарубежной электронной прессы)

CONTENTS / ОГЛАВЛЕНИЕ


• Russian expedition finds evidence of northernmost Stone Age hunters above the Arctic Circle
• Nanoparticles protect animals from skin parasites
• En Sibérie, une mine de cuivre géante pour nourrir la transition énergétique
• Climate change is melting Russia’s permafrost - and challenging its oil economy
• Rosatom official puts deadline on raising old nuclear submarines
• Obsidian spirit mirror used by John Dee, Queen Elizabeth I’s court astrologer, has Aztec origins
• Russia launches research ship with unmanned navigation capabilities
• Galapagos of Russia threatened by chemical waste
• A Chinese-Russian moon base? Not so fast
• Russian scientists conduct the first in the world study of electron density in Appel's salt crystals
• The horse you rode in on may have been made in Southern Russia
• Russian scientists advance in radiation modelling
• Russian team creates express sensor to determine the toxicity of honey
• Ancient permafrost bacteria can be resistant to modern antibiotics
• Russian and foreign scientists discussed innovative technologies for rehabilitation of the polluted Arctic coastline
• Des archéologues russes prépareront des modèles 3D de temples uniques en Syrie

Порезы на костях мамонта, обнаруженных на острове Котельный (Новосибирские острова) экспедицией Академии наук Якутии и Института археологии и этнографии СО РАН, нанесены человеком. Это позволяет сдвинуть границу человеческого обитания в эпоху палеолита на несколько сотен километров к северу.

Ancient cut marks on mammoth bones unearthed on a remote island in the frozen extremes of Siberia are the northernmost evidence of Paleolithic humans ever found, according to archaeologists.
The bones from the woolly mammoth skeleton, dated to about 26,000 years ago, were excavated this summer by a Russian expedition to Kotelny Island, in the far northeast of Siberia - 615 miles (990 kilometers) north of the Arctic Circle.
The team pieced together more than two-thirds of the skeleton - and they found cut marks and notches, made by stone or bone tools, on almost every bone. That indicates the animal was deliberately butchered, probably after it was hunted down by a nomadic band of Stone Age hunters, the archaeologists said.
It's the northernmost evidence of Paleolithic humans ever found, said expedition leader Alexander Kandyba, an archaeologist at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography at the Russian Academy of Sciences' Siberian branch.
"This suggests that the northern border of human existence in the Pleistocene was much to the north of the generally accepted ideas," Kandyba told Live Science in an email, referring to the Pleistocene epoch between 2.6 million and 11,700 years ago - the time of the last ice age.
Until now, the northernmost traces of Stone Age humans came from the valley of the Yana River in the Yakutia region of Siberia, and dated to between 27,000 and 29,000 years ago, he said.
"The discovery of this site makes it possible to move the northern border of the existence of ancient man and the development of the territory by him in the Pleistocene by almost 600 kilometers [370 miles] to the north," he said.
Mammoth bones
Kotelny Island is the largest of the New Siberian Islands, which are located between the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea, about 150 miles (250 km) off the northern coast of East Siberia.
At the time the mammoth was killed, the sea level was lower, and so Kotelny Island was joined to the mainland. The climate was also milder, although temperatures were still near or below freezing for most of the year.
Archaeologists previously found the fossilized remains of trees on the island, but it's too cold for them to grow there today. Kandyba’s team discovered the mammoth bones on Kotelny Island in 2019, but it was only during the expedition in July of this year that they could be fully excavated, he said.
Stone Age hunters
The team didn't find any of the tools that caused the marks, but they did find a large number of ivory shavings and chips that indicated that ancient people had carved into the mammoth tusks. They also found two ivory tools made from the tusks: a small spatula and a strange object that looks somewhat like a squeegee; archaeologists are still trying to determine what it was used for, Kandyba said.
From the bones, the archaeologists gleaned other clues about the lifestyle of the Stone Age hunters. For a start, it seems clear that they hunted mammoths, although other archaeologists have suggested Paleolithic hunters may have avoided such large and dangerous prey in favor of smaller animals, such as reindeer. "I think people hunted all kinds of animals at that time," Kandyba said.
There was no sign that the mammoth had been trapped before it was killed - a method some archaeologists suggest such hunters may have used.
"The fact that the skeleton of the mammoth was located on the slope of an ancient terrace suggests that the animal was definitely killed in the open air, and not in a mud trap," he said.
The findings from the latest research on the mammoth skeleton and the evidence that it was butchered by Stone Age humans are now being prepared for publication in a scientific journal, Kandyba said.

Исследователи Российского государственного университета нефти и газа имени И.М.Губкина, Казанского федерального университета и Технического университета Луизианы разработали наноразмерное инсектицидное покрытие для защиты сельскохозяйственных и домашних животных от эктопаразитов. Препарат перметрин вводится в нанотрубки минерала галлуазит, что обеспечивает постепенное высвобождение лекарства и создание устойчивого слоя на шерсти животного.

An international researcher team of Louisiana Tech University, Gubkin University and Kazan Federal University reported the fabrication of nanoscale insecticidal hair coating for prolonged anti-lice protection. The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation.
"Treating agricultural and domestic animals infected with ectoparasites (such as lice, fleas, chewing lice, etc.) is among the primary challenges of veterinary medicine and agriculture. In case of mass infestation, regular measures, such as isolation of infected animals or repeated reapplication of insecticides, are not always effective. These methods are time-limited and provide a short-term therapeutic effect," explains co-author Rawil Fakhrullin, Head of Kazan University’s Bionanotechnology Lab. "Using an inorganic nanoscale carrier as a component of a therapeutic formulation for topical application of insecticides might be the optimal way to address this challenge."
Halloysite, a natural nanosized tubular mineral, was used as a drug carrier capable of forming a durable and uniform coating on the surface of animal hair.
"Loading an insecticidal drug, permethrin, into halloysite nanotubes reduces the release rate, leading to fewer re-treatments and fewer side effects," continues Dr. Fakhrullin.
The paper shows that after goat hair samples were treated with halloysite-based nanocontainers, a stable 2-3 micron waterproof coating was formed on the surface of the hair, suitable for long-term antiparasitic protection.
"Long-term insecticidal activity is the result of the gradual release of the drug from the nanotubes. A formulation based on halloysite retains its protective antiparasitic properties after washing the animal’s hair with water. This stable and water-resistant composite coating provides a drug dose effective for long-term protection of animals," says the interviewee.
The authors also examined the hair structure of the capybara, world’s largest rodent native to South America. They found that the wax-like layer present on the hair surface of this semi-aquatic animal facilitates the formation of a denser and more durable coating of halloysite than in terrestrial animals (guinea pigs and goats). The wax helps retaining nanoclay particles on the surface of the animal’s hair.
Dr. Fakhrullin comments about the test subjects, "We studied the suppressive effects of nanocontainers on goat ectoparasites Damalinia caprae from the Trichodectidae family. At the same time, our technique can be effective towards other types of lice, since these parasites live in hair and maintain close contact with hair cuticles, regardless of the animal’s dietary preferences. We believe that this approach can be used for long-term and sustainable antiparasitic protection of farm animals, especially if other insecticidal preparations are encapsulated in addition to permethrin. In addition, similar drugs can be used for the prevention or treatment of head lice in humans."
Furthermore, the described material can also be helpful in treating fur in zoological collections.

Удоканское медное месторождение в Забайкальском крае, третье по величине в мире, было открыто в 1949 г., но его разработка начинается только сейчас - строительство горнодобывающего комплекса должно завершиться в следующем году. В ближайшие пятнадцать лет прогнозируется значительный рост спроса на медь, поскольку этот металл играет ключевую роль в возобновляемой энергетике и «зеленых технологиях» благодаря своим свойствам тепло- и электропроводности.

