News

Mathematicians from Russia, including two HSE graduates, have disproven a well-known mathematical conjecture that, despite lacking solid proof, had been considered valid for 40 years. The ‘Bunkbed Conjecture’ belongs to percolation theory—a branch of mathematics that studies the formation of connected structures in independent environments.

Scientists at Privolzhsky Research Medical University (PRMU) and the Centre for Language and Brain Studies at the HSE Campus in Nizhny Novgorod have developed methods to diagnose autoaggressive and heteroaggressive tendencies in adolescents using eye-tracking technology. This will allow psychiatrists and psychologists to address this condition in young people before they may harm themselves or others. Anna Khomenko, Senior Research Fellow of the Centre for Language and Brain Studies at the HSE Campus in Nizhny Novgorod, presented the results of the project at the NeuroThursday seminar.

A delegation from HSE University-St Petersburg headed by Director Anna Tyshetskaya has paid a working visit to Oman. One of the main items on the itinerary was negotiations with Rahma bint Ibrahim Al Mahrouqi, the Minister of Higher Education of Oman, on key areas of cooperation and the organisation of exchange programmes for HSE students and faculty.

Life satisfaction is higher among those who engage in diverse leisure activities, researchers from HSE University have found. However, the specific types of activities people engage in are less important. The contribution of individual leisure activities to a sense of well-being accounts for no more than 2% of the variance. Only the diversity of leisure activities is significantly linked to overall life satisfaction and a sense of meaningful time usage. 

HSE University and the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music (RAM) have developed an educational programme for the music industry. The 2025/26 academic year will see the launch of ‘Producer in the Music Industry,’ a joint Russian-taught master's programme. The HSE Academic Council approved the programme on November 27.

Ekaterina Alexandrova, Academic Supervisor of the Egyptology programme at HSE University, has studied the funerary practices of ancient Egyptians based on religious texts and the works of Egyptologists from the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. Traditionally, it was believed that Egyptian religion was built solely on the fear of death. However, an analysis of texts reveals that ancient Egyptian beliefs were not merely reflections of a fear of death, but a complex system aimed at preserving order and stability both in life and the afterlife. The study has been published in the journal Shagi/Steps.

In competitions, esports players, like other athletes, face stress and show worse results due to pressure. A substantial decrease takes place in the performance of esports players during overtime. This effect, however, is significantly mitigated in online competitions compared to live events—the difference can reach 30%. A study by a team of authors from HSE University’s Moscow and Perm campuses and European University Viadrina (Germany) explores the phenomenon of choking under pressure within the context of esports. The study was published in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization.

A team of scientists at HSE University, in collaboration with the Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, studied how people respond to deception when under stress and cognitive load. The study revealed that smoking habits interfere with performance on cognitive tasks involving memory and attention and impairs a person’s ability to detect deception. The study findings have been published in Frontiers in Neuroscience.