They went into a breakthrough: microbes will extract oil in Russia
Technologies that won the competition of the Russian Science Foundation for grants in memory of Evgeny Velikhov were presented at the Kurchatov Institute. The program is focused on breakthrough projects that will change the face of entire industries in the coming years. These are developments in the field of biotechnology, bioinformatics and pharmaceuticals. The projects are aimed at improving people's living standards and ensuring the security and technological sovereignty of the state.
What advanced scientific fields are being developed in Russia
Russia will extract oil with the help of bacteria, store data on DNA molecules and treat autoimmune diseases by "reprogramming" the patient's immune cells. The development of such technologies will be funded by grants in memory of the outstanding scientist Evgeny Velikhov. They will be provided by the Russian Science Foundation.
This year, on behalf of President Vladimir Putin, bioeconomics projects were selected for the agro-industrial complex, biotechnological industries, pharmaceutical industry, healthcare and other industries. The results of the competition were presented on July 7 at the Alexandrov House of Scientists of the Kurchatov Institute National Research Center.
Evgeny Velikhov is an outstanding Russian scientist, one of the world leaders in the field of plasma physics and controlled thermonuclear fusion. He was at the origin of the creation of the Department of Computer Science and Computer Engineering and initiated the creation of the international thermonuclear reactor ITER. He worked at the Kurchatov Institute for more than 60 years. In 1992-2015, he served as president of the NIC, then became honorary president of this center. He was awarded the highest state awards, becoming a full knight of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, Hero of Socialist Labor and Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation.
"The purpose of the grants is to find new, unique, breakthrough ideas and turn them into everyday technologies that improve people's lives and ensure the security and independence of our country. Making even crazy ideas into reality, which no one initially believes in, is a tradition laid down by Evgeny Velikhov and continued by his followers," said Yulia Dyakova, director of the Kurchatov Institute Research Center.
According to Andrei Fursenko, Assistant to the President of Russia and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Russian National Science Foundation, this year the amount of grants will amount to 250-300 million rubles. In addition to the Russian Science Foundation, technology partners are involved in financing projects — companies that take responsibility for introducing developments into production.
Microbial oil extraction and DNA information storage
"Our proposal is a platform for evaluating the ability of microorganisms to produce useful substances and improve industrial processes, including the extraction and processing of oil and petroleum products," said Gulnara Kurbanova, Head of the Biotechnology Development Laboratory at the TatNIPIneft Institute of PJSC Tatneft named after V.D. Shashin.
According to her, bacteria produce gases that increase pressure, as well as acids that contribute to the expansion of surrounding rocks. In addition, microorganisms produce surfactants that help purify oil from impurities. As part of the project, scientists will take samples from oil reservoirs, study the composition of the microorganisms contained in them and determine which substances they produce and in what concentrations.
Based on the data obtained, using artificial intelligence, specialists will be able to predict which strains of microorganisms will provide the greatest technological effect. For example, they will increase oil production or reduce the viscosity of heavy fractions. The developed technologies are planned to be implemented at ten injection wells.
Another project is dedicated to storing data in synthetic DNA molecules. According to Maria Pukalchik, Executive Director of the Research and Innovation Department at Sberbank, today these are the densest known storage media capable of storing lossless data for hundreds of years.
The main obstacle to the introduction of technology remains the speed of writing information into DNA molecules. For example, the most advanced method, phosphoramidite synthesis, allows recording only about 0.5 nucleotides per minute. At this rate, encoding data equivalent to one 40-minute series will take several months. As part of the project, scientists plan to develop new methods for synthesizing "memory molecules", as well as more efficient algorithms for encoding information. According to the researchers, this will allow for the creation of commercially available DNA-based data storage technologies within 8-10 years.
Reprogramming of T-killers and protein construction
Among the projects that have received grant support is the treatment of autoimmune diseases using CAR-T-cell therapy. This technology is based on the reprogramming using genetic engineering of T-killers, the patient's own immune cells. As a result, they return to the body, where they purposefully destroy pathogenic cells, the "instigators" of autoimmune aggression.
According to Alexander Lila, director of the Nasonova Research Institute of Rheumatology, the technology has been tested in the treatment of patients with lupus erythematosus, a disease in which the human immune system attacks its own healthy cells and tissues, causing chronic inflammation (for example, a rash on the face).
"After CAR-T therapy sessions, patients achieved drug-free remission. This distinguishes the method favorably from classical approaches that require constant medication," the scientist noted.
The Kurchatov Institute Research Center's project to create a platform for designing proteins with specified properties using AI also received grant support. This technology will help to purposefully create new molecules to solve specific tasks, from biopharmaceuticals to industrial biotechnology. The solution involves the creation of a full—cycle technological pipeline, from protein sequence design to gene synthesis, protein production and testing.
Other winning proposals include the creation of a drug for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B based on gene editing technology. A special feature of the project is the use of proteins with a short life span (about a day). This approach reduces the risk of side effects and undesirable effects on the patient's genome. If successfully implemented, the technology can be adapted to treat other viral infections and a number of oncological diseases.
Another project involves the creation of Russia's first technological platform based on synthetic parental CHO lines (Chinese hamster ovary cells) for the industrial production of recombinant proteins. We are talking about therapeutic antibodies, hormones and other biologically active molecules, including drugs for the treatment of diabetes and obesity.
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