Au plus profond de la Sibérie, dans la taïga sauvage de Transbaïkalie, l'expédition soviétique menée par la géologue Elizaveta Bourova cherchait de l'uranium pour alimenter l'arsenal nucléaire national quand, en 1949, elle est tombée sur un gigantesque gisement de cuivre. Plus de 70 ans plus tard, d'importants défis logistiques ont été surmontés et un complexe minier est en train de naître, entre le lac Baïkal et l'océan Pacifique, en plein boom du cuivre, un métal clé pour la transition énergétique.
"C'est un évènement pour l'Extrême-Orient et toute l'industrie minière russe et mondiale", affirme Valéri Kazikaïev, 66 ans, président du conseil d'administration de la société Udokan Copper, qui développe le site dans le massif de l'Oudokan. M. Kazikaïev fait le long trajet depuis Moscou jusqu'à la mine deux fois par mois. Cette fois, il a invité une équipe de l'AFP à l'accompagner. Fin septembre, la taïga d'automne, rouge et jaune, s'étend à perte de vue. Mais à 2.000 mètres d'altitude, où se trouve le site, il neige dru.
"L'Union soviétique n'a pas pu développer ce gisement", explique Valéri Kazikaïev devant l'usine, dont la construction a commencé en 2019 et doit s'achever courant 2022.
Conditions extrêmes
"En raison de conditions naturelles difficiles, construire ici est très coûteux. C'est une zone sismique, il y a beaucoup de permafrost, il fait jusqu'à -60°C degrés l'hiver. Il n'y avait aucune technologie" adaptée, détaille M. Kazikaïev.
Dans les carrières, le travail de récolte du minerai contenant le cuivre a déjà commencé en faisant sauter à l'explosif le permafrost, ce sol gelé toute l'année. Refermant plus de 26 millions de tonnes de cuivre, Udokan Copper se présente comme le plus grand gisement inexploité de Russie, et le troisième au monde. Pour développer le projet, le groupe, qui fait partie de la holding USM du milliardaire Alicher Ousmanov, a levé près de 3 milliards de dollars auprès de banques russes, profitant aussi des conditions préférentielles accordées pour développer l'Extrême-Orient.
Cerise sur le gâteau : le cuivre, rebaptisé "nouvel or noir", a atteint des prix historiques en 2021.
"Dans les quinze prochaines années, la demande de cuivre va croître de 30 %", à mesure que "l'économie verte" montera en puissance, prévoit Ioulia Bouchkina, analyste chez Fitch à Moscou.
"Le cuivre joue un rôle clé dans les énergies renouvelables et les technologies vertes en raison de ses propriétés de conductivité thermique et électrique", ajoute-t-elle, citant la production croissante de véhicules électriques, très gourmands en cuivre.
En ligne de mire, le marché asiatique très demandeur, notamment la Chine, la Corée du Sud et le Japon.
Pour cela, Udokan Copper compte utiliser sa proximité avec la voie ferrée Magistrale Baïkal-Amour (BAM), située à 30 kms du site et construite sur ce tracé au début des années 1980 avec l'espoir, longtemps déçu, du développement des gisements de la région.
Désert de glace
La BAM, projet grandiose et gouffre financier au temps de l'URSS, traverse la Sibérie sur plus de 4.000 kms jusqu'au Pacifique. Après de nombreux travaux sur la ligne, Udokan Copper espère bientôt envoyer ses cathodes et ses condensats de cuivre en train jusqu'à la frontière chinoise et aux ports russes sur la mer du Japon.
"Nous sommes 2.000 kilomètres plus près de Tokyo que de Moscou", note M. Kazikaïev. Mais les difficultés logistiques se multiplient dans ce désert de glace.
Une centrale électrique a été construite pour fournir l'énergie nécessaire aux travaux puis à l'usine. Une route a également été bâtie pour relier le minuscule aérodrome de Novaïa Chara au gisement. Un projet est à l'étude pour agrandir cet aéroport. Dans cette zone à la population éparse, où vivent encore quelques centaines de membres du peuple autochtone éleveur de rennes Evenk, il a fallu faire venir pour la construction 4.000 travailleurs de Sibérie et des ex-républiques soviétiques.
Sur le chantier, Alexeï Iachtchouk, 44 ans, directeur général adjoint et chef de l'exploitation, avance dans la neige et le brouillard, expliquant avoir l'habitude de travailler au milieu des tempêtes et des fortes chutes de neige.
"Le principal défi est de maintenir les routes en bon état. Les niveleuses et les bulldozers travaillent constamment", dit-il, laconique, précisant que le travail ne s'arrête que par 50 mètres de visibilité et moins de -35°C degrés.

Таяние вечной мерзлоты в России в результате изменения климата ставит под угрозу нефтегазовую промышленность. 40% зданий и объектов инфраструктуры в районах вечной мерзлоты уже повреждены. Компаниям приходится вкладывать значительные средства в укрепление зданий, мониторинг температуры почвы и установку высокотехнологичных систем охлаждения.

