Text: Yuri Medvedev 08.02.2016, 20:20
Dmitry Kopczuk, Catherine Proshkin, Vladimir Stegailov. Photo: from personal archive.
The award of the President of Russia in the field of science and innovations for young scientists for the year 2015 steel chemist Dmitry Kopczuk (Institute of organic synthesis named. I. J. postovskogo Ural branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences), Ekaterina Proshkina biologist (Institute of biology Komi scientific center Ural branch of RAS) and physicist Vladimir Stegailov (joint Institute for high temperatures RAS).
The size of each prize is 2.5 million rubles. “RG” is the work of the laureates. Once it is necessary to emphasize that all of them published in prestigious international journals. So, despite the severe diagnosis, which many experts put our science, noting especially its ageing and young scientists of world level.
How to catch a terrorist by smell
Purely fundamental research chemist Dmitry Kopchuk has direct access to the fight against terrorism. It is an “electronic nose” that detects components of explosive substances containing nitrates. This, in particular, the most dangerous and difficult to establish plastic ammunition with RDX and TNT. In the world today have been many different “electronic noses”. Why does Dmitry has no analogues? His instrument is much more compact and significantly cheaper than all existing systems in the world?
– Few people know that the price of such a device is retaining the lion’s share, not for the explosives sensor, and “electronic components”, explains the author of the design. – The fact that the alarm signal from the sensor is very weak. It must be transformed and strengthened. For this purpose the device has to “stuff” a cascade of electronic circuits. Hence, the complexity and bulkiness, and the price of the “nose”.
Dmitry threw out almost all the electronics. Nevertheless, the device “onychium” terrorist. “Highlight” in the special part of the sensor and its original design. Having caught the “smell” of explosives, the device sends is so powerful with the alarm of the alarm that it needs to be strengthened.
Note that he was a real wagon. In addition to the “electronic nose”, he created the materials that have to be in medicine for diagnosis of immune system. The essence of the analysis that has to draw the patient’s blood is necessary to watch how a particular protein. To highlight it from many other protein hang special light. It’s the combination of a metal that has a bright luminescence, and organic matter, which can connect with the target protein. As a result, scientists can now observe how a protein behaves, and thus to make the diagnosis.
How to extend the life by half
Catherine Broshkinoj not yet 30 years old, and already the author of 20 articles in international journals. Among them stands out caused a flurry of responses the publication, how you can increase the lifespan of the flies drozofily 70 percent. And understandably so, the problem of aging in the world today one of the most exciting society.
– In principle, nature has given every living entity is very perfect genetic machine, she explains. Because we are constantly exposed to attacks of the external environment, say, due to bad environment, various stresses, etc. These attacks damage the DNA, but our cells have a special system that eliminates these failures. But over the years it wears out, and the quality of the “repair” is getting worse. As a result of defects accumulating more, and that lowers the quality of the repair. Damage start to grow like a snowball.
Catherine proposed to fundamentally solve the problem: to increase the activity of the genes responsible for DNA repair. How? Scientists have built the Drosophila additional copies of regenerative genes, in fact, increasing the number of “repairmen”. And the flies were not just long-lived, their time on Earth has almost doubled. It turned out that to activate the “repair” genes to begin with what is called mother’s milk, the sooner the better. Anyway, these are the flies live the longest.
Today, scientists have identified about 10 of these “wonder genes”, life-prolonging and anti-aging. But it turns out they have another important role. In the experiments, the scientists of Institute of biology of the affected organisms of the various “hazards”: radiation, high and low temperatures, chemical reagents, etc. And was revealed an amazing phenomenon. Average and large doses definitely shortened the life, but small and short – increased. Why? On this theme expressed by several hypotheses, which will long argue the scientists. But one fact Ekaterina Proshkina ? set clear: for a positive reaction to the stress answer the same genes, and for the restoration of damaged DNA.
– Slow aging, and without resorting to genetic interventions, she says. – It turned out that in nature there are substances that can activate protective forces of the organism, acting through the genes of DNA repair. For example, the carotenoid from seaweed fucoxanthin or quercetin, a substance from the fruit of red and Burgundy. Extend the life of an animal was a success and with the help of known drugs currently used for treatment of various diseases. For example, in experiments on rats the good result showed the applied small amounts of the drug ibuprofen. But, of course, these results do not in any case be automatically transferred to a person, here, more research is needed.
From the atom to fall into a supercomputer
Doctor of physical and mathematical Sciences Vladimir Stegailov works in the cutting edge of modern science. His research is dazzling. A scientist builds a computer model of the “life” of atoms and electrons. That in itself is ironic, since in one cubic millimeter of metal coexist and interact hundreds of billions of atoms. They need some way to drive into the equation, and then calculate on the computer. Someone will say something like this have learned to do the astronomers when studying the movement of celestial bodies. And the structure of the atom similar to the structure of the Solar system…
Indeed, knowing the laws of mechanics, scientists have managed to calculate the trajectory of thousands of celestial bodies, planets, satellites, asteroids, says Vladimir. But we have many billions of “customers”. Unlike celestial bodies, atoms do not obey the laws of gravity, here comes into play the quantum mechanics. Therefore, the calculations of the motion of a giant number of atoms compounded many times over.
Seemingly, where may result this abstruse science? What is the point of these fantastically complex calculations and computer models? Stegailov and his colleagues found a way out of the microcosm of atoms and electrons in our macrocosm. In the creation of materials that can operate in extreme conditions. For example, in nuclear reactors.
– We conducted calculations of the quantum behavior of atoms of uranium, and in the end managed to build a model, as accumulated defects in materials of nuclear reactor, – the scientist speaks. Thus, a purely quantum problem reached the level of engineering calculations.
Vladimir with colleagues decided another fundamental objective, which is a long time scientists of many countries. It is connected with the world with the most refractory material, graphite. In the leading laboratories of the world put the most sophisticated experiments to answer one question: what is the melting point of graphite. But the results are different. One of the main reasons for this inconsistency is unclear the very nature of this material, on which to build the experiment.
Vladimir built a computer model of melting is based on the principles of quantum mechanics. And it turned out unexpected: graphite melts a thousand times slower than any metals. This is already aiming for future experiments that should finally put an end to decades of dispute, to call the final melting temperature of graphite.
But production problems and writing equations that describe the behavior of billions of atoms is a purely physical task. However, the necessary next step: how to solve these complex equations and infinite. It is only by supercomputers. But if you decide to “forehead”, it will take months of continuous operation of the machinery of the brain. Such luxury is unaffordable today. Therefore, Vladimir Stegailov comes up with clever algorithms in order to significantly reduce the volume and time. The modern physicist must be both a material scientist, and mathematician.
“Rossiyskaya Gazeta” – Federal issue №6894 (26)
