Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –
On June 27, the National Center “Russia” will host the final of the All-Russian competition of final qualifying works in the format “Startup as a Diploma”, the operator of which is the State University of Management.
Guests of the event will be able to meet the best startuppers and experts, learn how student startups are launched and what opportunities exist for their development, get inspired by student projects and take part in a prize draw.
The Final program includes:
Finalists’ presentation; Presentation “Startup as a Diploma 2.0”; Awarding of winners; Interactive platforms; Exhibition of TOP-50 projects; Partners’ stands and networking.
Let us remind you that our students Danila Yakovlev and Mikhail Zorin are participating in the final. We invite everyone to come to the final and support the guys, as well as get inspired to work in the new academic year.
Pre-registration is required.
We look forward to seeing you on June 27 at 10:00 at the National Center “Russia” at the address: Moscow, Krasnopresnenskaya embankment, 14, pavilion No. 3 (western entrance).
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The Education Bureau today said today that it is encouraged that universities funded by the University Grants Committee (UGC) continue to hold top spots in the latest World University Rankings, which are published by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), an international higher education organisation.
The bureau highlighted that five UGC-funded universities stayed in the world’s top 100 in the World University Ranking 2026, making Hong Kong the place with the highest concentration of top-ranked universities globally.
It said the rankings reflect not only the unremitting efforts and continuous pursuit of excellence of Hong Kong’s higher education institutions but also the Government’s long-term commitment to investing in education.
The University of Hong Kong rose six places to 11th globally in the latest rankings, while the Chinese University of Hong Kong climbed four spots to 32nd, and the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology advanced three positions to 44th.
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and City University of Hong Kong also achieved outstanding results, ranking 54th and 63rd respectively.
The bureau said the Government will do its utmost to provide assistance and convenience to overseas talent interested in studying or conducting research at higher education institutions in Hong Kong, and will strive to further expand the non-local student quota. It added that the Government will continue to promote internationalisation and diversified development in the eight UGC-funded universities.
Furthermore, it outlined that the Government strives both to attract talent from around the world and nurture local talent through various initiatives such as scholarship programmes, thereby leveraging Hong Kong’s strengths to serve the country’s needs.
The bureau also stressed that the Government will continue to strengthen global exchanges, including strengthening and broadening research networks and co-operation.
Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –
Since 2011, over 1,100 social facilities have been built in Moscow: schools, kindergartens, medical institutions, sports and cultural complexes. They were built both using funds from the capital’s Targeted Investment Program and with the participation of private investors. This was announced at the XXVIII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum by Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Urban Development Policy and Construction Vladimir Efimov.
“Moscow pays great attention to the creation of social infrastructure. The facilities are built at the expense of the city budget and investors. Thus, since 2011, 1,143 social facilities have been built in Moscow: 661 school and kindergarten buildings, about 175 healthcare facilities, 225 sports facilities and 82 cultural facilities. In particular, the construction of such important institutions for the capital as the flagship center of the V.M. Buyanov City Clinical Hospital, the ice palace in the Mnevnikovskaya floodplain have been completed, and the first kindergarten built using modular technology has been opened in Izmailovo,” Vladimir Efimov noted.
Work on creating social infrastructure continues. Last year alone, 49 schools and kindergartens, 17 sports facilities and nine cultural facilities were built through the joint efforts of the city and investors.
“In the first five months of this year, developers have already built more than 10 socially significant facilities. For example, in the Pokrovskoe-Streshnevo district, an investor built a school for 825 students with an area of more than 12 thousand square meters. In the east of Moscow, a developer built a multidisciplinary medical center in the Kosino-Ukhtomsky district, and in the South Administrative District, in the Biryulevo Vostochnoye district, a sports and recreation complex with an area of over seven thousand square meters was built using extra-budgetary sources,” said the Minister of the Moscow Government, head of the capital’s Department of Urban Development Policy
Since 2011, the capital has also built such significant facilities as the flagship centers of the N.V. Sklifosovsky Research Institute of Emergency Care, the V.V. Veresaev City Clinical Hospital, No. 15 named after O.M. Filatov and named after S.P. Botkin, the International Sambo Center, the boxing center on the territory of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, the Sports Palace in Nekrasovka, and the educational complex of the N.E. Bauman Moscow State Technical University.
The construction of social facilities in Moscow corresponds to the goals and initiatives of the national project “Infrastructure for life”.
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Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today (June 19) launched a new edition of antimicrobial guidelines entitled the Interhospital Multi-disciplinary Programme on Antimicrobial ChemoTherapy (IMPACT) Guidelines. These guidelines serve as a reference for doctors when prescribing antimicrobial drugs for inpatients, aiming to prevent overuse which may aggravate antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
“In view of the evolving AMR situations, the CHP in collaboration with experts updated IMPACT based on local AMR data and the latest international and local literature for reference of doctors so that antimicrobials can be prescribed in a more accurate manner. The CHP organised a forum today to introduce the major updates of the guidelines, including the empirical therapy of common infections, antimicrobials for known pathogens and recommendations for surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis to over 150 participating healthcare professionals from the public and private sectors. Recommended dosing and adverse reactions for certain antimicrobials are also set out in the updated guidelines,” said the Consultant (Antimicrobial Resistance) of the Infection Control Branch of the CHP, Dr Edmond Ma.
In addition to the forum for the medical field, the CHP also issued a Letter to Doctors today, urging them to refer to the new guidelines and prescribe the appropriate antimicrobials to patients in need. This will help curb the spread of drug resistance and safeguard the effectiveness of existing treatments.
Dr Ma added, “AMR occurs when microorganisms (such as bacteria and viruses) evolve and become resistant to previously effective medications. When patients are infected with drug-resistant bacteria, their illness may be prolonged, and their risk of death may even increase. The misuse and overuse of antibiotics are the major drivers of drug-resistant bacteria. Since the first edition of the IMPACT Guidelines was launched in 1999, it has become an important reference for healthcare professionals, helping to minimise unnecessary or inappropriate prescribing of antimicrobials. At the same time, it has become a key foundation for launching the Antimicrobial Stewardship Programme in public hospitals and will facilitate the enhancement of relevant measures in private hospitals in the future. According to the latest surveillance data, the proportion of antimicrobials in the Watch category (i.e. antimicrobials considered by the World Health Organization to be at a higher risk of developing drug resistance) in the total supply of antimicrobials in Hong Kong decreased from 40.3 per cent in 2016 to 34.6 per cent in 2024, indicating that doctors are prescribing relatively fewer broad spectrum antibiotics to help combat AMR.”
The Government has been placing great importance on addressing the necessity of combating AMR. In 2022, the Government published the second Hong Kong Strategy and Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (Action Plan), outlining strategies to tackle the threat of AMR from 2023 to 2027. The measures include reviewing and updating IMPACT, and reminding doctors to prescribe antimicrobials to patients in accordance with guidelines and scientific evidence.
The IMPACT set of guidelines, now in its 6th edition, are a collaborative effort among the CHP, the Hospital Authority, the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong, the Faculty of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Medical Association and the Hong Kong Private Hospitals Association. The CHP would like to express its sincere gratitude to the Editors, Dr Ho Pak-leung, Dr Wu Tak-chiu, and the other members of the Editorial Board.
The CHP also urged members of the public to work with healthcare professionals to eliminate AMR by observing the following:
Consult a doctor when having a cold, flu or COVID-19. Do not buy antibiotics without a prescription at community pharmacies;
Do not demand antibiotics from doctors. Only take antibiotics when advised by doctors and complete the whole course of treatment even if symptoms have improved;
Follow health advice stated on the prescription bag and adopt appropriate infection control measures such as maintaining hand hygiene, wearing a surgical mask when having respiratory symptoms, and disinfecting and covering all wounds properly to prevent person-to-person spread of resistant bacteria when taking antibiotics;
Receive seasonal influenza and COVID-19 vaccines as effective means to prevent secondary bacterial infection, hence reducing the use of antibiotics and occurrence of AMR;
Be aware of the risk of acquiring resistant bacteria from ready-to-eat (RTE) food. People taking antibiotics or antacids, and high-risk populations (such as pregnant women, infants and young children, the elderly and people with weakened immunity) are of higher risk and should avoid eating raw or undercooked RTE foods; and
Observe good hygienic practices in the kitchen when handling food to minimise the risk of cross-contamination by resistant bacteria.
For details of the IMPACT Guidelines, please visit the IMPACT webpage (impact.chp.gov.hk/). For more information about AMR, please visit the CHP website.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday welcomed India’s significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings 2026, calling it a reflection of the country’s growing stature in global education.
Responding to a post on X by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, PM Modi said, “The QS World University 2026 Rankings bring great news for our education sector. Our government is committed to furthering research and innovation ecosystems for the benefit of India’s youth.”
A record 54 Indian institutions have been featured in the QS World University Rankings 2026, with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi emerging as the top-ranked Indian institution nationally.
The education minister said the improvement was the result of education reforms introduced over the past decade, particularly the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
“This five-fold jump — from just 11 institutions in 2014 to 54 in 2026 — is a testament to the transformative reforms brought in by the Modi government over the last ten years,” he said. “The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is not just changing our education system; it is revolutionising it.”
According to the Ministry of Education, India has seen an “unprecedented rise” in representation, with more universities than ever earning a place in the global rankings. The ministry stated that India is now the fastest-growing G20 country in the QS rankings, recording a 390 percent increase in the number of ranked institutions over the past decade.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
A meta-analysis published in Aging Cell looks at the effect of Rapamycin, Metformin, and Dietary Restriction on non-human vertebrate lifespan.
Dr David Clancy, Lecturer in Biogerontology, Lancaster University, said:
“Diet restriction seems to extend lifespan significantly but is hard to do, and certainly no fun. So Ivimey-Cook et al decided to look at hundreds of datasets across 8 species of vertebrate which examined lifespan effects of diet restriction (DR), the immune suppressant drug rapamycin and the diabetes drug metformin. Both drugs have been extensively tested for lifespan extension. The closest species to humans were rhesus monkeys (4 studies) and the furthest from humans were fish (4 studies). The most common were mice and rats (210 studies).
“This well-done study showed DR and rapamycin extending lifespan with significant consistency across studies, in both sexes, DR probably a little greater than rapamycin. However metformin did not. That is a pity for the many people now taking off-label metformin for lifespan extension. Let’s hope it doesn’t have any or many adverse effects.
“Rapamycin is used mainly as an immune suppressant in kidney transplant. Oddly it may be slightly toxic to kidneys in humans but has not been tested in non-renal patients, and not over the long term as in these lifespan studies. Early experiments in flies and worms show that it needs the cell process known as autophagy to exert its lifespan extension. This is the process whereby cells ‘clean’ themselves of damaged and misfolded proteins and other damaged biomolecules and cell components and recycle them. Unsurprisingly research is looking for stimulators of autophagy (which DR achieves, and exercise), and is searching for ‘rapalogues’ – molecules similar in action to rapamycin but ideally smaller, less complex molecules with no immune system or other ‘off-target’ effects.”
Prof Dame Linda Partridge, Professorial Fellow, UCL, said:
“This meta-analysis of published studies of the effects on vertebrate animals of dietary restriction (DR) and two licensed drugs, metformin and rapamycin, finds that only DR and rapamycin consistently extend lifespan. They do so to about the same extent and with similar effects in males and females. Dietary restriction is long established as ameliorating many of the adverse effects of ageing, The discovery of lifespan extension from rapamycin is more recent. In mice irapamycin also holds back several ageing-related pathologies. The finding that DR and rapamycin have effects of similar magnitude on lifespan across species implies that rapamycin is a candidate for repurposing for prevention of ageing-related pathologies in humans. Other licensed drugs may be similarly geroprotective, and more work is needed to investigate their potential to prevent deterioration of health in older people. Given that many of the candidate drugs are off patent, public and charity funding may be needed to investigate the potential of these drugs for prevention of age-related diseases.”