Thawing earth once thought to be permanently frozen is springing to life and threatening a crucial chunk of Russia’s economy.
The melting of the thick layer of the earth known as permafrost is a result of climate change, according to scientists and Russia government research. Two-thirds of the country sits on such soil, including much of its oil and gas infrastructure. Since 1976, Russia’s average temperature has risen 0.92 degree Fahrenheit per decade, or 2½ times the global pace, government data shows.
Mines and plants are experiencing increasing corrosion leaks and cracks, stemming in large part from defrosting ground. In the pipeline industry, braces and other mechanisms, previously anchored into permafrost, often corrode, twist and bend when the earth below changes, according to ecologists and other researchers. Companies are pouring millions of dollars into reinforcing buildings, monitoring soil temperatures and installing high-tech cooling systems.
The phenomenon was a contributor to the largest ever spill in the polar Arctic in spring 2020, when damage to a diesel fuel storage tank in remote Siberia caused 20,000 tons of fuel to leak.
After the spill, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a national state of emergency and the country’s Prosecutor General ordered regional prosecutors to inspect all hazardous facilities built on permafrost. Russia’s Investigative Committee, the nation’s main investigations agency, later blamed the incident on negligence and poor maintenance. Officials at the Norilsk Nickel mining company that operates the installation - along with some government scientists and elected officials - said thawing permafrost caused the failure of posts supporting the basement where the storage tank lay.
"In the near past, everybody believed that permafrost would have an impact on infrastructure by the end of the century. Now we know we don’t have much time," said Vladimir Romanovsky, professor of geophysics at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. "Oil, gas, villages - it’s all on the line."
Russian economic officials and scientists estimate that thawing permafrost could affect more than a fifth of Russian infrastructure. The economy stands to lose more than $68 billion by 2050, a government minister said in May. The government says that 40% of buildings and infrastructure facilities in permafrost-covered areas have already been damaged.
Aging Russian buildings and equipment, much dating to the Cold War, don’t help matters. "We must be prepared for this," said Mr. Putin during a nationwide address in June. Last month, he ordered the creation of a national permafrost monitoring system to analyze data from 140 stations.
In Yakutsk, capital of the Northeast region of Yakutia, residents describe water pipes that regularly burst, creating fissures and holes in buildings. Roads buckle as moisture seeps in from below, leading to cracks in the asphalt. Trains run at slower speeds because of deformed tracks, local engineers said. Flooding was behind the resettlement of at least one waterlogged village from the basin of the remote Kolyma River.
Across the countryside, the effect of permafrost is plain to see. Thawing ice has transformed farmland into swamps and rivers swell in springtime with up to 30% more runoff compared with the 1980s, local scientists said. In villages, locals who previously stored meat and other perishables in cellars dug deep into the ground now must use ordinary deep freezers because of waterlogged subsoil.
For funerals, residents for centuries had to dig to approximately 5 feet underground, and then burn wood to heat the soil to suitable softness required to bury the dead. These days, there is no need for the second step, said local ecologist Valentina Dmitriyeva.
Business challenge
Permafrost, so named because it is a permanently frozen thick layer under the earth’s surface, consists of soil, rock or sediment that usually remains below freezing for more than two years. It can be found near dry land and under the ocean floor, anywhere from an inch to several miles beneath the surface. It is most common in historically frigid places such as Russia, the Alps and China’s mountainous regions.
The softening of the soil is both a result of global warming, and emits gases that contribute to it, according to the U.S. Environment Protection Agency. As permafrost thaws, the remains of plants and other organic material decompose, releasing methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the EPA says, exacerbating the matter.
In some areas, thawing ground can give way to craters. Scientists say the likely reason is the steady buildup of underground gases able to burst through soft upper permafrost layers.
In Alaska, the top layer of permafrost at the northern sensor site of Deadhorse has warmed by 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit per decade since the late 1970s, according to U.S. statistics. Foundations of Alaskan homes have been unsettled while highways and railroad tracks require repair due to cracking, heaving and sinking. Canada’s northern Arctic has experienced damage to homes, roads, indigenous cultural sites and the marine environment.
For some of Russia’s biggest businesses, adjustments for permafrost are already under way.
Alrosa, one of the world’s largest diamond producers, has 82% of its reserves in permafrost areas, according to Morgan Stanley. The company says it has added "freezing columns" to its mines; the columns connect to refrigeration stations on the surface and shoot coolant dozens of feet beneath the ground to firm up the earth.
Alrosa has what it calls a Permafrost Surveillance Unit in Siberia to monitor the soil temperature in 4,800 wells. Another miner, PAO Severstal, says it is building structures on stilts, to better adapt to shifting ground.
For oil-and-gas companies, permafrost interferes with both the extraction of resources and subsequent transport.
Around 90% of the gas production of state-controlled energy giant PAO Gazprom is located in permafrost-covered provinces, according to Morgan Stanley. At its Bovanenkovskoye field, a vast facility in Northern Russia that Gazprom hopes will last for another century, the company has installed 1,000 vapor-liquid cooling units, a system of underground pipes to circulate a refrigerant compound and ensure the ground stays frozen.
Alexander Sobul, a professional diver and underwater repairman for pipeline infrastructure in Yakutia for four decades, said he’s noticed increased cracking and deformation during his dives. He blames the loosening of previously dense soil surrounding pipelines. "The welding doesn’t hold up," Mr. Sobul says.
Morgan Stanley researchers say melting permafrost and related infrastructure degradation could harm Russia’s credit profile. The oil-and-gas sector contributes as much as one-fifth of the nation’s gross domestic product, while fuel and energy products make up the majority of Russia’s exports.
"You can see that the companies take it very seriously," said Willem Visser, a credit analyst at asset manager T. Rowe Price. Mr. Visser has added metrics of permafrost risk to his analyses of Russian energy companies.
‘The building was shaking’
The effects are particularly acute in Yakutia, the vast northeast Russia area of 1.2 million square miles, five times the size of France. Yakutia’s capital of Yakutsk is the coldest constantly inhabited city in the world; temperatures fall to below minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit for at least three months each year. The region this summer made headlines for out-of-control wildfires that further thawed the soil, scientists say.
Commodity extraction is a key part of the Yakutia economy. The $55 billion Power of Siberia pipeline, a strategically crucial project that delivers Russian natural gas to China, largely carries gas found in Yakutia fields.
When the first crack appeared in the ceiling of her weatherworn Yakutsk apartment, Larisa Tikhonova paid it little mind.
Shortly after, the cracks multiplied, spreading across newly formed crevices on the wall of her 1950s-era kitchen. Later, a stench rose from standing water under the four-story building. Ms. Tikhonova and her neighbors called emergency services, and even sued the government of this city of 300,000 in remote northeast Siberia, but no help came. She has been waiting for 11 years.
Other locals say they too are accustomed to hearing groans or pops as buildings lean and walls crack. Fewer than three dozen of Yakutsk’s 2,000 concrete apartment buildings were deemed safe when tested roughly 10 years ago, the ecologist Ms. Dmitriyeva said, and few repairs have been made since.
Segments of the city’s buildings collapsed in 2010, 2011, 2015 and last year.
On a walk earlier this year through Avtodorozhnaya Street, a quiet residential neighborhood, local construction engineer Eduard Romanov surveyed corrosion nibbling at the foundation of a two-story apartment building. In summer 2020, the building was marked as uninhabitable by local officials after a foot-wide fissure appeared on the front facade while residents were still inside.
Security guard Eduard Kirillin was among them, sitting at his computer drinking tea in the apartment his parents owned, when he heard a loud cracking sound. Worried the roof had caved in, Mr. Kirillin ran into the street with other neighbors, only to discover the side of the building splitting apart.
"I remember earlier seeing water pipes leaking under the building," Mr. Kirillin said. "It was always wet under there. And the night before the accident, it was as though the building was shaking," he said.
One month after the incident, residents were allowed to return to salvage belongings. Mr. Kirillin, said his parents were compensated the equivalent of around $42,600 by the local government. The building was demolished this summer.
Houses in Yakutsk could once safely be built on piles sunk 26 feet into frozen ground, Mr. Romanov said. Nowadays, they must be dug in at almost 40 feet.
Roughly 3 miles away on Lenina Street, in a corner apartment two floors above Ms. Tikhonova, Viktor Polyanichko’s parents are surrounded by deterioration. Their apartment, Mr. Polyanichko said, "has big cracks everywhere. The doorway is skewed. And my parents say they can hear the beams cracking above."
Neither Mr. Polyanichko nor other residents could assign certain blame. The State Building and Housing Supervision Authority of Yakutia estimates that 99% of cracks in homes can be traced to poor building maintenance. "The most important thing is management," said Vlad Permyakov, the agency’s first deputy head.
Local ecologists and scientists, as well as engineers such as Mr. Romanov, said thawing ground was a major factor. "Building basements is very difficult," said Valery Lepov, director of research-focused Larionov Institute of the Physical-Technical Problems of the North. "We can do this only in some places where there is not a lot of thawing."
In summer 2020, seams burst on a local fuel tank connected to an electrical power station in the remote Yakutia village of Argakhtakh. Some five tons of diesel fuel flooded into the surrounding soil and a nearby river.
The district prosecutor investigated the spill and determined that it resulted from the failure of district officials to promptly detect that the fuel storage tank showed signs of erosion, a telltale sign of thawing permafrost.
Valentina Ochirova contributed to this article.

Росатом заявил, что подъем атомных подводных лодок К-27 и К-159, затонувших в 1982 и 2003 гг. в Карском и Баренцевом морях, состоится в 2030 году. Лодки необходимо поднять, чтобы избежать попадания в воду ядерного топлива - в случае разгерметизации реакторных отсеков радионуклиды могут распространиться на сотни километров.

An official with Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, has announced a deadline for raising two Soviet-era nuclear submarines that have been lying for decades at the bottom of seas in the Arctic over fears their reactors could contaminate fertile international fishing grounds.
"As indicated in the strategy for the development of the Arctic, 2030, not earlier," Anatoly Grigoriev, head of Rosatom’s international technical assistance project, told Interfax late last month.
The announcement confirms what unnamed officials had earlier told Russian state media more than a year ago. Since then, Bellona has urged Russia, during its two-year chairmanship of the Arctic Council, to pursue retrieving the submarines to avoid the contamination risk their reactors, and the spent nuclear fuel they contain, pose to the ocean environment.
Grigoriev’s remarks concerned the K-27 and K-159, both of which went down still loaded with their uranium fuel. Both submarines, say experts, are in a precarious state. But the submarines sank under different circumstances.
The K-27 was scuttled intentionally in 1982, and its reactor was plugged with an industrial sealant before the Soviet Navy submerged it in the shallows around the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago. But there is evidence that the sealant is eroding.
Last month, divers from the Center for Underwater Research of the Russian Geographical Society conducted a survey of the submarine’s hull. Metal pieces were cut free and the thickness of the hull was measured, along with other inspections.
The K-159, which sank while it was being towed to decommissioning in 2003, poses similar threats. Some 800 kilograms of spent nuclear fuel remained in its reactor when it went down in some of the most fertile fishing grounds in the Kara Sea.
In both cases, experts fear that a nuclear chain reaction could occur should water leak into the submarines’ reactor compartments.
Russian scientists have kept a close eye on the K-159, launching regular expeditions to monitor for potential radiation leaks. According to their data, should the submarine depressurize, radionuclides could spread over hundreds of kilometers, heavily impacting the local fishing industry.
Grigoriev has earlier estimated that raising the wrecks will cost some €123 million - almost exactly what experts say would be the cost of damages should contamination occur.
"Should the K-159 depressurize, it could cause €120 million of damage per month," Grigoriev told Bellona at a meeting in 2020.
Yet the subs represent just a fraction of the radiation hazards that the Soviet Navy dumped at sea. Between 1959 and 1992, the Soviets carried out 80 missions to sink radioactive debris in Arctic water. In total, some 18,000 objects considered to be radioactive waste were plunged to Arctic depths. Aside from the K-159 and the K-27, the Soviet Navy scuttled reactor compartments, solid radioactive waste, a number of irradiated vessels, as well as old metal structures and radioactive equipment.
The majority of this debris was left in the eastern bays of the Kara Sea near the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago. Still, the exact location of some of these sunken objects is still unknown. The whereabouts of the reactor compartment from the K-140 nuclear submarine remains unaccounted for.
And there are other radiation hazards that are farther afield. The K-278, or Komsomolets, nuclear submarine lies at the bottom of the Norwegian Sea.
"A quarter of all the radioactive waste that has been sunk in the oceans belongs to us," Sergei Antipov, director of strategic planning and project management at the Nuclear Safety Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said in 2020.
In his recent remarks, Grigoriev said Russian officials were working with the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development in order to fund retrieving the submarines.

