Russians told about important events in science in 2024

For the sixth year in a row, events related to climate and ecology are in the top of the rating of scientific events most known to Russians. This is reported in the study of the TV channel "Nauka", which was reviewed by "Izvestia" on December 25.

According to the study of analysts, Russians recognized the successful testing of a cancer drug as the most significant scientific event of 2024. Also, information about the full effectiveness of the drug Lenacapavir for the prevention and treatment of HIV was rated 4.7 out of 5 possible (1 - not at all important, 5 - very important). This event was known about by 31% of survey participants.

The second and third places in terms of importance and potential impact on the life of mankind were taken by news about the development of quantum computers and artificial intelligence. More than 30% of respondents said they knew about how large language models using neural networks have learned to respond correctly to queries in the field of exact sciences.

Specialists noted that less popular information that Google's quantum processor has reached the level of 1000 qubits and IBM has improved the reliability of quantum computing through stabilization of qubits (only 21% of people are aware of this) also received an average rating of 4, which is the second place in importance.

In the first place in terms of popularity is information about the successful landing of the first stage of the world's heaviest rocket Starship, developed by SpaceX. This news was heard by 43% of Russian citizens. The assessment of the importance of this event is 3.8 out of 5.

More than one third of Russian citizens are aware of finding the oldest living microorganisms in South Africa - scientists have discovered bacteria, the age of which is about 2 billion years. The significance of this discovery was estimated at 3.6 points.

Russian researchers participating in the expert survey also highlighted several key events of the outgoing year that are significant for international science. Experts mentioned both important events related to their scientific interests and resonating events in the general context.

In assessing the results of 2024, Russian researchers noted serious successes in the field of energy. An important achievement was the plasma confinement in the ITER tokamak (an initiative of scientists from more than 35 countries, including Russia, the United States, China, India, Japan, and the European Union): the plasma was confined for 20 seconds. This event was a significant advance in the creation of safe and environmentally friendly energy sources.

In 2024, Russian medical researchers made significant progress in the fight against HIV by creating and testing the drug lenacapavir. In addition, an important achievement was the successful transplantation of a genetically modified porcine kidney into a human as part of a clinical trial. This operation is the culmination of an extended research effort in genomic editing.

Earlier, on December 23, logistics operator SDEK conducted a study, which was familiarized by Izvestia about the preferences of Russians in receiving gifts for the New Year. Specialists noted that the largest number of respondents prefer to organize and deliver New Year's gifts themselves: 66% cope with this on their own, 9% entrust this task to their parents, and 8% - to their partner.