Prof Lynne Cox, Associate Professor of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, said:
“Research into ageing understandably attracts a lot of public interest. For most people, retaining their health is more important than the exact length of time they live, but it is also the case that increased lifespan usually reflects better health, and in the scientific laboratory, lifespan (time from birth to death) is clear and easy to measure.
“Dietary restriction (DR, i.e. cutting down on overall food intake, reducing calories or undertaking periods of fasting) has been widely reported to increase lifespan in experimental animals. But it is very hard for people to achieve DR for long periods, and in fact research suggests that it is actually harmful for older adults to cut down on how much they eat.
“Scientists have therefore looked for ways of achieving lifespan extension without having to stick to a highly restrictive diet, using drugs that might mimic DR, particularly rapamycin and metformin. Each drug has been reported to increase lifespan in multiple scientific reports. In this new study, the researchers compare results from 167 scientific papers studying the effect on lifespan of dietary restriction, metformin or rapamycin. They conclude that DR and rapamycin (but not metformin) increase lifespan in all vertebrate species analysed, and that males and females equally benefit.
“The difficulties these researchers encountered when trying to find original raw data highlights a major problem in the ageing field – the lack of transparency and accessibility of lifespan data so that others can cross check and carry out further analysis. They also report far fewer studies on females compared with males – again a major issue with biomedical research.
“The paper is an interesting first-pass analysis, but it doesn’t take into account the really important aspect of drug dosing or duration, which can have huge impacts on healthspan and lifespan; a very high dose of a drug might be toxic, while much lower doses of the drug could be beneficial. Dosing is particularly important with rapamycin which is immunosuppressive at high doses but immunosupportive at low doses. Similarly, metformin either increases or decreases lifespan in mice according to dose. It is therefore vital that the drug dose, duration of treatment, and the age of the individual at which the drug is administered, are all taken into account when analysing lifespan effects. By drawing together results from so many studies across different vertebrate species, this paper is a step in the right direction but highlights the need for even more studies that provide important information on age, dose and treatment duration, as well as correlations with detailed health measures.”
Prof Neil Mabbott, Personal Chair of Immunopathology, Roslin Institute & Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Sciences, University of Edinburgh, said:
“Many studies have described how interventions such as dietary restriction can extend lifespans in experimental settings. However, the impact that some of these approaches have on lifespans has occasionally been inconsistent, or not observed, when repeated in different animal species or laboratories. To address these concerns the authors have analysed over 900 effect sizes across 167 studies to compare the reported effects of three interventions on their ability to extend lifespan. Their analysis revealed that dietary restriction or treatment with the immunosuppressant drug rapamycin were equally effective in extending lifespans in the animal species used in those studies.
“This is an interesting and useful study, but more research is now required to uncover how these treatments extend lifespans. Furthermore, none of the studies the authors compared described effects in humans. So it is uncertain whether the effects described in animals such as laboratory mice, rats, dogs, macaques, fish and mouse lemurs, are also applicable to humans.
“With advances in health care etc. lifespans across the world are forecast to steadily increase. While this is obviously to be welcomed, an increased elderly population does bring with it challenges, especially to health care providers. In this study the authors compared how effective the different interventions were on extending lifespan. However, rather than simply focusing on lifespan duration, we should also focus our efforts on extending the health-span. This is the period of our lives in which we live healthily and disease-free. While this study found consistent effects on lifespan, it is uncertain whether these interventions have a similar impact on the health-span. Living a lot longer but with the multiple morbidities that can accompany aging is perhaps not the best thing. Treatments that can improve the duration of those healthy years, will themselves feedback into increased lifespans.”
Prof Ilaria Bellantuono, Co-director of the Healthy Lifespan Institute, University of Sheffield, said:
“This meta-analysis compiles existing data on the effects of dietary restriction (DR), metformin, and rapamycin on lifespan across multiple species, but its findings—particularly regarding DR and rapamycin—should be interpreted with caution. While the authors report no significant differences between these two interventions or between sexes, this may reflect limitations in the underlying data, and its heterogeneity, rather than a true absence of effect. Both rapamycin and DR have demonstrated sex-specific and context-dependent effects on longevity in numerous experimental models, especially in mice. Moreover, the analysis cannot address key translational questions, such as dose dependency and timing of intervention—factors that are particularly important given rapamycin’s known side effects. Perhaps more critically, the study focuses on lifespan rather than healthspan, and it is well established that longer life does not necessarily mean more years in good health. Although the study reinforces general principles about the influence of these interventions on longevity, its relevance to human ageing and therapeutic translation is limited, and claims of equivalence should be treated with caution.”
Dr Laura Sinclair, Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Exeter, said:
“The team made use of the powerful tool of meta-analysis to look at how dietary restriction, metformin and rapamycin affect longevity across published experimental research studies.
“As one might expect, a drug’s effect on lifespan can be quite difficult to assess in humans, so research often uses model organisms for assessing lifespan, while human studies focus more on age-related diseases. For example, the Targeting Ageing with Metformin (TAME) Trial in the US will use mortality and a combination of age-related disease indications to examine metformin’s effects on ageing and lifespan.
“The team analysed data from lots of experiments from other studies. Most of the experiments that the team studied will have involved giving an animal a treatment and measuring their lifespan compared to a control group of animals not given the treatment. The dietary restriction treatment may have consisted of giving the animal less food, less time to eat and/or less nutrition in their food.
Dietary restriction is well known to increase longevity across many studies in animals, but its effects are difficult to replicate in people in the real world for many reasons.
“When you eat less, lots of nutrition-sensing pathways are affected in your cells. These pathways overlap a lot with cell-controlling pathways that are associated with living longer. It is important to study these pathways as targeting them might help us be able to live healthier in older age. It is also important to consider sex differences as some differences in response between sexes have been observed in other studies.
‘Rapamycin, not metformin, mirrors dietary restriction-2driven lifespan extension in vertebrates: a meta-analysis’by Ivimey-Cook et al. will be published in Aging Cell at 00:01 UK time on Thursday 19th June, which is when the embargo will lift.
Declared interests
Prof Neil Mabbott “I have no conflicts of interest to declare”
Prof Ilaria Bellantuono “I am consulting for Holland and Barrett.”
Dr Laura Sinclair “My project is currently funded by the charity, Animal-Free Research UK”
Prof Lynne Cox “Lynne Cox is a biochemist at the university of Oxford. She runs the Lab of Ageing and Cell Senescence in Oxford, and has strong research interest in rapamycin and drugs that act in similar ways to preserve healthspan. She has served for the past 3 years as co-director of the UK Ageing research Networks (UKAN) and is currently Program Director of Dynamic Resilience, a $60m global healthspan program co-funded by Wellcome Leap and Temasek Trust.”
Dr David Clancy “No interested to declare”
For all other experts no reply to our request for COIs was receive.
Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –
The Times Higher Education (THE) rating agency has published the results of the international TНE University Impact Rankings 2025. It measures the contribution of universities to socio-economic development through the prism of 17 UN global goals. This year, the ranking included 2,526 universities from 130 countries, including 80 Russian ones. Polytechnic University demonstrated high results, taking first place among Russian universities and entering the group of 301-400 best universities in the world.
THE Impact Rankings is an opportunity to assess the scale of achievements of such multidisciplinary universities as ours. Due to our polytechnic nature, we make a significant contribution to the development of a wide range of areas. I am proud of the social responsibility of polytechnics, their concern and desire for positive changes. Therefore, even focusing on technological leadership, Polytechnic does not lose sight of the importance of social and economic development of Russia and the world, – noted the rector of SPbPU Andrey Rudskoy.
This year’s ranking showed a significant improvement in Polytechnic University’s positions on eight sustainable development goals. Particularly impressive is the progress in the area of “Partnerships for Sustainable Development Goals” (SDG17), where the university moved up 11 positions among Russian universities and 200 positions in the world ranking. Indicators for the goal “Preservation of Marine Ecosystems” (SDG14) also increased significantly: plus seven positions in Russia and plus one hundred in the world. Significant progress was noted for the goals “Climate Action” (SDG13) and “Good Health and Well-Being” (SDG3), where SPbPU moved up six and five positions, respectively, among Russian universities. Polytechnic University maintains its leading position in Russia for the goal “Responsible Production and Consumption” (SDG12).
In addition to its significant impact on the economic development of the region and the country, Polytechnic University makes a significant social contribution. Our university provides access to quality education to more than 30 thousand Russian and foreign students, is a major employer, providing jobs for more than six thousand people, including people with disabilities. In addition, the university organizes many free socially significant events for the local community, and this is only part of our social activities. Evaluation of this kind of contribution is no less important, and this is the great value of such ratings, – commented Vice-Rector for Human Resources Policy Maria Vrublevskaya.
The assessment is based on information provided by universities and confirmed by Elsevier bibliometric data. The analysis covers three important areas: research activities (development of science to solve global problems), management efficiency (resource management and educational activities) and social work (implementation of social programs within the university).
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Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –
The MetaCampus Polytech project, which is being implemented by the team of the Civil Engineering Institute, has become one of the key initiatives within the framework of the digital transformation of SPbPU. It is a digital campus ecosystem based on an information model that unites more than 300,000 square meters of area, 30 academic buildings and about 10,000 rooms.
The uniqueness of the project is that MetaCampus Polytech is the first and only example of creating a digital twin of a university campus in the country. This makes it not only a platform for internal digital transformation, but also a pilot solution that can be used by other Russian universities.
The project is interdisciplinary in nature and is being implemented jointly with the Institute of Computer Science and Cybersecurity. More than 2,000 undergraduate, specialist and master’s students are participating in its development. Eight project groups have been organized, nine new work programs of disciplines and practices have been developed, such as “Digital Modeling of Buildings”, “Geoinformation Technologies”, “Energy Audit”, “Project Practice” and others. At the moment, work is underway on interdisciplinary final qualification works.
Digital services intended for various user groups of the university are being actively created and developed. One of them, “Property Management”, is aimed at automating analytics and visual management of the university’s material and property complex. The service allows you to track the parameters of premises online and generate their digital passports.
At the moment, specialists are developing a technology for converting multimodal campus infrastructure data into a single information presentation format for subsequent analysis and processing using machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms. The goal is to combine heterogeneous data collected over two years (PDF documents, images, BIM models, point clouds, tables and other file types) into a single structured system associated with specific campus objects and premises.
Based on these unified data, the digital service for managing the property complex will be expanded, which will allow for the prompt generation of analytical reports and graphical representations of indicators at the user’s request using an AI assistant. This approach will ensure not only the integrity of information, but also high speed of decision-making on managing the university’s resources.
During the project implementation, a video presentation was created, which presents a historical retrospective of the formation of the SPbPU campus. The basis for creating the video were digital models of the university buildings.
The experience gained during the implementation of the MetaCampus Polytech project became the basis for new international cooperation. Representatives of the Civil Engineering Institute and partners from Cuba agreed to launch a joint project on the digitalization of cultural heritage sites. Cuban colleagues shared their experience in the digitalization of architectural monuments, including joint research with universities in Spain and Colombia, and expressed interest in developing cooperation.