Исследователи из Манчестерского университета, Института геологии и минералогии им. В.С.Соболева СО РАН и Миссурийского университета установили, что необычное обсидиановое зеркало, принадлежавшее выдающемуся ученому и придворному астрологу королевы Елизаветы I Джону Ди, имеет ацтекское происхождение. Судя по химическому составу, обсидиан был добыт в Центральной Мексике, в районе Пачуки.

A spirit mirror, used by John Dee, the 16th-century polymath and astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I, had its origin in Mexico, a team of researchers report in the journal Antiquity. Using scientific methods, they proved that the obsidian from which the circular mirror is made came from near Pachuca, 85km north-east of Mexico City - but how it entered Dee’s possession remains a mystery.
Historians suspected that Dee’s mirror was brought to Europe from Mexico, but lacked evidence. So, the research team - from the University of Manchester, the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the University of Missouri - used a form of x-ray analysis to measure the mirror’s composition and compared it to samples taken from various Mexican obsidian sources. Their results showed that it best matched the samples from Pachuca.
"Although circular mirrors are a well-known type of Aztec object, no examples have previously been confirmed by analytical provenancing," the researchers write.
"Obsidian was used [by the Aztecs] in many ways, including for medicinal and protective purposes," the team continues. "The reflective appearance acted as a shield against bad spirits, and captured the image and soul of a person." The material was also associated with death and the underworld. The Aztec god Tezcatlipoca ("Smoking Mirror") is often shown wearing mirrors, which represented his ability to predict the future.
Such associations probably influenced Europeans like Dee, who may have bought the mirror in Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic) in the 1580s and used it during his occult investigations. Over many years, Dee worked with mediums, who used mirrors and crystal balls to receive communications from angels and spirits. Dee also served as scientific advisor to the queen and helped to plan some of England’s voyages to the Americas.
"Given Dee’s interest in the New World, he may have been aware of the significance of obsidian, and the omniscience of Tezcatlipoca’s mirrors would have had an obvious attraction," the researchers write. "Indeed, this may have been a primary reason for its acquisition."
The British Museum received Dee’s mirror in 1966, and it is now on display in the institution’s Enlightenment Gallery. As part of their investigation, the team analysed three further obsidian mirrors in the British Museum’s collection and discovered that they too had Aztec origins. As with Dee’s mirror, the obsidian forming one of the other looking glasses originated in Pachuca, while the other two came from Ucareo, 170km north-west of Mexico City.
"Mirrors have a long history of use within European magical practices," says Stuart Campbell, professor of Near Eastern archaeology at the University of Manchester and one of the research paper’s authors. "So the attraction of a mirror of a novel material, coming from an exotic culture with stories of its use for divination, and the drama of seeing dimly reflected images within it probably made it a very tempting object for [Dee] to use."

Спущено на воду первое в России беспилотное научно-исследовательское судно «Пионер-М», построенное для Севастопольского государственного университета. Маломерное судно сможет работать автономно в течение пяти дней.

Russia recently launched its first ship equipped with unmanned navigation capabilities. The Pioneer-M will be the first vessel in Russia to test unmanned navigation technologies and will be used to advance the deployment of the capabilities.
The launching ceremony of the research vessel took place at the Sredne-Nevsky shipyard. A catamaran built of composite materials, the Pioneer-M is approximately 85 feet long and displaces 114 tons. The vessel uses an integrated control system and is designed to interact with marine mobile research laboratories. It will have a maximum speed of 10 knots and can operate autonomously for five days with a cruising range of 500 miles.
"The launching of the Pioneer-M research vessel is a landmark event in the Year of Science and Technology," said Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Chernyshenko. "This project was developed by students from seven of the country's universities and is a clear example of cooperation between higher education, science, and industry."
The Pioneer-M is being built for the Sevastopol State University. Teams of the country's leading shipbuilding universities, including in St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Arkhangelsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, and Vladivostok, proposed ideas for the ship working in collaboration with the Zvezdochka Ship Repair Center as a strategic partner. An inter-university student team led by teachers and mentors from the United Shipbuilding Corporation created the concept of the R/V Pioneer-M.
"We see this vessel in the near future as an unmanned vehicle on the water," said the head of the USC Alexei Rakhmanov. "The corporation is gradually introducing automated systems, the appearance of which brings us closer and closer to the era of unmanned navigation. This is not only the minimization of costs in the construction of ships, cheaper transportation, but also a decrease in the environmental load on the water areas of rivers and seas."
The research vessel is currently being outfitted at the shipyard. The plan is to operate the vessel year-round in the waters of the Black and Azov Seas.

Состояние Байкала таково, что ЮНЕСКО всерьез рассматривает вопрос о включении озера в список объектов Всемирного наследия, находящихся под угрозой. Окончательное решение будет принято в начале 2022 года. Среди проблем Байкала - колебания уровня воды, рост водорослей, большое количество попадающих в воду органических и неорганических отходов.

