National Academy of Sciences of Belarus

31.12.2016

National Academy of Sciences of Belarus announces TOP 10 results for 2016

Upon the results of a competition the Bureau of the NASB Presidium decided to recognize the TOP 10 results of the Academy of Sciences in the field of fundamental research for 2016.

1. Young scientists of the B.I.Stepanov Institute of Physics managed to create a new method of localization of quantum states of light on the basis of a limited number of so-called reconstruction measurements. The method allows for efficient quantum tomography of light. The result has been published in the most prestigious international scientific journal Nature.

2. B.I.Stepanov Institute of Physics research result makes it possible to predict and implement a new type of light fields, namely Airey tunable laser beams. Such beams are required for delivery of light energy over longer distances compared with conventional (Gaussian) beams.

3. Scientists of the NASB United Institute of Informatics Problems developed a new unique image analysis method that can detect breast cancer at the earliest stages. With this project, Belarus has left behind teams of the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom universities at two international scientific competitions – TUPAC16 and CAMELYON16 which were attended by more than 100 professional teams from different countries all over the world. The NASB team entered the top four at the competitions.

4. The project of the Powder Metallurgy Institute concerns the introduction of a unique material making large astronomical mirrors ultra-light.

5. Scientists of the SSPA "Scientific and Practical Materials Research Centre of NAS of Belarus" together with physicists discovered stimulated and laser radiation in multicomponent direct-gap semiconductors and set the mechanism of radiative recombination, leading to their appearance in film structures designed to create a new generation of solar elements.

6. The NASB Institute of Physical Organic Chemistry scientists synthesized amino, nucleic and polyunsaturated fatty acids modified by deuterium. Such acids have the effect of significant slowing biochemical reactions that cause various diseases. The compounds obtained are promising for a new generation of drugs.

7. A team of scientists of the NASB Institute of Biophysics and Cell Engineering and the NASB Institute of Physiology obtained fundamentally important results for the prevention and treatment of metabolic disorders and neurodestructive pathologies. Their results show the ways to solve a very complicated problem of the nerve cells regeneration.

8. The NASB Institute of Microbiology scientists first discovered chemical compounds modulators (isopropanol, ethanol, choline chloride), significantly accelerating the production of glucose oxidase enzyme by microorganisms.

9. Scientists of the NASB Institute of History managed to discover and study a monument of the Viking Age, unique to Eastern Europe. The archaeological complex is located near Vitebsk. Materials of the complex prove participation of Vikings in development of trade and economic potential of the region, reveal its extensive international contacts, etc.

10. The NASB Research and Practical Center for Arable Farming developed and tested a unique technology of producing regenerants from rye anthers in vitro. As a result, the timing of some types of rye can be reduced by half and its selection can be enhanced.