In addition, the Institute of Historical and Cultural Heritage has concluded an agreement with the Committee for State Control, Use and Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments of St. Petersburg (KGIOP) on developing a digital passport of cultural heritage sites based on the approaches of the MetaCampus Polytech project. This will create a unified format for digital information about cultural sites and may become the basis for the formation of digital twins of historical cities both in Russia and abroad.
The significance of the project was confirmed by its victory in the nomination “Best Campus Management Practice” in the competition organized by the “Sociocenter” jointly with the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia as part of the strategic academic leadership program “Priority-2030”.
In the future, MetaCampus Polytech will be able to become the basis for creating a digital twin of St. Petersburg. At the moment, the territory of the university campus, which is contained in the form of an information model, is a serious digital asset. Using its example, we could replicate this practice in order to transfer our entire city to a digital model, – noted the director of ISI Marina Petrochenko.
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Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –
Polytechnic University scientists have developed a new chemical composition with increased anti-cancer activity and virtually zero toxicity.
Malignant neoplasms are one of the most serious problems of modern healthcare. Globally, about 20 million new cases of the disease are registered annually, and global mortality from cancer reaches 9-10 million people per year. In Russia, more than 640 thousand new cases of cancer are detected annually. At the same time, about 40% of patients seek medical help when the disease has already reached stage III-IV, which significantly reduces the effectiveness of treatment and worsens survival. The most common types are breast cancer, lung cancer and colorectal cancer.
High morbidity and a significant proportion of cases of late diagnosis require the introduction of new, effective and affordable methods of therapy, which scientists in all countries are working on. Over the past ten years, a breakthrough has been achieved in the treatment of malignant neoplasms after the approval of tyrosine kinase inhibitors and immune checkpoint inhibitors, which have significantly changed approaches to the treatment of patients with cancer tumors. Small-molecule inhibitors of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) are a promising group of new antitumor agents that can selectively inhibit the enzyme responsible for the restoration of genotoxic damage in cells, which ultimately leads to apoptosis and death of tumor cells.
In Russia, under the conditions of sanctions pressure and the rising cost of modern foreign medicines, the creation of domestic antitumor drugs with high efficiency and low toxicity is especially relevant. This is the task that a group of scientists from Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University is solving. They have selected chemical substances and invented a method for obtaining a new compound that has not only high anticancer activity, but also low toxicity.
Standard tests using resazurin revealed that the obtained compound has more than 50 times the anti-cancer activity of its FDA-approved analogue. We determined the toxicity of the compound using the method of G. N. Pershin on mice. The results of the experiments showed that, according to the current classification, the compound belongs to class V of virtually non-toxic drugs. The obtained characteristics make it possible to use this compound to create new targeted drugs with low toxicity to healthy tissues, – said one of the authors of the invention, head of the Laboratory of Nano- and Microencapsulation of Biologically Active Substances of the Institute of Cardiovascular and Biological Problems of St. Petersburg Polytechnic University Alexander Timin.
The potential of the drug for further production of anti-cancer drugs is highly appreciated by specialists participating in testing the new compound, in accordance with the agreement concluded between the N. N. Petrov National Medical Research Center of Oncology of the Ministry of Health of Russia and SPbPU.
Currently, there are no registered inhibitors of domestic development in Russia. Therefore, it is especially important that the compound created by the scientists of the Polytechnic University of Petrovsky already demonstrates encouraging results at the early stages. This is an original molecule with characteristics comparable to foreign drugs. We continue research on biological models and are preparing for preclinical trials in accordance with international standards in order to provide patients with an effective and affordable antitumor agent in the future. Now we are waiting for the decision of the Ministry of Health on financing the project within the framework of the State assignment – the first stage of expert evaluation has already been successfully completed, – said Artem Poltoratsky, Head of the Department of Organization of Preclinical and Clinical Research, Leading Researcher and Oncologist at the N.N. Petrov National Medical Research Center of Oncology.
Conducting preclinical studies and, in general, bringing the drug to market will be significantly cheaper also because Polytechnic scientists use artificial intelligence technologies. They conduct retrosynthetic analysis of large data sets (Big Data), establishing the relationship between the structure and biological activity of the compounds being studied.
The neural network we trained generates potential structures with the required properties and predicts binding affinities with target molecules. The proposed approach allows us to calculate properties based on the structure, create training samples based on more than 40,000 molecules and predict the structures of leading compounds. These solutions and the developed neural network approach, which tracks the effect of molecules on the body, significantly reduce the time and material costs of preclinical studies, – said the leading researcher of the laboratory of nano- and microencapsulation of biologically active substances, one of the authors of the invention Sergey Shipilovskikh.
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Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Excellent performance of Hong Kong’s higher education system showcases effectiveness of government measures He stressed that the Government attracts quality talent from around the world and nurtures local talent through various measures such as scholarship programmes to leverage Hong Kong’s strengths to serve the country’s needs. Starting from the 2024/25 academic year (AY), the non-local student quota for UGC-funded institutions has been doubled from 20 per cent to 40 per cent, raising non-local undergraduate enrolment from 19.9 per cent (2023/24 AY) to 23.2 per cent. The Government will further foster collaboration among the eight UGC-funded universities, including supporting the jointly established Heads of Universities Committee’s Standing Committee on Internationalisation to continue to promote the “Study in Hong Kong” brand worldwide.
The spokesman added that the Government will continue to promote the strengthening of global exchanges and connections of research personnel and teams of local universities and support them to broaden research networks and co-operation areas with their overseas counterparts.
The Government attaches great importance to the quality of teaching and learning at universities and invests substantial resources to step up support for the high-quality development of Hong Kong education. For the 2025–2028 triennium, approximately 78 per cent of the Block Grant will be allocated to support teaching and learning. Compared with the 2022-2025 triennium, the Teaching Development and Language Enhancement Grant provided by the UGC will increase by $100 million to approximately $920 million. The key themes of the Grant – including the integration of generative artificial intelligence and innovative technologies in education, the sharing of exemplary practices in teaching and learning, and the enhancement of students’ well-being and personal development – are aligned with current trends in education and societal needs. The most recent round of quality audits conducted by the Quality Assurance Council under the UGC also reaffirms the high quality of educational experiences offered by UGC-funded universities.
To dovetail with the National 14th Five-Year Plan, the Government will leverage the vast opportunities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, supporting cutting-edge research conducted by the eight UGC-funded universities through the Research Grants Council (RGC) under the UGC. Over 20 research funds and scholarship programmes operate under the RGC, with more than 1 500 new projects receiving funding annually. These measures will help foster a robust research environment and further consolidate Hong Kong’s position as an international post-secondary education hub. Issued at HKT 17:06
Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –
The State University of Management entered the top 10 best economic universities in Moscow according to RIA Novosti.
On the eve of the start of the admissions campaign, the publication presented a selection of the best universities in the capital based on data on the programs offered, educational conditions, and positions in various rankings.
GUU was included among the best economic universities in Moscow. The authors noted the practice-oriented approach to teaching, which allows students to gain real work experience and develop the necessary skills.
Let us recall that our university is a recognized leader in project-based learning and is a federal innovation platform for the implementation of the project “Interregional educational and methodological center for project-based learning, project-based learning as a technology for practical training.”
Earlier, the State University of Management was included in the annual ranking of the best universities in Russia RAEX-100, became one of the leaders of the first National Ranking of Graduates’ Employment, and the works of SUM students were noted as some of the best in the All-Russian competition of final qualification works in the format “Startup as a Diploma”.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –
On the Black Sea coast, a new thematic shift “Engineers of meanings: designers of a new reality” of the All-Russian children’s center “Smena” and the public organization “Movement of the First” was launched. The educational strategy for the professional training of engineers of meanings in the field of communication activities, which has been implemented by the Higher School of Media Communications and Public Relations of the Humanitarian Institute at SPbPU since 2020, for the first time became the conceptual logic of the educational shift for the country’s studying youth.
70 college students who came to the “Nastvornik” camp from all over the country were welcomed by the head of the Center for Innovative Pedagogical Technologies of the All-Russian Children’s Center “Smena” Roman Khevsokov and the director of the Higher School of Music and Social Sciences of the State University of the St. Petersburg Polytechnic University Marina Arkannikova. In her welcoming speech, she noted the high level of organization of the camp and the substantive content of the program of events.
You have two unforgettable weeks ahead of you. I wish you to take away from the Black Sea coast a sea of impressions, new knowledge and, of course, friends. And I will finish with the words of Robert Rozhdestvensky: “If you exist, be the best, if you exist, be the first. It is harder and easier to be the first!” said Marina Arkannikova.
On the day of the grand opening of the shift, a visionary lecture and master class on the topic “Engineers of meanings as visionaries of the communications industry and cultural sovereignty of Russia” took place. The speaker spoke about the strategy of national security of Russia in terms of preserving and developing the cultural sovereignty of the country, as well as about civil initiatives that form the value-semantic principles of the cultural code of the nation and protection from information aggression in the context of mental wars and cancel culture. For their interest in the discussion and thoughtful reasoning, the distinguished listeners were awarded the book “Engineers of meanings: from concept to professionalization”, prepared under the scientific editorship of Marina Sergeevna and published by the Polytechnic University.
The students of the educational program are participants of the All-Russian project “First Student” and winners of the competitive selection, who showed the highest results in motivation, in the desire for development and readiness to think strategically and on a large scale. For two weeks, from June 12 to 25, a course of professional skills, a series of business quests from the State Corporation “Rosatom”, a festival of professions “Masters of the Future”, a workshop “Smart City” will be organized for them. The participants of the shift will be able to get acquainted with the possibilities of professional growth in the field of children’s self-government in the primary organizations of the “Movement of the First”, will be engaged in the development of projects and their own first business, and will also be able to become part of a friendly society that will definitely support their ideas and meanings.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering –
Congratulations to Anatoly Ivanovich Osokin, Head of the Department of Geotechnics at SPbGASU, on the successful defense of his dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Technical Sciences.
Scientific consultant – Rashid Abdullovich Mangushev, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, Professor of the Department of Geotechnics at St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering.
Dissertation topic: “Conceptual foundations and practical application of principles of scientific and technical justification and support of underground construction in soft soils”. Scientific specialty – 2.1.2. Foundations and bases, underground structures.
The defense took place on June 18 in the dissertation council 24.2.380.04, created on the basis of our university.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Faced with the choice in their daily lives, their work or their politics, why do some people decide to keep quiet, to censor themselves in anticipatory obedience, even if they’re not ordered to do so?
In this episode of The Conversation Weekly, we talk to self-censorship expert Daniel Bar-Tal about what drives people to censor themselves, and its consequences for society.
It was Daniel Bar-Tal’s experiences serving in the Israeli army that prompted him to begin studying self-censorship. “ I was observing all kind of phenomenon that are going on within a country that is engaged in intractable conflict,” he told us.
Bar-Tal, an emeritus professor in the school of education at Tel Aviv University, began to notice that self-censorship was essential in societies, like Israel, living in conflict. He explains:
There are all kind of directives which develop censorship, in the army, in school, teachers are told what they should do and say. But self-censorship is going beyond this. So it means that nobody tells you that you must say A or B or C, but you feel an obligation by yourself to say certain things without any order from above.
Bar-Tal assembled a team of researchers from different disciplines to examine how self-censorship plays out across different sectors of a society, from politics to academia to journalism. They found three main motivations why people self-censor: as a defence mechanism for their in-group; out of fear; and to win rewards.