Growing up in the shadow of a sprawling chemical plant in the crime- and poverty-ridden Siberia of the 1990s, Yegor Lesnoi watched the underwater adventures of Jacques Cousteau on television and dreamed of one day joining the French explorer’s crew.
Yet it was only at age 16 that Lesnoi first saw one of the aquatic wonders of the world, which, in Russian terms, was on his doorstep: Baikal, the planet’s oldest and deepest lake, is just 150km - but could be a million miles - from his heavily polluted hometown of Usolye-Sibirskoye.
Now Lesnoi (30) is making up for lost time, free-diving in Baikal and hauling out tonnes of tyres that have accumulated close to the banks of a lake that holds one-fifth of the world’s unfrozen fresh water, and more than all of North America’s Great Lakes combined.
"I started about three years ago and now I do it several times a year," Lesnoi says in Irkutsk, the city where he now lives, about 70km from Baikal.
"A friend pulls me along slowly behind his jet-ski, I spot the tyres and free-dive down to perhaps 5 metres, attach a rope and he hauls them ashore. This year we’ve cleared about 4½ tonnes from Baikal," he adds, explaining that the tyres fell from the sides of boats, docks and piers where they were used as buffers.
"We’ve also removed tyres from the Irkutsk reservoir and other places in the region. We’ve probably cleared 400 tonnes in total, and taken them to a factory that turns them into safe matting for playgrounds and sports facilities."
Experts say Baikal now faces far more serious threats than decades’ worth of decaying rubber: swathes of illegal building work, surging tourist numbers that are overwhelming local infrastructure, and the spectre of a potential disaster involving 6.5 million tonnes of toxic waste stored in ponds near the shoreline.
A major pulp and paper mill in the lakeside town of Baikalsk was finally shut down in 2013, half a century after its construction inspired opposition from the Soviet Union’s first environmental protest movement.
But a succession of official plans to dismantle the factory and clean up the site have fallen by the wayside, and the chemical slurry remains in an area that scientists say is prone to major flooding and mudslides every few decades.
"The waste is still there, in huge trenches 1km long, 100-200 metres wide and 4 metres deep," says Alexander Suturin, head of the biogeochemistry laboratory at the Limnological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Siberia.
"Every 50 years or so, the southern shore of Baikal has very heavy rains, when about 150mm fall over three days. Big mudslides occurred in 1928 and 1971 and caused major damage. If it’s just rocks and trees ending up in the lake then it doesn’t harm Baikal, but chemical waste is a different story," Suturin warns.
"Moreover, an underground lake of polluted water has formed beneath the factory, which constantly trickles into Baikal. When the plant was operating, this water was pumped out, but since it was shut down it has just grown and grown."
Unesco included Baikal on its world heritage list in 1996, noting its extraordinary age (25 million years) and depth (1,700 metres) and referring to it as the "Galapagos of Russia" for its biodiversity and the great number of endemic species that are among more than 2,000 types of animals and plants that live here.
At the same time, the UN agency called on Russia to eliminate potential threats to Baikal that could arise in surrounding areas, and to protect the 336 rivers that feed the lake and the single one that flows from it - the Angara, whose waters snake north and join the mighty Yenisei before reaching the Arctic Ocean.
Yet, in recent years Russia has significantly eased controls on the quality of water that can be discharged into the lake, and on infrastructure projects in its vicinity.
Environmentalists say Baikal is also under pressure from the impact of global warming and major forest fires of recent years, as well as significant fluctuations in its water level caused by dams and hydroelectric power stations on the Angara.
In a report this year, Unesco asked Russia to respond to a number of concerns and queries about the state and protection of Baikal by next February, warning that the lake could be placed on the agency’s "list of world heritage in danger" later in 2022.
Baikal itself remains magnificent in all seasons. On a sunny October day the hills blaze with autumn colours. Russians stroll and picnic along its banks, looking out over crystalline water to snow-capped peaks more than 100km away beyond the far shore.
The pandemic sharply cut the number of visitors coming here from China - more than two million of whom travelled to Baikal in 2019 - but triggered a surge in Russian tourists to lakeside villages whose basic infrastructure lags far behind current needs.
"We’re seeing algae growing rapidly in some shallow parts of the lake, which scientists say is linked to large amounts of organic and non-organic waste going into Baikal," says Mikhail Kreindlin of Greenpeace Russia.
"Lots of tourist sites around the lake don’t have proper waste water treatment, including sewage systems, and there are big guesthouses that just release their waste water straight into the lake," he explains.
In villages such as Listvyanka, local people complain that everything from the road system to power and water supplies are being put under unsustainable pressure by tourist numbers and by unregulated building, with some developers accused of erecting large guesthouses under the guise of family homes.
On just his second day in the job, the newly elected mayor of Listvyanka, Maxim Maximov, admits that he has "a big task ahead".
"It’s a big responsibility too. But I grew up near here, I’ve spent my 43 years living on the shore of Baikal and so I’ve seen changes to people’s lives and to the nature here. I understand that we have to improve things for the people living here and for visitors.
"I want people to be proud of Baikal, this world treasure, and to come from other parts of Russia and around the world to see it. But we can’t go on with this chaotic tourism and chaotic building work that we see now," he explains.
"There have been infrastructure problems here for a long time, and major upgrades haven’t been done. It’s very important that we move towards establishing a proper sewage system and water supply for local people. It’s crazy that people living here have problems with drinking water - what should they do, go down to Baikal with a bucket?"
Alex Priener (72), from Zug in Switzerland, has paid several visits to Baikal, which some Russians call the "sacred sea" of Siberia. "For me it’s the most special lake in the world," he says in Listvyanka while taking photos of the snowy mountains glinting in the distance. "Today it looks a bit like Lake Geneva but the scale of Baikal is totally different, of course."
Vlada and Dima, a young couple from Chita, a city 1,100km away towards Mongolia, keep their eyes towards the lake rather than dwell on Listvyanka’s mishmash of old and new buildings and its recently erected Ferris wheel.
"You come to Baikal to be in nature but that spoils it a bit," says Dima (21). "Development needs to be done properly. The main thing is to protect Baikal, but we’re just little people so what can we do? If they want to build something, they’ll just build it."
Many people see corruption as the main cause of Baikal’s problems, from the failure to clean up the toxic waste at Baikalsk to flagrant disregard for planning and construction rules in villages around the lake.
Officials now pledge that Baikalsk - which is still home to 12,000 people - will be cleaned up by 2024 and completely transformed over time from a ravaged Soviet relic into an "eco-town" and arts centre, as part of grand plans that could run to 161 billion roubles (€1.93 billion).
By 2030, they claim, Baikalsk could be attracting almost 500,000 visitors each year, changing it from a toxic threat into a lakeside tourist attraction.
Lesnoi, who has a six-year-old daughter, has no faith in officials, but believes clean, sustainable development is the only way for Baikal and its people to flourish.
"I’m not an ecologist or an activist. It’s too easy to say ‘everything’s bad’," he says.
"I’ve got no time for those who say ‘Don’t touch sacred Baikal!’ The only way to protect the environment is to have good infrastructure. Millions of people want to come here, and what about the people living in towns and villages around the lake? They have children, they need to work and make a living."

В июне этого года Россия и Китай представили «дорожную карту» по созданию совместной лунной исследовательской станции. План рассчитан на несколько десятилетий, предполагает 14 миссий и создание обитаемой базы. Автор статьи рассматривает возможности реализации проекта с учетом неоднозначной истории российско-китайского космического сотрудничества, технических барьеров и неустойчивого политического баланса.

In June, China and Russia unveiled a road map for a plan for a joint moon base dubbed the International Lunar Research Station, the latest example of burgeoning Sino-Russian cooperation and a direct challenge to the United States’ own plan for a moon base. "More than six decades ago, brave men began their exploration of the moon." the Chinese-Russian announcement video said. "This time we come with greater courage, stronger determination, and more ambitious goals."
The plan is stunning in its ambition - a multidecade, multilateral effort consisting of 14 missions and culminating in a potential manned base - making it the largest cooperative project between China and Russia in space. This effort follows a trend of increased Sino-Russian cooperation in economic, military, and diplomatic spheres. To Americans, it is a challenge: The two primary U.S. adversaries are collaborating on a high-tech endeavor in an attempt to outmatch NASA’s lunar base plans - part of the Artemis program - and wrest leadership in space exploration away from the United States. The Sino-Russian lunar base and the Artemis program both aim to recruit a global coalition of states to construct a lunar research base on the moon’s south pole. Beyond science and exploration, these efforts are about national prestige, spurring new technologies and industry, experimenting with resource extraction, and setting the groundwork for other missions to the moon and to Mars.
There has been minimal response from governments around the world, and no country has yet taken up China and Russia on their invitation to participate in the lunar research station. Governments considering a response - such as European countries that are reportedly "discussing the proposal" - are presumably occupied with the same question: Will this plan succeed, or is it hot air from propagandists in Beijing and Moscow? A detailed look at the plan reveals that it faces numerous significant hurdles judging from the checkered history of Sino-Russian space cooperation, the daunting technical barriers the plan faces, and the delicate political balance that must continue for the project to succeed.
The proposed lunar base would be the most significant Sino-Russian cooperative venture in space - by a considerable margin. Previous cooperation between the two powers has yielded mixed success. In 1957, the Soviet Union and China signed the "New Defense Technical Accord, whereby Moscow provided Beijing with nuclear and missile-related capabilities. Chinese scientists, directed by Mao Zedong, began researching satellites and expected Russian assistance. In 1958, the CIA speculated that substantial Russian assistance could allow China to launch a satellite by 1959 or 1960. However, when Chinese scientists visited Moscow a few months later, they were given the cold shoulder: They were not allowed to view satellite designs or launch sites and were advised to give up on satellites. By 1960, Soviet advisors left China due to the deepening political fissure between the two leading communist states, ending hopes for space cooperation.
Over the succeeding decades, the Soviet Union’s focus was squarely on competition with the United States while China advanced its own indigenous space program. The next period of cooperation was in the mid-1990s, when Russia sold space technology - including designs for the Soyuz capsule - which accelerated China’s development of a manned space program.
In 2007, China and Russia signed an agreement for "joint Chinese-Russian exploration of Mars," culminating in a 2011 launch of a Mars orbiter and landing craft. However, the Russian rocket malfunctioned, causing Russian and Chinese spacecraft to come crashing back down to Earth, an embarrassing conclusion to both countries’ first attempt to reach the red planet.
Building and maintaining a lunar base would require massive financial investment, the development of new technologies, and substantial advances in rocket technology by both China and Russia. There is no public budget for the project, but it would surely require tens of billions of dollars. For comparison, NASA estimates that the Artemis program will cost $86 billion by 2025.
Russia’s space program is severely cash-strapped and has seen it’s budget fall 18 percent since 2014, with deeper cuts planned over the next three years. Funding difficulties have undermined Russian space priorities such as their flagship post-Soviet rocket, the Angara, which is already 16 years behind schedule.
China’s space program is better resourced - second only to the United States’ among national initiatives - and would probably finance most of the joint project, as Russian commentators have gleefully noted. But Beijing may prefer to finance other ongoing initiatives such as the Tiangong space station and its own high-profile Mars and lunar missions; similarly, Russia may allocate its limited resources toward a planned multibillion-dollar space station.
The lunar station plan would require both countries to develop new advanced modules. Extrapolating from the proposed diagram and Chinese academic writing on the subject, the project would require the development of space nuclear power, tunneling rovers, swarms of small autonomous robots, long-range communications systems, moon-based telescopes, resource extraction capabilities, and - if it is to support humans - a whole host of habitation technologies. These are ambitious capabilities for two countries that have only ever landed rovers on the moon.
This plan would also require China and Russia to successfully field new heavy-lift rockets in the early 2030s. China plans to use the Long March 9, which has been under development since 2011. China aims to have the system ready by 2030, leaving little margin for delays.
A bigger issue is Russia’s heavy-lift rocket. The project’s road map depicts a Russian Angara-class rocket that appears to be around 300 feet tall. No such rocket exists. In fact, the rocket seems to be a recycled and rescaled diagram of a long-discarded Angara rocket configuration. This suggests that either a new heavy-lift rocket will be constructed within the struggling Angara program or the diagram is a misleading placeholder for another developmental rocket. Neither scenario inspires confidence.
In any joint project, the most important determinant of success is the political will of both parties, which could be undermined in three main ways. The first is the domestic political situation in each country: Will other priorities take precedent over a joint lunar base and prompt either party to miss timelines or suspend participation, particularly since both countries will probably experience leadership changes over the decades long project?
The second consideration is the power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow, and how it evolves over the project’s duration of more than 20 years. It is no secret that Beijing is the senior party in project, has a better resourced space program, and is advancing at a faster rate. China had been discussing this lunar base since 2016 before inviting Russia to participate. Will China tolerate Russian partnership if Moscow’s tasks are persistently delayed? In an ominous start, Russia’s first contribution, the Luna-25 mission, has encountered "problems" and has been delayed seven months. On the flip side, will Russia - with its proud history of space exploration - tolerate playing second fiddle to the Chinese upstarts?
The third variable is whether both Russia and China will continue to view the United States as their primary geopolitical competitor in the coming decades. Mutual opposition to perceived U.S. space dominance has been the primary driver of cooperation between Moscow and Beijing. Forecasting power dynamics between great powers over a 20-year timeframe is an incredibly difficult - perhaps futile - effort, but one cannot simply assume stasis.
China and Russia are quick to promote their ambitious joint lunar project to the world, saying it will "benefit all mankind." But the plan faces substantial, though not insurmountable, challenges, judging from the lackluster history of Sino-Russian space cooperation, financial and technical barriers, and the delicate political balance that the project requires. Other governments eyeing the Sino-Russian moon base as a competitive alternative to the Artemis program would do well to look again at the proposal’s viability and practical value.

