Research & Expertise news at HSE University

Researchers from HSE University have developed a mathematical model that explains the levitation of charged dust particles over the sunlit lunar surface for almost any latitude. For the first time, the model takes into account the Earth’s magnetotail—a particular area around our planet. The research data is important for planning the Luna-25 and Luna-27 space missions. The study was published in Physics of Plasmas.

In Russia, employers do not bear responsibility for the psychosocial risks faced by employees working from home. That is why remote employment needs additional legal regulation. These were the conclusions made by the HSE Faculty of Law project group ‘Regulatory framework to prevent remote work-related psychosocial risks’, which was created at the initiative of the HSE Institute of National and Comparative Legal Studies.

Gender, alongside other characteristics, seems to have a different effect on CEO risk-taking practices in Russia and in Western Europe. Female executives in Russia are at least as likely as men — and in some areas even more likely — to engage in new R&D or to launch new products on the market.

Rapidly changing approaches to the pursuit of scientific knowledge are making research more interdisciplinary in nature. Science and researchers are now more open to society, while student academic mobility among universities is encouraged. Maria Yudkevich, HSE Vice Rector, talks about these issues, explaining how HSE University promotes and expands its research activities and supports early-career researchers.

The outbreak of the pandemic posed some serious challenges to the world that required the concentration of many people’s efforts and the use of the latest technologies. This has led to powerful technological breakthroughs, particularly in medicine. HSE University researchers Leonid Grinin, Anton Grinin, and Andrey Korotayev published a paper in which they assessed the impact of COVID-19 on social development. The authors concluded that the pandemic will considerably accelerate humanity’s transition to a new stage of development, but can also cause significant social strain.

An international team of researchers including biologists from HSE University has developed a method that helps obtain information on changes in protein expression and properties during cells’ transition from one state to another. One of the most interesting transitions is the transformation of cells from undifferentiated stem cells to differentiated cells of various organs and tissues. The paper was published in Nature Communications.

Some children who don’t go to school and commit crimes manage to reintegrate into society by learning new mores and lifestyles. But others only appear to adapt, becoming ‘outsiders’ again the minute they leave the school grounds, going back to the same risky life on the streets. The two approaches offer youngsters very different opportunities in life. This IQ.HSE article, that draws on research by sociologist Irina Lisovskaya, explores how to help such youth integrate into society and learn to communicate with others.

The HSE School of Psychology has studied the psychological, social, and political factors behind Russians’ pro-environmental behaviour. It appears that women hold more pro-environmental attitudes than men, trust in the free market negatively affects sustainable consumption, and awareness of the benefits of pro-environmental actions better motivates people to sort waste than environmental concern or connectedness to nature. The study has been published by SSRN.