Listen to Bar-Tal talk about his research into self-censorship on the latest episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, which includes an introduction from Beth Daley, executive editor at The Conversation U.S. about self-censorship currently happening in parts of American academia.
This episode of The Conversation Weekly was written and produced by Katie Flood with assistance from Mend Mariwany. Gemma Ware is the executive producer. Mixing and sound design by Eloise Stevens and theme music by Neeta Sarl.
Listen to The Conversation Weekly via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our RSS feed or find out how else to listen here. A transcript of this episode is available on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Daniel Bar-Tal does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
For centuries, humans have searched for ways to extend life. Alchemists never found the philosopher’s stone, but scientists have consistently shown that a longer life can be attained by eating less – at least in certain lab animals. But can we find a way to live longer while still enjoying our food?
Compounds that mimic the biological effects of dieting could be the answer, and the two most popular diet-mimicking drugs are rapamycin and metformin. In a new study, my colleagues and I found that rapamycin prolongs life almost as consistently as eating less, whereas metformin does not.
Eating less, or dietary restriction, has been the gold standard for achieving a longer life ever since a study nearly a century ago in which laboratory rats that ate less surprised scientists by outliving their well-fed lab mates.
But for many people, sticking to a permanent diet is hard and far from enjoyable. Also, if taken to extremes, it can even be bad for health. That is why we wanted to know whether drugs that are dieting mimics could bring the same benefit of eating less without the unwanted side-effects.
Rapamycin was first discovered in bacteria living in Easter Island soil in the 1970s, and medical professionals now use it to prevent organ-transplant rejection, as it is a powerful immunosuppressant. It works by blocking a molecular switch that tells cells when nutrients are abundant.
Metformin, meanwhile, is a synthetic descendant of a compound found in French lilac (also known as goat’s rue) and is widely prescribed to control blood sugar in type 2 diabetes. Both drugs are involved in the body’s ability to sense nutrients and energy, so biologists like us hoped they might copy the mechanisms activated by eating less.
To find out, we pooled the results of many studies to see if there were any overall patterns. We carefully examined thousands of scientific papers to finally home in on 167 studies on eight vertebrate species, from fish to monkeys, that provided sufficient details on survival and how the study was done. Then we compared three longevity strategies: eating less, taking rapamycin and taking metformin.
We found that eating less still came out on top as the most consistent way to prolong life in all animals but rapamycin was close behind. Metformin, in contrast, showed no clear benefit. The life-extension effect of eating less was the same in both sexes, and it didn’t matter whether the diet plan involved eating smaller portions or intermittent fasting.
That makes rapamycin one of the most exciting leads for new anti-ageing therapies. Ageing might not be considered a disease, but it is a risk factor behind many diseases from cancer to dementia. If we slow that underlying process, the benefit will be extra years of quality life and lower healthcare bills as the world’s population grows older.
Rapamycin was first isolated from bacteria found in the soil on Easter Island. JHVEPhoto/Shutterstock.com
Encouraging early signs, but we’re not quite there yet
However, there are some important points to consider. First, we discovered considerable variation from experiment to experiment with some studies even showing that eating less or taking rapamycin reduced lifespan.
Also, most of the evidence originates from mice and rats that have many of our genes but are clearly not exactly like us.
Finally, rapamycin may have side-effects such as repressing immunity and reproduction. Researchers are now investigating milder doses of rapamycin to see if they provide the advantages without the side-effects.
The preliminary signs are encouraging. In an ongoing human rapamycin trial, volunteers given low, intermittent doses of rapamycin have experienced positive effects on indicators of healthspan. For metformin, the human trial is still in progress and the findings are expected to be out in a few years time.
For now, nobody should run to their doctor asking for prescriptions of rapamycin to live longer. But this drug, extracted from obscure soil bacteria, shows us that interfering with a single molecular pathway can be enough to mimic the benefits of eating less. The challenge is to use this discovery to produce therapies that make us healthier for longer without compromising our quality of life – or our taste for the occasional slice of chocolate cake.
Dr. Zahida Sultanova works for the University of East Anglia and is funded by the Leverhulme Trust. She is a member of European Society of Evolutionary Biology (ESEB) and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Society of Turkey (EkoEvo).
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, June 19 (Xinhua) — A joint Chinese-Uzbek archaeological team made significant progress in excavating the early Iron Age Bandikhon 2 site in the Surkhandarya River basin in June 2025, providing key evidence to uncover the historical appearance of ancient city-states in southern Central Asia during the early Iron Age, CCTV reported on June 17, citing the Silk Road Joint Archaeological Research Center of Northwest China University (Shaanxi Province, northwest China).
Since 2023, the Institute of Cultural Heritage of the North-West University, together with Termez State University and the Termez Archaeological Museum of Uzbekistan, formed a joint archaeological group. They conducted interdisciplinary research in the Surkhandarya River basin, examining 47 sites. It was established that the Bandikhon-2 settlement is an important city-state of the ancient Bactria period. This is of great scientific importance for filling the gaps in the regional historical and cultural chronology.
In 2024-2025, the Chinese-Uzbek joint archaeological team conducted three archaeological seasons at the Bandikhon-2 settlement. Well-preserved reinforced adobe walls 7 m wide and 2 m high were discovered. A large room was excavated inside the settlement. In the center of the room, there were two square earthen columns standing vertically. In the corner of the room, there was a adobe bed, and a stone door groove was located under the door axis. A large number of household ceramics, stone grain grinders, and other stone tools for processing grain crops, as well as bronze knives, arrowheads, and other bronze tools were discovered at the site.
Based on systematic scientific dating and typological analysis of the discovered ceramics, the archaeological team confirmed that the Bandikhon 2 settlement was founded in the 9th century BC and abandoned in the 6th century BC. The excavations of this site provided key evidence for understanding the building structure and functional layout of the city-states of the early Iron Age.
It should be noted that Chinese and Uzbek archaeologists at all stages of excavations consistently adhered to the principle of “preservation above all else.” Considering the serious damage caused to earthen monuments by the local scorching sun and highly alkaline soil, archaeologists used original technologies for constructing the settlement. They used the method of laying clay layers and adobe bricks to strengthen the walls and other objects, maximally preserving and presenting the authentic appearance of the object. -0-
The Sculptor galaxy is similar in many respects to our Milky Way. It is about the same size and mass, with a similar spiral structure. But while it is impossible to get a full view of the Milky Way from the vantage point of Earth because we are inside the galaxy, Sculptor is perfectly positioned for a good look.
Astronomers have done just that, releasing an ultra-detailed image of the Sculptor galaxy on Wednesday obtained with 50 hours of observations using one of the world’s biggest telescopes, the European Southern Observatory’s Chile-based Very Large Telescope.
The image shows Sculptor, also called NGC 253, in around 4,000 different colors, each corresponding to a specific wavelength in the optical spectrum.
Because various galactic components emit light differently across the spectrum, the observations are providing information at unprecedented detail on the inner workings of an entire galaxy, from star formation to the motion of interstellar gas on large scales. Conventional images in astronomy offer only a handful of colors, providing less information.
The researchers used the telescope’s Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer, or MUSE, instrument.
“NGC 253 is close enough that we can observe it in remarkable detail with MUSE, yet far enough that we can still see the entire galaxy in a single field of view,” said astronomer Enrico Congiu, a fellow at the European Southern Observatory in Santiago, and lead author of research being published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
“In the Milky Way, we can achieve extremely high resolution, but we lack a global view since we’re inside it. For more distant galaxies, we can get a global view, but not the fine detail. That’s why NGC 253 is such a perfect target: it acts as a bridge between the ultra-detailed studies of the Milky Way and the large-scale studies of more distant galaxies. It gives us a rare opportunity to connect the small-scale physics with the big-picture view,” Congiu said.
Sculptor is about 11 million light-years from Earth, making it one of the closest big galaxies to the Milky Way. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km).
Like the Milky Way, it is a barred spiral galaxy, meaning it has an elongated structure extending from its nucleus, with spiral arms extending from the ends of the bar. Its diameter of about 88,000 light-years is similar to the Milky Way’s, as is its total mass. One major difference is Sculptor’s rate of new star formation, estimated to be two to three times greater than that of the Milky Way.
Nearly 30% of this star formation is happening near the galaxy’s nucleus in what is called a starburst region, as revealed in colorful emissions shown in the new image.
The observations have given information on a wide range of properties such as the motion, age and chemical composition of stars and the movement of interstellar gas, an important component of any galaxy.
“Since the light from stars is typically bluer if the stars are young or redder if the stars are old, having thousands of colors lets us learn a lot about what stars and populations of stars exist in the galaxy,” said astronomer Kathryn Kreckel of Heidelberg University in Germany, a study co-author.
“Similarly for the gas, it glows in specific bright emission lines at very specific colors, and tells us about the different elements that exist in the gas, and what is causing it to glow,” Kreckel said.
The initial research being published from the observations involves planetary nebulae, which are luminous clouds of gas and dust expelled by certain dying stars. Despite their name, they have nothing to do with planets. These nebulae can help astronomers measure the precise distances of faraway galaxies.
The researchers marveled at the scientific and aesthetic value of the new view of Sculptor.
“I personally find these images amazing,” Congiu said. “What amazes me the most is that every time I look at them, I notice something new – another nebula, a splash of unexpected color or some subtle structure that hints at the incredible physics behind it all.”
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
An aerial drone photo taken on May 15, 2025 shows the car carrier Anji Ansheng at Shanghai Haitong International Automotive Terminal in east China’s Shanghai. [PhotoXinhua]
Though lesser-known globally, China’s provincial economic powerhouses, including Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong and Zhejiang, wield influence rivaling the world’s top 20 economies. The country’s 10 economic giants, driving 60 percent of national GDP from 20 percent of land, are playing a crucial role in anchoring growth.
Shifting focus to domestic demand
While foreign trade once drove China’s growth, the 10 provincial powerhouses, also including Sichuan, Henan, Hubei, Fujian, Shanghai and Hunan, are now shifting their focus toward domestic consumption and investment to sustain economic expansion amid fluctuating external demand.
At the heart of this strategy are large-scale initiatives focused on consumer goods trade-ins and equipment upgrades. In 2025, Zhejiang will continue offering incentives for residents to replace items such as automobiles, mobile phones and electric bicycles, while also promoting the renewal of equipment like medical devices and elevators.
Henan plans to provide substantial subsidies this year to replace 500,000 automobiles and 8 million home appliances, while also carrying out 3,000 equipment renewal projects.
“The trade-in program has boosted affordability, tripling our first-quarter sales of AI products year on year,” said Guan Manman, operations manager at a local shopping mall in Henan.
These 10 economic powerhouses form the bedrock of China’s domestic consumption, accounting for over 63 percent of the country’s total retail sales of consumer goods in 2024. Supported by their robust spending, China’s retail sales achieved a solid 5 percent year-on-year growth from January to May 2025.
Construction of major projects serves as another vital growth driver. In 2025, Sichuan will launch some new industrial projects and accelerate ongoing ones, while Guangdong plans to invest a massive 1 trillion yuan (about 139 billion U.S. dollars) this year in 1,500 key provincial projects, including high-speed railways, intercity rail lines and airport expansions.
To stabilize foreign demand, exporters in these powerhouses are adopting a dual-track strategy: globally, by strengthening ties in emerging markets; and domestically, by expanding sales channels across e-commerce platforms and retail partnerships.