Уральские ученые первыми в мире изучили электронную плотность в кристаллах соли Аппеля, которая участвует в синтезах стабильных радикалов. В результате был сделан важный вывод: причины стабильности солей связаны со свойствами распределения электронной плотности и зависят от особенностей формирования химических связей, которые носят многоцентровой характер.

A research study important for the world science has been conducted by scientists of South Ural State University (SUSU) jointly with their colleagues from other research institutes. They have discovered the reasons for the stability of salts and have provided a detailed description of the results in a top-rated journal Acta Crystallographica Section B: Structural Science, Crystal Engineering and Materials (Q2).
Research on organic crystals sparks active interest among scientists, as those are widely used in various fields: from organic semiconductors and solar cells components, to medical chemistry. Specialists study different properties of crystals, and among the relevant topics is considering the specifics of the electron density distribution. Thanks to this information, it becomes possible to predict the physical and chemical, photoelectrical, and other properties of materials, which have the molecular compounds under study in their composition.
This work has become one of the fields within the project on "On the way towards new hybrid materials: digital modelling of the structure and properties from the atomic-molecular-level to nanoparticles" being fulfilled by the researchers of South Ural State University jointly with their colleagues from research institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
"We have become the first in the world to study the experimentally obtained electron density distribution in Appel's salt crystals being the precursor in the synthesis of stable radicals," shares project head, Doctor of Sciences (Chemistry) Ekaterina Bartashevich.
Doctor of Sciences (Physics and Mathematics), Professor Vladimir Tsirelson (one of the originators of the scientific field of quantum crystallography) is developing a theory, which would allow to taka a sneak peek of the subatomic level of the structure of multicomponent materials.
For the experiment, Candidate of Sciences (Chemistry) Oleg Bolshakov synthesized quality single crystals, being guided by the experience of the group lead by Doctor of Sciences (Chemistry) Oleg Rakitin from the N.D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who study the heterocyclic systems based on substituted dithiazoles. The next step was to collect the X-ray diffraction data in the conditions of continuous cooling. This labour-intensive experiment was performed by Mikhail Miniaev from the N.D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Adam Stash from the A.N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds. To build reliable models and interpret the obtained data, the capacities of the SUSU Supercomputer Centre were used; in particular, the work was performed by Candidate of Sciences (Chemistry) Irina Iushina.
The research yielded an important conclusion: the reason for the stability of free-radical salts should be sought for at the level of the properties of electron density distribution. They are concealed in the specifics of the formation of chemical bonds, which are of multi-centre character.
The scientists will not stop there. They are planning on continuing the research work at the level of modelling and at the level of experimental studies of the structure and electronic properties of organic crystals.
South Ural State University (SUSU) is a university of digital transformations, where innovative research is conducted in most of the priority fields of science and technology development. In accordance with the strategy of scientific and technological development of the Russian Federation, the university is focused on the development of big scientific interdisciplinary projects in the field of digital industry, materials science, and ecology. In the Year of Science and Technology, SUSU has become the winner in the in the competition under the Priority-2030 program. The university acts as a regional project office of the World-class Ural Interregional Research and Education Centre (UIREC).

Коллектив ученых из 30 стран, включая Россию, секвенировал 273 генома древних лошадей со всей Евразии, чтобы понять, где и когда они были одомашнены. В итоге удалось определить точное место: юг России, междуречье Волги и Дона, примерно 4200 лет назад. Именно там были приручены предки современных лошадей, постепенно вытеснившие практически все другие генетические линии.

