Scientist — light: Putin appreciated the success of Sirius over 10 years of existence

The Sirius Center has achieved significant success over the ten years of its existence: a school, a university and a laboratory complex have been built here in a variety of areas. Vladimir Putin arrived here on September 9 and, during an inspection of the University of Science and Technology, personally assessed the work of the chemical and analytical centers. Scientists told the president about a number of projects, ranging from grapes and strawberries resistant to fungal infections with a high content of quercetin, to the development of a vaccine against aggressive forms of cancer and the protection of Russian computer platforms from hacking. What of this can be implemented soon and which innovation particularly impressed the president is in the Izvestia article.

How innovations will be applied in agriculture

On September 9, Vladimir Putin arrived at the Sirius Federal territory, where he personally assessed the laboratory complex of the University of Science and Technology. It houses modern equipment that allows solving problems related to the use of genetic technologies in pharmaceuticals, medicine and agriculture, as well as conducting research in the field of genetics and immunology. The university was opened not so long ago — in September 2022 — but Sirius itself has been operating for 10 years: in 2015, it was built on the basis of the Olympic infrastructure.

— I really wanted to see what has happened here in 10 years — from the first step from September 1, 2015 to the present day. I see that the movement is very serious. A school, a university, and a laboratory complex have been built, and in a variety of areas," the president said during an inspection of the university.

Some achievements were presented to Vladimir Putin personally. Among the innovations are new plant varieties created using genome editing technology. For example, grapes that are resistant to fungal infections, which will reduce crop loss. Strawberries have also been bred, which contains 12 times more quercetin, a natural antioxidant. Scientists emphasize that the new varieties are non—GMO, and they do not carry foreign genetic material.

At the same time, the authorities are in no hurry to allow them to reach consumers: parliamentarians immediately warn that the path from the laboratory to the field will not be fast. New varieties require careful testing, registration and, no less importantly, the trust of farmers, explained Yulia Ogloblina, Deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Agrarian Issues. However, in general, the parliamentarian called the news about the creation of new varieties of agricultural plants using genome editing technologies not just a scientific breakthrough, but an important step towards technological and food sovereignty.

— It is especially symbolic that these developments appear against the background of a policy of import substitution, including in such a strategically important area as seed production. After the collapse of the USSR, domestic breeding found itself in a state of deep crisis: scientific schools were destroyed, the gene pool was lost, and the market for seeds and planting materials was actually seized by multinational companies. Our farmers have been dependent on imported varieties for years, which made the industry vulnerable and dependent," the deputy told Izvestia.

What developments have been introduced into medicine

In addition, the president saw the development of an RNA vaccine for cancer treatment. Currently, the center is studying methods for combating malignant neoplasms of the central nervous system — glioblastoma and glioma, from which patients die within a year, and existing treatment methods are more palliative.

— New methods of treatment of oncological and ophthalmological pathologies are examples of achievements in the field of genetic technologies. The use of a genome-editing approach is becoming one of the most promising ways to treat these diseases today. This field is the hottest in modern biomedicine," Alexander Mazhuga, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Science and Higher Education, told Izvestia.

In addition, Vladimir Putin was told about the technology being developed at Sirius, which scientists among themselves call "touch." It allows you to feel a virtual image: transfer the tactile sensations of the image on the screen to the receptors.

— And in fact, stroking the screen of the phone on which the cat is depicted, you can feel its fur. We really hope that this technology can be used, for example, for remote surgeries, when a surgeon will feel organs and feel blood vessels. Full transmission of tactile sensations. We hope that this will then work in another direction, in order, for example, to return touch to people with prosthetic limbs in order to fully simulate this tactile sensitivity," said Roman Ivanov.

— Come on!? — Vladimir Putin was impressed.

In conclusion, the head of state was presented with fundamentally new information security tools that will protect Russian platforms from hacking. They work with the help of quantum computers, which are orders of magnitude superior to the usual tools of hackers. The advantage of quantum computers is faster calculations, including the ability to perform multiple operations in parallel.