Provincial governments are rolling out multi-pronged support measures to help exporters navigate challenging conditions. These efforts include financial assistance to enhance liquidity, policy guidance to create better business environment, and initiatives aimed at breaking down barriers between domestic and international markets.
“In the face of external uncertainties, China must prioritize building a stronger and more resilient domestic economic cycle,” said Yu Xiangrong, Chief Economist of Citigroup China.
Innovation leads the way
As these provinces strengthen domestic demand, they are also turning to innovation to maintain momentum and secure a long-term competitive edge.
In Linzi District, Zibo City, east China’s Shandong Province, a cutting-edge scene is unfolding at an intelligent robotics factory. A coffee robot expertly froths milk and crafts swan-shaped latte art, while a palletizing robot — resembling an octopus — swiftly grabs boxes of beer and places them onto a conveyor belt.
Once known for its chemical industry, Linzi has transformed into a robotics hub. “Last year, our collaborative robot sales surpassed 1 billion yuan, capturing over 36 percent of the domestic market,” said Han Yongguang, chairman of the intelligent robot manufacturer.
Seizing opportunities presented by the new wave of technological revolution and industrial transformation, Shandong is accelerating the development of new quality productive forces.
Other economic powerhouses are also actively fostering new growth drivers. Guangdong is vigorously developing emerging industries such as new energy vehicles, AI and biopharma, while also cultivating future industries such as quantum computing and 6G.
Zhejiang has set ambitious targets for this year, aiming to add 300 national-level “little giant” firms, elite small and medium-sized enterprises in manufacturing that specialize in niche markets and lead with cutting-edge technologies.
Such consistent efforts have delivered tangible results. For instance, Sichuan’s high-tech manufacturing output grew robustly by 14.5 percent year on year in the first quarter, a notable acceleration of 6.1 percentage points from last year. Meanwhile, Jiangsu, a powerhouse in biopharma, saw a record 352 new drugs approved last year, of which 13 were innovative drugs, the highest number in a year.
“The integration of technology and industry is now pivotal to national competitiveness,” said Zheng Lei, president of Hefei University of Technology.
Leveraging high-quality development as a buffer against global volatility, the economic powerhouses drove a combined GDP of over 19 trillion yuan in the first quarter. In terms of economic growth rate, seven of these top 10 provinces outpaced the national average of 5.4 percent.
“Continuing to serve as the ‘ballast stone’ amidst complex development conditions not only reflects the strength and advantages of these economic powerhouses but also demonstrates the resilience and potential of the Chinese economy,” said Dong Yu, executive vice president of the China Institute for Development Planning at Tsinghua University.
Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –
On the first day of the XXVIII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the Polytechnic University hosted a traditional business breakfast with the participation of SPbPU experts and partners. This year, the theme of the meeting was “Strategy for Russia’s Economic Development: from Technological Sovereignty to Technological Leadership.”
At the beginning of the meeting, the guests were greeted by the rector of SPbPU, chairman of the St. Petersburg branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Andrey Rudskoy. He noted that over the past two decades, one of the main directions of Russia’s state policy has been achieving technological independence through import substitution. This strategy was considered a key element in ensuring the country’s intellectual, economic and political sovereignty, as well as the most important component of national security.
Although the world economy was moving towards globalization and the creation of global production chains, dependence on imports remained a serious risk for national economies. Under this development model, advantages were always received by countries that controlled key technologies and were customers of final products.
Due to the change in the foreign policy situation, the Russian government has adjusted its priorities for scientific and technological development. State support programs, previously aimed at import substitution, have received a new strategic direction.
According to the Concept of Technological Development of Russia until 2030, approved in 2023, the main goal was to achieve technological leadership, that is, to create products that surpass foreign analogues in key parameters. It is planned to allocate about three trillion rubles from the federal budget for the implementation of eight national projects in this area, while comparable co-financing is expected from the regions and businesses.
“We have gathered here an economic, spiritual, educational and production-financial micro-forum to discuss how these changes will affect the structure of the Russian economy and the global technology market; what roles industrial enterprises, universities, research institutions, development institutes and government bodies will play in implementing the strategy; how the new strategy relates to the concept of a multipolar world; what risks and opportunities it creates for all participants in the economic system,” said Andrey Rudskoy. “The theme of this year’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum — the slogan ‘Common Values — the Basis for Growth in a Multipolar World’ — brings us to the question of how, while creating a multipolar world, to create economic structures that would allow each state to develop freely. The solution to this complex problem depends on the political situation throughout the world, but I believe that mutual assistance, reliable cooperation, and faith in the ideals of equality and brotherhood will help us with this.”
On behalf of the Governor and the Government of St. Petersburg, the meeting participants were welcomed by Vice Governor Vladimir Knyaginin.
It is very pleasant to see the intellectual elite here at the Polytechnic University, and I hope that today’s business breakfast will make an important contribution to understanding what is happening with science in our country,” he noted.
The keynote speech “Scientific and technological complex of Russia. In search of a new development model” was given by the chief economist of the state development corporation VEB.RF, honorary doctor of SPbPU Andrey Klepach. He focused on the fact that almost all developed countries by 2020 began to increase their R&D spending, the competition of knowledge and technological development has intensified. But in Russia, spending has remained below 1% of GDP, that is, we are not participating in this race.
“We have declared that the main goal is technological and economic sovereignty, but the results are still quite modest,” says Andrey Klepach. “What needs to be done to ensure that sovereignty is truly formed and strengthened? The issue of structural restructuring of the economy is quite acute, without which it will not be competitive. It is not only a matter of how much money to allocate to science, mechanical engineering, and IT, but also what the result will be in terms of added value and how the overall structure of our entire economy will change.”
According to the expert, with all the importance of fundamental science, today it is necessary to rely on the advanced development of applied research. It is also necessary to interact with business, the real sector of the economy. Unlike other countries, in Russia, the share of business in financing science is not very large, but recently I began to grow. Many enterprises began to develop their own applied research centers. In this regard, Andrei Klepach proposed to consider the new management system of the scientific and technological complex. He said that in leading universities with strong fundamental science there are positive examples of the development of applied scientific centers and experimental industries (including in St. Petersburg). However, orientation exclusively on universities as the main drivers of technology development, according to the Western model of the development of science, did not justify hopes. In Russia, the main function of the university remains educational. The scientific and infrastructural potentials of most universities do not allow them to be considered as leading integrators of fundamental and applied science. Traditionally, the development of advanced through technologies is launched by the new needs of the defense sector and at the expense of budget funds, but the current format of the state defense order does not ensure this. It is advisable to form on the basis of leading state scientific centers, NICs and centers of the NTI of the head intersectoral and interdisciplinary national research centers of applied science in the format of national laboratories for individual priorities. Such a structure can ensure the transition of research and the results of the Russian Academy of Sciences to the stage of development and harmonize the rewind of technologies between civil and defense sectors.
The economist also emphasized that no matter what the sovereignty, it is still impossible to develop without partnership, without scientific interaction.
It is impossible to create all the technologies ourselves, even the Soviet Union could not do that. We need specific partnership contacts in Malaysia, India, China, and maintaining ties in the scientific community with European countries and the USA is extremely important, Andrey Klepach is sure.
In her speech, Natalia Tretyak, General Director of JSC Prosveshchenie, said that in order to solve the problems of popularizing science and scientists, in 2023 the Foundation for the Development of Scientific and Cultural Relations of Universities established the Vyzov Prize and thanked the Polytechnic University for holding it. application campaign for this year’s award.
The fact that we are discussing the problems of technological leadership today within the framework of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum allows us to hope that science and technology will become attractive to young people. A technological breakthrough is probably impossible if this area of activity is not fashionable, is not a role model. If we ask people on the street to name famous modern Russian scientists, I am afraid that many will not answer. Therefore, it is important that in the thoughts of the younger generation, the image of a scientist is formed as the image of a national hero. So that the value of science is recognized as one of the most important not only for the state and society, but also for an individual, – emphasized Natalia Tretyak.
The scientific director of the Concern “TsNII Elektropribor”, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, honorary doctor of SPbPU, Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation Vladimir Peshekhonov, the rector of the Moscow Theological Academy, Bishop of Sergiev Posad and Dmitrov Kirill (graduate of the Polytechnic University), chairman of the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation Vyacheslav Fetisov, and the head of the ANO “Russian Quality System” (Roskachestvo) Maxim Protasov also shared their vision of the problem.
The closing remarks were made by the Vice President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chairman of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Valentin Parmon.
Forbes magazine claims that the first real result of public-private partnership was what Academician Vladimir Ipatyev did in 1915, when he made the military chemical industry in Russia completely independent in a year, with almost no funds. And in 1921, when he was creating the chemical industry already in Soviet Russia, he formulated what technological sovereignty is. According to him, production can only be independent when it relies entirely on its own raw materials and technical personnel.
After the official part, the guests exchanged opinions on the issues raised at the meeting in an informal setting. Thus, Deputy Director General of the presidential platform “Russia – Country of Opportunities” Dmitry Guzhelya noted that today Russia is confidently moving along the path of sustainable development, strengthening technological independence and competitiveness. This is not just a response to external challenges, but a long-term strategy that unites the efforts of the state, business, science and education.
“The technological sovereignty and leadership of the country begin with the capabilities of each person,” said Dmitry Guzhelya. “Through the competitions and Olympiads of the presidential platform “Russia – the Country of Opportunities”, we open the doors to talents from all over the country. These are more than just projects. Here, the boundaries between regions and industries are erased: anyone who is ready to act can declare themselves, find a team of like-minded people and implement their ideas in order to make a significant contribution to the development of the country. Thus, we not only create an environment for growth, but also form a powerful personnel reserve for a technological breakthrough, linking talented specialists, business, science and the state.”
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –
In the educational and scientific center Institute of Medicine and Medical Technologies (UNC IMMT) NSU has completed more than 90% of the work on installing stained glass windows and installing a curtain wall façade; in the NSU Research Center (R&C), the percentage of readiness for these types of work is 80%. The buildings are second-stage facilities. new campus of NSU, being built within the framework of the national project “Youth and Children”.
In the building of the NSU IMMT UNC, the work on laying walls and partitions is almost complete (90%), rough finishing work is underway on all floors, floor screeding has been completed, the floor is being covered with porcelain stoneware, and work is underway on installing internal utility networks.
In addition, approval of the specified boundaries of the connection point to the central heating system has already been received from the Federal State Unitary Enterprise UEV, and work on the installation of on-site heating networks will begin in the near future.
In the building of the NSU NRC, after the approval of new architectural and planning solutions, work is being carried out at an accelerated pace on laying internal partitions and installing the heating system. In the NSU IMMT UNC, more than 30% of the roofing work has been completed.
Work is also underway to install external water supply and sewerage networks, and work has begun to improve the territory in accordance with the general plan.
Completion of construction of these second-stage facilities is scheduled for the first quarter of 2026. The general contractor is the company “MONOTEK STROY”.
On the instructions of President Vladimir Putin, a network of modern campuses is being created in Russia. By 2030, a constellation of 25 campuses should appear in the country. Work in this area is being carried out by the Government of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia. Currently, 24 such campuses are being designed and built with the support of the national project “Youth and Children”. By 2036, the number of campuses will increase to 40. The project is being financed by federal and regional budgets, as well as by extra-budgetary sources.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
The history of the dead – or, more precisely, the history of the living’s fascination with the dead – is an intriguing one.
As a researcher of the supernatural, I’m often pulled aside at conferences or at the school gate, and told in furtive whispers about people’s encounters with the dead.