For thousands of years, the grassy plains of Europe and Asia were home to a mosaic of genetically distinct horse lineages. But a single lineage galloped ahead to overtake and replace all the other wild horses. This domesticated lineage became the horse of our modern imagination: slender legs, a muscular back and a mane that shimmers in the wind.
For decades, scientists had tried to sleuth out when and where modern horses were first domesticated but had yet to find the smoking hoof they needed.
Now, in a paper published Wednesday in the journal Nature, scientists have finally solved the mystery. After collecting and sequencing 273 ancient horse genomes, a team of 162 authors concluded that modern horses were domesticated around 4,200 years ago in steppes around southern Russia, near where the Volga and Don rivers intersect.
This new paper comes as close as currently possible to solving the mystery of the origins of the domestic horse, according to Peter Heintzman, a paleogenomics researcher at the Tromso campus of the Arctic University of Norway, who was not involved with the research. "It’s a monumental effort," Dr. Heintzman said, noting that they collected a "wall of data" from "hundreds of horses."
Ludovic Orlando, a paleogeneticist and research director of the Center for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse in France and an author on the paper, has toiled over this question for a decade.
In recent years, scholars homed in on a Botai settlement in the Kazakh steppes that was brimming with horses’ bone fragments and clay pots that were lined with what appeared to be mare’s milk. This was the earliest archaeological evidence of horse domestication, and seemed promising as the birthplace of modern horses.
But in 2018, a team of researchers including Dr. Orlando sequenced the genomes of the horse bones at Botai. To the researchers’ surprise, the Botai horses did not give rise to modern horses, but were instead the direct ancestors of Przewalski’s horses, a stocky lineage originally thought to be the last wild horses on the planet. They revealed Przewalski’s were not wild after all, but instead the feral descendants of domestics. So the puzzle of the origins of modern horses remained unsolved. "Every time I was expecting something, it was wrong," Dr. Orlando said.
He said that to solve the mystery, "we decided to be exhaustive and really look everywhere."
Everywhere, in this case, meant across Eurasia. Starting in 2016, Dr. Orlando collected samples across the region from archaeological collections and new digs, essentially every ancient horse bone they could get their hands on.
To preserve the remains for the future, the researchers drilled tiny holes into the ancient horses’ inner ears, teeth and other bones to retrieve tiny samples.
As the researchers gradually mapped the horse genomes across time and space, the picture became sharper. A little over a year ago, they were able to pinpoint the precise location: the Volga-Don region in what is now Russia.
With such a gargantuan data set, the researchers ended up answering additional horsy historical details. They found modern horses had two stark genetic differences from other ancient lineages - one gene linked to docility and another to a stronger backbone - which may have facilitated the animals’ spread.
Domestic horses transformed human history, allowing people to travel great distances and develop new technologies of warfare. "Everyone wanted the horse," Dr. Orlando said.
Accordingly, the paper’s genetic findings "constitute major advances in our understanding of the human societies which bred these horses," said Pauline Hanot, a postdoctoral researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research who was not involved with the research.
The study also knocked down ideas about horses’ role in earlier human history. For instance, one pre-existing theory suggested a pastoralist people called the Yamnaya were able to migrate on horseback in massive numbers into Europe around 5,000 years ago. But the new genetic map found no evidence; the researchers point out oxen, not horses, could have been the driving factor of their expansion.
The new paper also reveals domestic horses spread across Eurasia along with the Bronze Age Sintashta culture, which possessed spoke-wheeled chariots, around 3,800 years ago.
After taming all of this horse data, Dr. Orlando has taken on a new hobby: He started taking riding lessons.
Like all other humans, he rides domestic horses - descendants of the ancient animals that galloped in southern Russia.
"I would not dare approach a Przewalski’s horse," Dr. Orlando said. "They kill wolves. I am not that fast of a runner."

Ученые Росатома разработали новую высокоточную цифровую модель воздействия возможных радиационных выбросов на население. Программный модуль «РОЗА-Н» уже был использован для оценки рисков строящегося в Северске Опытно-демонстрационного энергетического комплекса с реактором «БРЕСТ-ОД-300».

Rosatom's scientists have developed a new, highly accurate digital model of the public impacts of radiation releases. They said its results highlight the "conservatism" of nuclear plant design and can enable better economics.
Known as ROSA-N, the new model was developed by scientists in Rosatom's Proryv (Breakthrough) project, which works towards deployment of fast reactors and a closed nuclear fuel cycle. It is based on the latest conclusions from the UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, recommendations of the International Commission on Radiation Protection, and the standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
In its first application, Proryv scientists modelled potential radioactive emissions from the BREST-OD-300 fast reactor as well as its co-located fuel cycle plant, which are both under construction now at the site of the Siberian Chemical Combine in Seversk. The results indicated that "for all scenarios of atmospheric emissions of radioactive substances in the event of emergencies and during normal operation... the individual life-long risks of the population living near the plant in the Tomsk region of Russia are much lower than the corresponding limit values."
Andrey Fedorovskiy, head of the Mathematical Modelling and Digitalisation Department at Proryv, said: "Due to more accurate assessments of the risks of possible radiation impact, ROSA-N allows to significantly and reasonably reduce the conservatism incorporated in the projects of new nuclear facilities, improving their economic performance, which is especially important in the current market conditions for the development of nuclear power."
Fedorovskiy added that ROSA-N "may be interesting as an independent digital product for a number of our foreign partners." ROSA-N was logged in the Unified Register of Russian Software on 11 October by Maksut Shadayev, minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation.

Сотрудники Уральского федерального университета и Института органического синтеза им. И.Я.Постовского УрО РАН создали первый в мире портативный экспресс-анализатор для обнаружения в продуктах питания токсичного нитробензола, широко используемого в химической промышленности в качестве растворителя. Контроль содержания этого вещества в окружающей среде - важная часть экологического мониторинга. Одним из наиболее подверженных загрязнению нитробензолом продуктов является мед, что вызвано использованием инсектицидов, используемых для защиты пчел от клещей.

Russian scientists at Ural Federal University and the Institute of Organic Synthesis have created an express sensor for the detection of nitrobenzene in food and cosmetics. In addition to requiring an ultra-small amount of material to analyze, the sensor also delivers unprecedented accuracy. It detects the presence of nitrobenzene, a dangerous toxin that can contaminate honey and other popular foods, in a matter of minutes. Details of the development were published in Food Chemistry.
Nitrobenzene is an extremely dangerous compound with a strong carcinogenic and mutagenic effect, which is difficult to chemically neutralize. It is widely used in the chemical industry as a solvent. Controlling the content of this substance in the food and the environment is an essential part of environmental monitoring. One of the foodstuffs most susceptible to nitrobenzene contamination is honey. This is caused by the use of insecticides used to protect bees and hives from ticks.
Most methods for determining the level of nitrobenzene in products require lengthy laboratory work and are therefore not suitable for quick on-site analysis. The development of portable analytical devices is of increasing practical interest, as the scientists of the Ural Federal University explained.
"The sensitivity and accuracy of such analyzers are determined by the structure of the "recognizer" - the so-called receptor layer. As a rule, it consists of enzymes, universal biological catalysts, which, along with some advantages, have a high cost and low chemical stability," said Alisa Kozitsina, head of the research group, professor at UrFU.
University specialists have developed a synthetic receptor as a replacement for enzyme-based systems, and also created a prototype of a portable analyzer based on it. Its principle of operation is based on the use of organic compounds of the diazine class: these substances are able to selectively interact with nitrobenzene, "pulling" it out of the analyzed sample onto the electrode of the electrochemical sensor. According to the creators, the new method is distinguished by exceptional sensitivity and minimal labor costs for sample preparation.
"Unlike optical spectral analyzers currently used to search for nitrobenzene, electrochemical sensors are miniature, easy to manufacture, and require an ultra-small amount of the analyzed product. Our recognition system and the prototype of an electrochemical sensor have no direct analogs in the world," said Tatiana Svalova, associate professor at UrFU.
Using the new approach, the researchers were able to detect unsafe amounts of nitrobenzene in some commercial honey samples that were missed in the analysis of the accepted methods. An important advantage of the new method is the possibility of implementation both in stationary laboratories and in the form of portable devices. The development will be in demand not only in environmental monitoring and food quality control but also in industry, for example, in the production of cosmetics, scientists are sure.
The research team plans to make sensors universal and widespread. At the same time, they want to continue both fundamental research in this area and the development of new analytical systems for working with hazardous chemicals and drugs.

Исследователи ФИЦ Биотехнологии РАН и Института молекулярной генетики НИЦ «Курчатовский институт» провели полный геномный анализ пяти штаммов бактерий Acinetobacter lwoffii возрастом от 15 тысяч до 1,8 миллиона лет, выделенных из якутской вечной мерзлоты. Оказалось, что ископаемые бактерии обладают генами, кодирующими устойчивость к антибиотикам. A. lwoffii обычно не являются патогенными, но в тающей мерзлоте вполне могут обнаружиться и другие, более опасные микроорганизмы, также устойчивые к антибиотикам.

