News

Scientists at HSE University have discovered that in preeclampsia—one of the most severe complications of pregnancy—the placenta remodels its lipid metabolism, reducing its own cholesterol synthesis while increasing cholesterol transfer to the foetus. This compensatory mechanism helps sustain foetal nutrition but accelerates placental deterioration and may lead to preterm birth. The study findings have been published in Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences.

2026 Season Begins

HSE researchers evaluated the accuracy of technology forecasts in the transportation sector over the past 50 years and found that the average accuracy rate does not exceed 25%, with the lowest accuracy observed in aviation and rail transport. According to the scientists, this is due to limitations of the forecasting method and the inherent complexities of the sector. The study findings have been published in Technological Forecasting and Social Change.

A team of scientists, including researchers from HSE University, has proposed a method for assessing stress resilience using physiological markers derived from wearable devices and saliva samples. The participants who adapted better to stress showed higher heart rate variability, higher zinc concentrations in saliva, and lower potassium levels.  The findings were published in the Journal of Molecular Neuroscience.

From April 1 to 3, 2026, the Fourth Robotics Festival took place, with the HSE Faculty of Computer Science acting as the main organiser. The event featured the presentation of the anthropomorphic courier robot Arkus. The humanoid was introduced by the Institute for Robotic Systems, established jointly by HSE University and the EFKO Group of Companies.

At the international conference on computational linguistics (EACL), the team from the Linguistic Convergence Laboratory at HSE University-St Petersburg presented a unique dataset for neurorehabilitation of patients with the speech disorder—aphasia.

HSE University–St Petersburg and the Shanghai Dragons hockey club have signed a cooperation agreement. HSE University–St Petersburg students will be able to undertake internships at various units of the team, conduct sports research, and supplement their portfolios with international projects.

In late March 2026, an official meeting took place between a delegation from HSE University and delegations from Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU); the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; and the Embassy of Vietnam in the Russian Federation. The participants discussed key areas of cooperation that will help strengthen ties not only between the universities, but also between the two countries.

HSE University has hosted a project-based career school organised by the Yandex Cloud Centre for Technologies and Society and the HSE Career Development Centre. The programme was intended for second-to-fourth-year bachelor’s students and first-to-second-year master's students of programmes related to social, technical, and business subjects. The school was aimed at students interested in solving social problems using AI technologies.

Researchers from the HSE Center for Language and Brain and the Mental Health Research Centre have proposed a new method of linguistic analysis that enables the distinction between normal and pathological ageing. Using this approach, they showed that patterns in patients’ word choices during verbal fluency tests allow clinicians to more accurately differentiate clinically significant impairments from subjective memory complaints. Incorporating this type of analysis into clinical practice could improve the accuracy of early dementia diagnosis. The results have been published in Applied Neuropsychology: Adult.