The dead haunt our imagination in a number of different forms, whether as “cold spots”, or the walking dead popularised in zombie franchises such as 28 Days Later.
The franchise’s latest release, 28 Years Later, brings back the Hollywood zombie in all its glory – but these archetypal creatures have a much wider and varied history.
Zombis, revenants and the returning dead
A zombie is typically a reanimated corpse: a category of the returning dead. Scholars refer to them as “revenants”, and continue to argue over their exact characteristics.
In the Haitian Vodou religion, the zombi is not the same as the Hollywood zombie. Instead, zombi are people who, as a religious punishment, are drugged, buried alive, then dug out and forced into slavery.
The Hollywood zombie, however, draws more from medieval European stories about the returning dead than from Vodou.
A perfect setting for a ‘zombie’ film
In 28 Years Later, the latest entry in Danny Boyle’s blockbuster horror franchise, the monsters technically aren’t zombies because they aren’t dead. Instead, they are infected by a “rage virus”, accidentally released by a group of animal rights activists in the beginning of the first film.
This third film focuses on events almost three decades after the first film. The British Isles is quarantined, and the young protagonist Spike (Alfie Williams) and his family live in a village on Lindisfarne Island. This island, one of the most important sites in early medieval British Christianity, is isolated and protected by a tidal causeway that links it to the mainland.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alfie Williams star in the new film, out in Australian cinemas today. Sony Pictures
The film leans heavily on how we imagine the medieval world, with scenes showing silhouetted fletchers at work making arrows, children training with bows, towering ossuaries and various memento mori. There’s also footage from earlier depictions of medieval warfare. And at one point, the characters seek sanctuary in the ruins of Fountains Abbey, in Yorkshire, which was built in 1132.
The medieval locations and imagery of 28 Years Later evoke the long history of revenants, and the returned dead who once roved medieval England.
Early accounts of the medieval dead
In the medieval world, or at least the parts that wrote in Latin, the returning dead were usually called spiritus (“spirit”), but they weren’t limited to the non-corporeal like today’s ghosts are.
Medieval Latin Christians from as early as the 3rd century saw the dead as part of a parallel society that mirrored the world of the living, where each group relied on the other to aid them through the afterlife.
Depiction of the undead from a medieval manuscript. British Library, Yates Thompson MS 13
While some medieval ghosts would warn the living about what awaited sinners in the afterlife, or lead their relatives to treasure, or prophesise the future, some also returned to terrorise the living.
And like the “zombies” affected by the rage virus in 28 Years Later, these revenants could go into a frenzy in the presence of the living.
Thietmar, the Prince-Bishop of Merseburg, Germany, wrote the Chronicon Thietmari (Thietmar’s Chronicle) between 1012 and 1018, and included a number of ghost stories that featured revenants.
Although not all of them framed the dead as terrifying, they certainly didn’t paint them as friendly, either. In one story, a congregation of the dead at a church set the priest upon the altar, before burning him to ashes – intended to be read as a mirror of pagan sacrifice.
These dead were physical beings, capable of seizing a man and sacrificing him in his own church.
A threat to be dealt with
The English monastic historian William of Newburgh (1136–98) wrote revenants were so common in his day that recording them all would be exhausting. According to him, the returned dead were frequently seen in 12th century England.
So, instead of providing a exhausting list, he offered some choice examples which, like most medieval ghost stories, had a good Christian moral attached to them.
William’s revenants mostly killed the people of the towns they lived, returning to the grave between their escapades. But the medieval English had a method for dealing with these monsters; they dug them up, tore out the heart and then burned the body.
Other revenants were dealt with less harshly, William explained. In one case, all it took was the Bishop of Lincoln writing a letter of absolution to stop a dead man returning to his widow’s bed.
These medieval dead were also thought to spread disease – much like those infected with the rage virus – and were capable of physically killing someone.
Depiction of the undead from a medieval manuscript. British Library, Arundel MS 83.
The undead, further north
In medieval Scandinavia and Iceland, the undead draugr were extremely strong, hideous to look at and stunk of decomposition. Some were immune to human weapons and often killed animals near their tombs before building up to kill humans. Like their English counterparts, they also spread disease.
But according to the Eyrbyggja saga, an anonymous 13th or 14th century text written in Iceland, all it took was a type of community court and the threat of legal action to drive off these returned dead.
It’s a method the survivors in 28 Years Later didn’t try.
The dead live on
The first-hand zombie stories that were common during the medieval period started to dwindle in the 16th century with the Protestant Reformation, which focused more on individuals’ behaviours and salvation.
Nonetheless, their influence can still be felt in Catholic ritual practices today, such as in prayers offered for the dead, and the lighting of votive candles.
We still tell ghost stories, and we still worry about things that go bump in the night. And of course, we continue to explore the undead in all its forms on the big screen.
Christopher White does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
A record 54 Indian institutions have been featured in the QS World University Rankings 2026, released on Thursday, with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi emerging as the top-ranked Indian institution nationally.
IIT Delhi climbed from 150th position last year to 123rd this year—its best performance to date in the global rankings. The institute has overtaken IIT Bombay, which was India’s highest-ranked institution in 2025 but slipped from 118th to 129th this year.
IIT Madras recorded one of the biggest jumps, rising 47 places to reach 180th position, up from 227th in 2025.
According to the Ministry of Education, India has seen an “unprecedented rise” in representation, with more universities than ever earning a place in the global rankings. The ministry stated that India is now the fastest-growing G20 country in the QS rankings, recording a 390 per cent increase in the number of ranked institutions over the past decade.
“This five-fold jump—from just 11 institutions in 2014 to 54 in 2026—is a testament to the transformative reforms brought in by the Modi government over the last ten years,” Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in a post on X. “The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is not just changing our education system; it is revolutionising it.”
This year, eight Indian institutions entered the QS rankings for the first time—the highest number of new entrants from any single country. With this, India now stands as the fourth most represented country in the list, behind the United States, the United Kingdom, and China.
Nearly 48 per cent of Indian institutions already on the list improved their global positions this year, according to QS. Additionally, five Indian universities made it to the global top 100 in terms of employer reputation.
Among other top-ranked Indian institutions are IIT Kharagpur (215th), the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore (219th), and Delhi University (328th).
Private institutions also made their presence felt, with BITS Pilani placed at 668th and OP Jindal Global University in the 851–900 band.
Globally, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) retained the top position for the 14th consecutive year.
Taiwan Sugar Corporation (Taisugar) convened its 2025 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting at 10 a.m. today (June 12) at the Tainan Head Office. According to reports presented at the meeting, Taisugar recorded NT$31.435 billion in operating revenue and NT$2.941 billion in operating profit for 2024, exceeding budgeted figures by NT$1.641 billion and NT$1.363 billion, respectively. Taisugar successfully achieved its financial targets and approved a cash dividend of NT$0.9 per share for the fiscal year.
Taisugar stated that in response to changes in the market environment, it continued to refine its business operations and implement goal-oriented management, resulting in steady growth in revenue and profit. In support of the government’s net-zero carbon policy, Taisugar had installed a total of 543.64 MW in solar photovoltaic facilities by the end of 2024. Additional initiatives include forest carbon sink projects, international smallholder carbon farming projects, conversion of factory boilers to natural gas (reducing annual carbon emissions by more than 20,000 tCO2e), and a sugar mill biomass carbon capture and utilization project. Taisugar is also accelerating the modernization of eco-friendly pig farms to advance its low-carbon transformation goals. Moreover, Taisugar continues to make land available to support the development of social housing and long-term care services in line with government policies. Six educational campuses under its administration have been converted into social housing units, addressing the housing needs of youth and underprivileged groups.
Taisugar also reported strong performance over the past year in both sustainability and product and service excellence. The company received numerous honors, including the Taiwan Top 100 Sustainability Exemplary Enterprises Award, the TSAA Sustainability Action Award, the National Enterprise Environmental Protection Silver Award, an award at the Taiwan International Orchid Show, the Eco-Friendly Hotel Certification, the ITI Superior Taste Award-often referred to as the “Michelin Guide of the food industry”-and the Gold Award for Excellence in Occupational Safety and Health Engineering. In terms of innovation, Taisugar received the Agri-Tech Startups Award. In collaboration with the National Kaohsiung. University of Hospitality and Tourism, the company developed terroir-inspired rhum agricole using fresh sugarcane juice . After winning recognition at the World Spirits Competition in both 2023 and 2024, the rum once again shone this year, receiving two Grand Gold Medals at the Vinalies Internationales Competition in France. Taisugar also teamed up with Michelin-starred restaurants to launch curated food and rum pairing events, fully showcasing the achievements of local food and beverage innovation through industry-academia collaboration.
Taisugar stated that these awards are not only a form of recognition but also a source of motivation. Looking ahead, the company will continue to strengthen corporate governance, fulfill its corporate social responsibilities, and stay committed to its sustainable net-zero goals. This year, under the theme of “Safe to Eat, Fun to Explore, and Green Living, ” Taisugar has thoughtfully curated a set of shareholder gifts that are both practical and aligned with sustainability values. The gift set includes one pack each of Taisugar’s “Tang Gan Mi Tian” organic white rice and brown rice (900g per pack), two one-way 50% discount coupons for the Chiayi Suantou Sugar Factory Cultural Park’s vintage narrow-gauge train ride to the Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum, and a reusable canvas tote bag featuring the “Xun Mi Narrow-Gauge Train” as its key visual. This well-rounded and distinctive selection reflects Taisugar’s corporate culture and brand philosophy. With these gifts, shareholders can enjoy premium, safe, and chemical-free organic rice; experience a nostalgic journey on the vintage narrow-gauge train celebrating a century of sugar history and millennia of cultural heritage; and embrace eco-friendly habits by using the canvas tote bag in daily life-collectively supporting a greener and more sustainable lifestyle.
TSC News Contact Person: Chang Mu-Jung Public Relations, Department of Secretariat, TSC Contact Number: 886-6-337-8819 / 886-920-636-951 Email:a63449@taisugar.com.tw
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex is back in the news this week in a podcast discussing her viral “baby mama” video.
The video was made four years ago when she gave birth to daughter Lilibet, but only released recently. It shows the duchess in hospital, heavily pregnant, dancing and twerking to bring on labour. Her husband, Prince Harry, dances too.
Both of our children were a week past their due dates […] so when spicy food, all that walking, and acupuncture didn’t work – there was only one thing left to do!
So does the Duchess of Sussex have a point? Can dancing really bring on labour?
First, how about dancing during pregnancy?
Exercise is recommended during pregnancy, and while some higher-impact exercises may need to be moderated, it carries minimal risk for healthy women and their babies. In fact, evidence shows regular exercise during pregnancy is associated with a variety of benefits.
Exercise can lead to a lower risk of gestational diabetes, caesarean section, the use of forceps and vacuum during birth and perinatal mental health problems, as well as quicker postpartum recovery.
While pregnant women might more often gravitate towards a brisk walk, some laps in the pool, or a group exercise class, dancing is a good option too. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has even listed dance as one of the forms of exercise found to be safe and beneficial during pregnancy.
The movements of dance involve the hips and pelvic area (especially twerking) which may help the baby get into a more optimal position and tone the pelvic floor, though the evidence for this is lacking.
Choose any form of dancing you like – even belly dancing. In a small qualitative study with two pregnant women, belly dancing was found to be joyful and empowering, boosting feelings of wellbeing.
You can dance any time during pregnancy but you may need to adapt your dance moves as the pregnancy advances and your growing belly gets in the way.