The resistance of pathogenic micro-organisms to antibiotics is our responsibility - starting from farmers seeking how to save their crops and animals from disease at all costs, to all those who are taking antibiotics without a doctor’s advice. As a result of such massive antibiotic "bombardment," the most powerful bacteria and fungi survive, then transmit antibiotic resistance genes to their descendants. It is difficult to keep up with this evolution: it can often take years to move from the stage of synthesizing a new drug to putting it on the market.
"It is an interesting question - how can the resistance of micro-organisms to antibiotics be related to another contemporary problem - global warming? The answer is rather simple: the melting of the ice can release ancient micro-organisms that are causing diseases. Perhaps even much more deadly and contagious. Of course, one can hope that they will be sensitive to modern antibiotics, but our research says that it may not be so," says Andrey Rakitin, one of the authors of the scientific paper, PhD, senior researcher of the Laboratory of Molecular Cloning Systems, Research Center of Biotechnology RAS.
It turned out that the bacteria Acinetobacter lwoffii, isolated for thousands or millions of years in permafrost, were resistant to antibiotics. This was discovered when the genomes of five strains extracted from the permafrost of Kolyma lowlands in Yakutia were sequenced. This research was made by biologists from both The Institute of Molecular Genetics of National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute" and the Research Center of Biotechnology. A. lwoffii are widespread in a wide variety of habitats and are usually non-pathogenic, but their close relatives, other species of the genus Acinetobacter, can cause dangerous infectious diseases in humans and animals.
The full-genome study of strains isolated from permafrost was carried out by The Research Center of Biotechnology as part of the project made by the world-class research center "Agrotechnologies of the Future." Analysis of genome sequences and their comparison with modern clinical isolates of A. lwoffii revealed very limited differences. Ancient strains also possessed genes encoding resistance to widely used antibiotics such as streptomycin, spectinomycin, chloramphenicol, and tetracycline.
"The bacteria we studied were isolated [in] permafrost aged between 15,000 and 1.8 million years, but they had a lot in common with modern strains. Our colleagues received similar results and the situation is frightening. Global warming can only be slowed down, but it can never be stopped, and it can release new infections. A study of these potential pathogens now buried in permafrost could save our lives and health in the future," says Nikolai Ravin, a doctor of science in biology, head of the Laboratory of Molecular Cloning at Research Center of Biotechnology RAS.

В Москве прошла Международная конференция по биоремедиации водных и наземных экосистем Арктического побережья. В мероприятии приняли участие ведущие ученые в области реабилитации загрязненных почв и водоемов из России, Канады, США и Финляндии. Обсуждались результаты практического применения методов биологической очистки, а также перспективы международного научного сотрудничества.

An international conference on bioremediation (biological cleanup) of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems of the Arctic coast was held in Moscow this past week. Leading scientists in remediation of contaminated soil and water bodies from Russia, Canada, the United States and Finland attended the event. Discussions were held as part of the plan of major events in connection with the Russian Chairmanship of the Arctic Council in 2021-2023, operated by the Roscongress Foundation.
The Arctic’s fragile ecosystems are increasingly becoming exposed to technogenic pollution, including oil products. One of the most promising directions of pollution elimination is the use of microorganisms to decompose pollutants.
"Russia has a strong scientific community in the field of bioremediation, which has had a positive experience of interaction with scientists from Norway, the United States and Canada. And we need to keep working together. The path from scientific development to practical application is often long and difficult," said Pavel Krasilnikov, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, doctor of biological sciences and acting dean of the faculty of soil science at Lomonosov Moscow State University. "Russia's chairmanship in the Arctic Council may help the government and businesses pay attention to the achievements of scientists in the field of northern nature restoration."
Each specialist presented their experience in research and practical application of bioremediation technologies to restore Arctic nature. The effectiveness of biological methods in a comprehensive approach to the cleanup of contaminated areas was highlighted.
"Biological cleaning methods are most effective in the Arctic due to the increasingly intensive development of the region, including the growth of hydrocarbon production, cargo traffic and the size of the population. Not only can they be used during the elimination of the consequences of emergencies but also for prevention and early detection of vulnerable areas," said Mikhail Makarov, doctor of biological sciences and acting director of the Murmansk Marine Biological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The prospects of international scientific cooperation were also discussed during the conference. In particular, a joint project of scientists from Russia, Norway and Finland to create innovative biotechnology for the comprehensive restoration of oil-polluted Arctic coastlines as part of the "Kolarctic," a cross-border cooperation program, was discussed.
"We see great potential in studying the influence of microorganisms on the decomposition of petroleum products. Such methods are especially effective in the phase after mechanical cleaning of a contaminated area or when other methods are not feasible," said Kirsten Jorgensen, an expert from the Finnish Environmental Institute.
The results of the practical application of bioremediation methods were presented. Graeme Spiers, professor Emeritus of Environmental Geology at Laurentian University (Ontario, Canada), reported on soil remediation and afforestation of former industrial and mining sites in Canada.
Conference participants noted that bioremediation projects play a significant role in improving environmental safety in the Arctic. The importance of scaling up methods in a way that is safe and technologically sound was particularly highlighted.

Российско-сирийская археологическая экспедиция проводит исследования раннехристианских храмов в Сирии, на основе которых Институтом истории материальной культуры РАН будут подготовлены 3D-модели этих памятников. В дальнейшем это поможет работе реставраторов.

L’expédition archéologique russo-syrienne mène des recherches sur les temples paléochrétiens en Syrie, sur la base desquelles des modèles 3D de ces monuments seront préparés, selon le service de presse de l’Institut d’histoire de la culture matérielle (IIMK) de l’Académie russe de Rapports scientifiques.
« L’expédition archéologique russo-syrienne, qui travaille depuis début 2021 sur la préservation des antiquités paléochrétiennes en République arabe syrienne, a collecté des informations pour la préparation de modèles 3D de plusieurs sites dans différentes provinces de Syrie. Ils deviendront un matériau pour aider les futurs restaurateurs de monuments syriens du haut Moyen Âge», indique le message.
Il est à noter que l’un des résultats importants du travail de l’expédition a été l’étude du temple de Sainte-Hélène à Alep, l’une des premières églises chrétiennes de Syrie, datant du 5ème siècle. Pendant les hostilités, ce monument de l’époque romaine a été touché par une bombe, il est dans un état critique, mais des éléments en bois d’environ 1,5 mille ans ont survécu ici.
« En étudiant ce temple, construit plus tard dans la madrasa Al-Halawiyya, les scientifiques ont fixé la position de chaque élément architectural, chaque colonne et chaque pierre, enregistré l’état de son dôme. Désormais, toutes ces données seront incluses dans un Modèle 3D, qui permettra non seulement de voir l’état actuel de l’ancien temple, construit par les premiers chrétiens, mais aussi d’imaginer comment il était à l’origine», indique le message.
Selon le directeur du Centre d’archéologie de sauvetage de l’Institut d’histoire de la culture matérielle de l’Académie des sciences de Russie, chef de l’expédition Natalya Solovieva, le système d’information géographique en cours de création sera transféré au gouvernement syrien.
« Beaucoup a été fait, et j’espère qu’il reste encore beaucoup à faire. Le système d’information géographique que nous sommes en train de compiler sera transféré au gouvernement syrien et à l’UNESCO, pour les objets sous sa juridiction. Le SIG aidera, tout d’abord , pour attirer l’attention de la communauté culturelle sur ces monuments. Lorsque nous aurons terminé les modèles 3D, ils seront affichés sur le site et accessibles à tous, mais l’essentiel est pour les spécialistes qui pourront évaluer l’état de ces chefs-d’œuvre et faire des efforts pour les préserver», a-t-elle déclaré.
Le projet « Préservation des antiquités paléochrétiennes sur le territoire de la RAS » a été organisé par le Centre d’archéologie de sauvetage de l’IIMK RAS avec l’aide de la Direction générale des antiquités et des musées (DGAM) de Syrie. L’objectif du projet est d’attirer l’attention de la communauté culturelle mondiale sur la situation des premières églises chrétiennes en Syrie, pour le salut de laquelle une grande association internationale est nécessaire. Dans le cadre du projet, des archéologues russes et syriens ont également examiné les églises des Ve-VIe siècles dans le village de Deir al-Salib dans le nord de la Syrie dans la province de Hama et la basilique de Qasr ibn Vardan, également connue sous le nom de Temple de les quatre éléments. Il est à noter que ces églises ont des traces distinctes de guerre, et leur préservation et leur restauration éventuelle dépendront de la fixation moderne des dommages qu’elles ont subis.
« Les scientifiques de l’Institut d’histoire et de culture de l’Académie des sciences de Russie estiment que la présence d’un modèle 3D comme outil de travail garantit des décisions opportunes sur la sauvegarde du monument et garantit des mesures pour préserver tout objet en danger de destruction », a-t-il ajouté.
Au total, lors de la mise en œuvre du projet, il est prévu de recenser une dizaine de temples paléochrétiens en Syrie avec des tournages photo et vidéo, des orthophotocartes et la préparation de modèles 3D, qui seront transférés du côté syrien.

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