If you have risk factors such as bleeding it’s best to be cautious and discuss any planned dancing with your health-care provider.
Exercise is recommended during pregnancy – so why not try dancing? sandsun/Shutterstock
What about dancing to induce labour, and during labour?
Meghan is not the first woman to report dancing to induce their labour, but this is all anecdotal. There’s no scientific evidence to show dancing is an effective way to bring on labour.
There is perhaps slightly more evidence suggesting benefits once labour has started.
Many women seek non-pharmacological options (not involving medications) during labour. Especially early in labour, dancing may decrease the intensity of pain and lead women to feel more satisfied and in control of their labour.
In one study, 60 women were randomly allocated to either dance during labour, or not. The dancing group had significantly lower pain scores and higher satisfaction than the control group.
And again, music can lower levels of pain in early labour. So combining relaxing music with some movement could be a good thing.
Dancing to your comfort levels during labour could be helpful due to the combination of pelvic movements, being upright, moving the body rhythmically and changing the position of the body frequently.
Being upright and moving could also help transfer some pressure from the baby’s head onto the cervix, which can stimulate prostaglandin, a key chemical involved in progressing labour.
It’s been suggested dancing during labour could help get the baby into a better position for delivery and therefore help labour to proceed more smoothly and quickly. But ultimately we don’t have reliable evidence to substantiate these hypotheses.
So, did Meghan induce her labour with dance?
It’s unclear if dancing helped to induce the duchess’ labour as she was in hospital and may have later had a medical or surgical induction.
Labour can be medically induced with hormones, by using a balloon-shaped catheter placed in the woman’s cervix to open it up, or by breaking the bag of water around the baby.
Alternatively, Meghan’s labour may have eventually begun naturally without her dancing having played a role if she chose to wait another few days.
However, the joy on her face and connection and support of her husband Prince Harry is a good way to increase oxytocin, a hormone that stimulates contractions. This could have helped too.
Meghan may have been on the right track, but we need more research before we can confidently recommend dancing to bring on or during labour.
In the meantime, while there’s no evidence to show dancing is effective for inducing labour, it’s highly unlikely to have any downsides – and it may contribute to a more positive childbirth experience. So, if you feel inclined, I say dance away.
Hannah Dahlen receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council.
The history of the dead – or, more precisely, the history of the living’s fascination with the dead – is an intriguing one.
As a researcher of the supernatural, I’m often pulled aside at conferences or at the school gate, and told in furtive whispers about people’s encounters with the dead.
The dead haunt our imagination in a number of different forms, whether as “cold spots”, or the walking dead popularised in zombie franchises such as 28 Days Later.
The franchise’s latest release, 28 Years Later, brings back the Hollywood zombie in all its glory – but these archetypal creatures have a much wider and varied history.
Zombis, revenants and the returning dead
A zombie is typically a reanimated corpse: a category of the returning dead. Scholars refer to them as “revenants”, and continue to argue over their exact characteristics.
In the Haitian Vodou religion, the zombi is not the same as the Hollywood zombie. Instead, zombi are people who, as a religious punishment, are drugged, buried alive, then dug out and forced into slavery.
The Hollywood zombie, however, draws more from medieval European stories about the returning dead than from Vodou.
A perfect setting for a ‘zombie’ film
In 28 Years Later, the latest entry in Danny Boyle’s blockbuster horror franchise, the monsters technically aren’t zombies because they aren’t dead. Instead, they are infected by a “rage virus”, accidentally released by a group of animal rights activists in the beginning of the first film.
This third film focuses on events almost three decades after the first film. The British Isles is quarantined, and the young protagonist Spike (Alfie Williams) and his family live in a village on Lindisfarne Island. This island, one of the most important sites in early medieval British Christianity, is isolated and protected by a tidal causeway that links it to the mainland.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alfie Williams star in the new film, out in Australian cinemas today. Sony Pictures
The film leans heavily on how we imagine the medieval world, with scenes showing silhouetted fletchers at work making arrows, children training with bows, towering ossuaries and various memento mori. There’s also footage from earlier depictions of medieval warfare. And at one point, the characters seek sanctuary in the ruins of Fountains Abbey, in Yorkshire, which was built in 1132.
The medieval locations and imagery of 28 Years Later evoke the long history of revenants, and the returned dead who once roved medieval England.
Early accounts of the medieval dead
In the medieval world, or at least the parts that wrote in Latin, the returning dead were usually called spiritus (“spirit”), but they weren’t limited to the non-corporeal like today’s ghosts are.
Medieval Latin Christians from as early as the 3rd century saw the dead as part of a parallel society that mirrored the world of the living, where each group relied on the other to aid them through the afterlife.
Depiction of the undead from a medieval manuscript. British Library, Yates Thompson MS 13
While some medieval ghosts would warn the living about what awaited sinners in the afterlife, or lead their relatives to treasure, or prophesise the future, some also returned to terrorise the living.
And like the “zombies” affected by the rage virus in 28 Years Later, these revenants could go into a frenzy in the presence of the living.
Thietmar, the Prince-Bishop of Merseburg, Germany, wrote the Chronicon Thietmari (Thietmar’s Chronicle) between 1012 and 1018, and included a number of ghost stories that featured revenants.
Although not all of them framed the dead as terrifying, they certainly didn’t paint them as friendly, either. In one story, a congregation of the dead at a church set the priest upon the altar, before burning him to ashes – intended to be read as a mirror of pagan sacrifice.
These dead were physical beings, capable of seizing a man and sacrificing him in his own church.
A threat to be dealt with
The English monastic historian William of Newburgh (1136–98) wrote revenants were so common in his day that recording them all would be exhausting. According to him, the returned dead were frequently seen in 12th century England.
So, instead of providing a exhausting list, he offered some choice examples which, like most medieval ghost stories, had a good Christian moral attached to them.
William’s revenants mostly killed the people of the towns they lived, returning to the grave between their escapades. But the medieval English had a method for dealing with these monsters; they dug them up, tore out the heart and then burned the body.
Other revenants were dealt with less harshly, William explained. In one case, all it took was the Bishop of Lincoln writing a letter of absolution to stop a dead man returning to his widow’s bed.
These medieval dead were also thought to spread disease – much like those infected with the rage virus – and were capable of physically killing someone.
Depiction of the undead from a medieval manuscript. British Library, Arundel MS 83.
The undead, further north
In medieval Scandinavia and Iceland, the undead draugr were extremely strong, hideous to look at and stunk of decomposition. Some were immune to human weapons and often killed animals near their tombs before building up to kill humans. Like their English counterparts, they also spread disease.
But according to the Eyrbyggja saga, an anonymous 13th or 14th century text written in Iceland, all it took was a type of community court and the threat of legal action to drive off these returned dead.
It’s a method the survivors in 28 Years Later didn’t try.
The dead live on
The first-hand zombie stories that were common during the medieval period started to dwindle in the 16th century with the Protestant Reformation, which focused more on individuals’ behaviours and salvation.
Nonetheless, their influence can still be felt in Catholic ritual practices today, such as in prayers offered for the dead, and the lighting of votive candles.
We still tell ghost stories, and we still worry about things that go bump in the night. And of course, we continue to explore the undead in all its forms on the big screen.
Christopher White does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –
On June 18, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the State University of Management and the Fatherland Defenders Foundation signed a cooperation agreement.
The document was signed by the rector of the State University of Management Vladimir Stroyev and the State Secretary – Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia, Chairperson of the “Defenders of the Fatherland” Foundation Anna Tsivileva.
Within the framework of the agreement, representatives of both organizations will prepare basic and additional educational programs and outreach activities for veterans of the special military operation and their family members, including those aimed at promoting employment and professional reintegration, and will also hold joint scientific and practical conferences, seminars, and round tables.
The rector of the State University of Management reminded that the university regularly collects and sends humanitarian aid, holds meetings with participants in military operations and events for the families of defenders.
“The tasks of universities include, in addition to education, the upbringing of young people. And the State University of Management is at the forefront of solving this problem. Thus, during this time, students and employees have made and sent to the SVO zone thousands of dry showers, trench candles, survival bracelets and camouflage nets, and are also purchasing other necessary things and household items. Members of the All-Russian Student Rescue Corps, the Moscow branch of which is based on the territory of the State University of Management, help eliminate the consequences of terrorist attacks in the border regions, restore the infrastructure of new entities,” Vladimir Stroyev emphasized.
Anna Tsivileva noted that the signed agreement will expand the capabilities of the Fatherland Defenders Foundation in one of the priority areas of work on training, retraining and further employment of veterans of the SVO.
“We help heroes undergo professional training and retraining at universities and institutions of secondary vocational education. Almost 5,000 defenders are already studying with our partners – the country’s leading educational organizations. As part of cooperation with the State University of Management, we will provide heroes with another opportunity to master new professions. It is important that after returning from a special operation they can work, be useful to their family and the state,” said Anna Tsivileva.
Let us recall that at the beginning of June, another humanitarian aid was transferred to the area of the special military operation as part of the “GUU-SVOim” campaign, and in February of this year, VSKS specialists held master classes for children of SVO veterans at the GUU.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –
The selection of residents for new clusters of the scientific and technological valley of Moscow State University “Vorobyovy Gory” has begun. This was reported in its telegram channel Sergei Sobyanin.
“We continue to form a world-class innovative infrastructure in the capital. The flagship cluster opened in 2023
“Lomonosov”, where 76 technology companies are currently operating. On the territory of the Moscow State University Scientific and Technical Center “Vorobyovy Gory,” the city will build two more clusters with a total area of over 100 thousand square meters,” the Moscow Mayor wrote.
Source: Sergei Sobyanin’s Telegram channel @mos_sobyanin
Now Moscow Innovation Cluster begins the selection of future residents. Companies engaged in high-tech projects in priority areas for the country can apply for placement. The significance for the Russian economy will also be assessed, including the contribution to the development of the capital’s technology sector. Preference will be given to teams that actively invest in research and development and collaborate with universities.
Residents will receive a special legal regime, tax benefits and access to the research and educational base of the Lomonosov Moscow State University.
Applications are accepted on the platform I. Moskov.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect
Myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is as complex as its name is difficult to pronounce. It’s sometimes referred to as simply “chronic fatigue”, but this is just one of its symptoms.
In fact, ME/CFS is a complex neurological disease, recognised by the World Health Organization, that affects nearly every system in the body.
The name refers to muscle pain (myalgia), inflammation of the brain (encephalomyelitis), and a profound, disabling fatigue that rest can’t relieve.
However, the illness’s complexity – and its disproportionate impact on women – means ME/CFS has often been incorrectly labelled as a psychological disorder.
What is ME/CFS?
ME/CFS affects people of all ages but is most commonly diagnosed in middle age. It is two to three times more common in women than men.
While the exact cause is unknown, ME/CFS is commonly triggered by an infection.
The condition has two core symptoms: a disabling, long-lasting fatigue that rest doesn’t relieve, and a worsening of symptoms after physical or mental exertion.
This is known as post-exertional malaise. It means even slight exertion can make symptoms much worse, and take much longer than expected to recover.
This varies between people, but could mean simply having a shower or attending a social event triggers worse symptoms, either immediately or days later.
These symptoms include pain, sleep issues, cognitive difficulties (such as thinking, memory and decision-making), flu-like symptoms, dizziness, gastrointestinal problems, heart rate fluctuations and many more.
For some people, symptoms can be managed in a way that allows them to work. For others, the disease is so severe it can leave them housebound or bedridden.
Symptoms can fluctuate, changing over time and in intensity, making ME/CFS a particularly unpredictable and misunderstood condition.
Not just ‘in your head’
A growing body of scientific evidence, however, clearly shows ME/CFS is a biological, not mental, illness.
Neuroimaging studies have revealed differences in the brain activity and structure of people with ME/CFS, including poor blood flow and lower levels of neurotransmitters (chemical messengers in the nervous system).
Other research indicates the condition affects how the body produces energy (the metabolism), fights infection (the immune system), delivers oxygen to muscles and tissues, and regulates blood pressure and heart rate (the vascular system).
Issues with criteria
To diagnose ME/CFS, a clinician will also exclude other possible causes of fatigue, which can be a lengthy process. A patient needs to meet a set of clinical criteria.
But one of the major challenges in researching ME/CFS is that the diagnostic criteria clinicians use vary worldwide.
Some criteria focus solely on fatigue and include people with alternate reasons for fatigue, such as a psychiatric disorder.
Others are more narrow and may only capture ME/CFS patients with more severe symptoms.
As a result, it can be very difficult to compare across different studies, as the reasons they include or exclude participants vary so much.
Most commonly, they follow the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ clinical guidelines to diagnose and manage ME/CFS. These are based on the Canadian Consensus Criteria which are considered more stringent than other ME/CFS diagnostic criteria.
They include post-exertional malaise and fatigue for more than six months as core symptoms.
However, these guidelines are outdated and rely heavily on controversial studies that assumed the primary cause of ME/CFS was “deconditioning” – a loss of physical strength due to a fear or avoidance of exercise.
These guidelines recommend ME/CFS should be treated with cognitive behavioural therapy – a common psychotherapy which focuses on changing unhealthy thoughts and behaviours – and graded exercise therapy, which gradually introduces more demanding physical activity.
While cognitive behaviour therapy can be effective for some people managing ME/CFS, it’s important not to frame this condition primarily as a psychological issue.
Graded exercise therapy can encourage people to push beyond their “energy envelope”, which means they do more than their body can manage. This can trigger post-exertional malaise and a worsening of symptoms.
In June 2024, the Australian government announced A$1.1 million towards developing new clinical guidelines for diagnosing and managing ME/CFS.
Leading organisations have scrapped the recommendation of graded exercise therapy in the United States (in 2015) and the United Kingdom (in 2021). Hopefully Australia will follow suit.
What can people with ME/CFS do?
While we wait for updated clinical guidelines, “pacing” – or working within your energy envelope – has shown some success in managing symptoms. This means monitoring and limiting how much energy you expend.
Some evidence also suggests people who rest in the early stages of their initial illness often experience better long-term outcomes with ME/CFS.
This is especially relevant after the COVID pandemic and with the emergence of long COVID. Studies indicate more than half of those affected meet stringent clinical criteria for ME/CFS.
In times of acute illness we should resist the temptation to push through. Choosing to rest may be a crucial step in preventing a condition that is much more debilitating than the original infection.
Sarah Annesley receives funding from The Judith Jane Mason & Harold Stannett Williams Memorial Foundation and ME Research UK (SCIO charity number SCO36942).
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hannah Dahlen, Professor of Midwifery, Associate Dean Research and HDR, Midwifery Discipline Leader, Western Sydney University
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex is back in the news this week in a podcast discussing her viral “baby mama” video.
The video was made four years ago when she gave birth to daughter Lilibet, but only released recently. It shows the duchess in hospital, heavily pregnant, dancing and twerking to bring on labour. Her husband, Prince Harry, dances too.
Both of our children were a week past their due dates […] so when spicy food, all that walking, and acupuncture didn’t work – there was only one thing left to do!
So does the Duchess of Sussex have a point? Can dancing really bring on labour?
First, how about dancing during pregnancy?
Exercise is recommended during pregnancy, and while some higher-impact exercises may need to be moderated, it carries minimal risk for healthy women and their babies. In fact, evidence shows regular exercise during pregnancy is associated with a variety of benefits.
Exercise can lead to a lower risk of gestational diabetes, caesarean section, the use of forceps and vacuum during birth and perinatal mental health problems, as well as quicker postpartum recovery.
While pregnant women might more often gravitate towards a brisk walk, some laps in the pool, or a group exercise class, dancing is a good option too. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has even listed dance as one of the forms of exercise found to be safe and beneficial during pregnancy.
The movements of dance involve the hips and pelvic area (especially twerking) which may help the baby get into a more optimal position and tone the pelvic floor, though the evidence for this is lacking.
Choose any form of dancing you like – even belly dancing. In a small qualitative study with two pregnant women, belly dancing was found to be joyful and empowering, boosting feelings of wellbeing.
You can dance any time during pregnancy but you may need to adapt your dance moves as the pregnancy advances and your growing belly gets in the way.
If you have risk factors such as bleeding it’s best to be cautious and discuss any planned dancing with your health-care provider.
Exercise is recommended during pregnancy – so why not try dancing? sandsun/Shutterstock
What about dancing to induce labour, and during labour?
Meghan is not the first woman to report dancing to induce their labour, but this is all anecdotal. There’s no scientific evidence to show dancing is an effective way to bring on labour.
There is perhaps slightly more evidence suggesting benefits once labour has started.
Many women seek non-pharmacological options (not involving medications) during labour. Especially early in labour, dancing may decrease the intensity of pain and lead women to feel more satisfied and in control of their labour.
In one study, 60 women were randomly allocated to either dance during labour, or not. The dancing group had significantly lower pain scores and higher satisfaction than the control group.
And again, music can lower levels of pain in early labour. So combining relaxing music with some movement could be a good thing.
Dancing to your comfort levels during labour could be helpful due to the combination of pelvic movements, being upright, moving the body rhythmically and changing the position of the body frequently.
Being upright and moving could also help transfer some pressure from the baby’s head onto the cervix, which can stimulate prostaglandin, a key chemical involved in progressing labour.
It’s been suggested dancing during labour could help get the baby into a better position for delivery and therefore help labour to proceed more smoothly and quickly. But ultimately we don’t have reliable evidence to substantiate these hypotheses.
So, did Meghan induce her labour with dance?
It’s unclear if dancing helped to induce the duchess’ labour as she was in hospital and may have later had a medical or surgical induction.
Labour can be medically induced with hormones, by using a balloon-shaped catheter placed in the woman’s cervix to open it up, or by breaking the bag of water around the baby.
Alternatively, Meghan’s labour may have eventually begun naturally without her dancing having played a role if she chose to wait another few days.
However, the joy on her face and connection and support of her husband Prince Harry is a good way to increase oxytocin, a hormone that stimulates contractions. This could have helped too.
Meghan may have been on the right track, but we need more research before we can confidently recommend dancing to bring on or during labour.
In the meantime, while there’s no evidence to show dancing is effective for inducing labour, it’s highly unlikely to have any downsides – and it may contribute to a more positive childbirth experience. So, if you feel inclined, I say dance away.
Hannah Dahlen receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council.
Myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is as complex as its name is difficult to pronounce. It’s sometimes referred to as simply “chronic fatigue”, but this is just one of its symptoms.
In fact, ME/CFS is a complex neurological disease, recognised by the World Health Organization, that affects nearly every system in the body.
The name refers to muscle pain (myalgia), inflammation of the brain (encephalomyelitis), and a profound, disabling fatigue that rest can’t relieve.
However, the illness’s complexity – and its disproportionate impact on women – means ME/CFS has often been incorrectly labelled as a psychological disorder.
What is ME/CFS?
ME/CFS affects people of all ages but is most commonly diagnosed in middle age. It is two to three times more common in women than men.
While the exact cause is unknown, ME/CFS is commonly triggered by an infection.
The condition has two core symptoms: a disabling, long-lasting fatigue that rest doesn’t relieve, and a worsening of symptoms after physical or mental exertion.
This is known as post-exertional malaise. It means even slight exertion can make symptoms much worse, and take much longer than expected to recover.
This varies between people, but could mean simply having a shower or attending a social event triggers worse symptoms, either immediately or days later.
These symptoms include pain, sleep issues, cognitive difficulties (such as thinking, memory and decision-making), flu-like symptoms, dizziness, gastrointestinal problems, heart rate fluctuations and many more.
For some people, symptoms can be managed in a way that allows them to work. For others, the disease is so severe it can leave them housebound or bedridden.
Symptoms can fluctuate, changing over time and in intensity, making ME/CFS a particularly unpredictable and misunderstood condition.
Not just ‘in your head’
A growing body of scientific evidence, however, clearly shows ME/CFS is a biological, not mental, illness.
Neuroimaging studies have revealed differences in the brain activity and structure of people with ME/CFS, including poor blood flow and lower levels of neurotransmitters (chemical messengers in the nervous system).
Other research indicates the condition affects how the body produces energy (the metabolism), fights infection (the immune system), delivers oxygen to muscles and tissues, and regulates blood pressure and heart rate (the vascular system).
Issues with criteria
To diagnose ME/CFS, a clinician will also exclude other possible causes of fatigue, which can be a lengthy process. A patient needs to meet a set of clinical criteria.
But one of the major challenges in researching ME/CFS is that the diagnostic criteria clinicians use vary worldwide.
Some criteria focus solely on fatigue and include people with alternate reasons for fatigue, such as a psychiatric disorder.
Others are more narrow and may only capture ME/CFS patients with more severe symptoms.
As a result, it can be very difficult to compare across different studies, as the reasons they include or exclude participants vary so much.
Most commonly, they follow the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ clinical guidelines to diagnose and manage ME/CFS. These are based on the Canadian Consensus Criteria which are considered more stringent than other ME/CFS diagnostic criteria.
They include post-exertional malaise and fatigue for more than six months as core symptoms.
However, these guidelines are outdated and rely heavily on controversial studies that assumed the primary cause of ME/CFS was “deconditioning” – a loss of physical strength due to a fear or avoidance of exercise.
These guidelines recommend ME/CFS should be treated with cognitive behavioural therapy – a common psychotherapy which focuses on changing unhealthy thoughts and behaviours – and graded exercise therapy, which gradually introduces more demanding physical activity.
While cognitive behaviour therapy can be effective for some people managing ME/CFS, it’s important not to frame this condition primarily as a psychological issue.
Graded exercise therapy can encourage people to push beyond their “energy envelope”, which means they do more than their body can manage. This can trigger post-exertional malaise and a worsening of symptoms.
In June 2024, the Australian government announced A$1.1 million towards developing new clinical guidelines for diagnosing and managing ME/CFS.
Leading organisations have scrapped the recommendation of graded exercise therapy in the United States (in 2015) and the United Kingdom (in 2021). Hopefully Australia will follow suit.
What can people with ME/CFS do?
While we wait for updated clinical guidelines, “pacing” – or working within your energy envelope – has shown some success in managing symptoms. This means monitoring and limiting how much energy you expend.
Some evidence also suggests people who rest in the early stages of their initial illness often experience better long-term outcomes with ME/CFS.
This is especially relevant after the COVID pandemic and with the emergence of long COVID. Studies indicate more than half of those affected meet stringent clinical criteria for ME/CFS.
In times of acute illness we should resist the temptation to push through. Choosing to rest may be a crucial step in preventing a condition that is much more debilitating than the original infection.
Sarah Annesley receives funding from The Judith Jane Mason & Harold Stannett Williams Memorial Foundation and ME Research UK (SCIO charity number SCO36942).
