Research & Expertise news at HSE University

The telephone was invented more than 150 years ago. The history of its invention reads like a detective novel, replete with painstaking work, serendipitous discoveries, moments of enlightenment, and legal battles. Even more intriguing are the events that led to the worldwide adoption of this technology. In this series of columns on IQ.HSE, Anton Basov, HSE Faculty of Computer Science editor, discusses how telephones have become an integral part of our everyday life. The first episode in the series recounts the story of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil demonstrating Bell's telephone at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.

HSE University economists have found that more than 60% of Russians rely on self-treatment instead of visiting a doctor, something which is facilitated by the easy availability of medicines in Russian pharmacies. This is especially typical for mild illnesses. Buying medicines depends on income, and quite often people replace expensive medicines with cheaper ones. The article was published in the International Journal of Health Economics and Management.

Researchers of the HSE Graduate School of Business trained a machine-learning (ML) model to infer users' subjective wellbeing from social media posts. Having processed 10 million tweets, the researchers compiled a rating of holidays celebrated in Russia based on their popularity. The New Year tops the list, but Russian-speaking users of Twitter are also happy to celebrate Defender of the Fatherland Day, International Women's Day, and Halloween. The study findings have been published in PeerJ Computer Science.

Researchers from HSE University have analysed why people feel happier when they help others. It turns out that joy is caused by different reasons, depending on who we help — relatives or strangers. In both cases, happiness brings moral satisfaction from doing a good deed, but helping loved ones is also associated with satisfying the need for belonging and acceptance, while helping strangers provides a sense of autonomy. The results of the research were published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.

HSE University experts have found that 75.3% of male students play competitive online games at least several times a month. Among women, this hobby is much less common: only 20.2% of female students are interested in online games. The HSE News Service covers the results of an expert and analytical report, released by HSE specialists, on the development of student esports in Russian universities.

New methods of brain mapping will make it easier to identify the cortex areas responsible for speech functions and to perform operations on the brain, as well as reduce the likelihood of damage to important areas. In addition, this will allow for more frequent use of non-invasive methods for restoring speech and other functions lost due to injuries and illnesses.

HSE University scientists have created a model for decoding finger movements for next-generation hand prostheses. This will allow users not only to grab objects, but also to gesticulate using the movements of each finger.

Researchers from HSE in Nizhny Novgorod and the Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory (CAO RAS) examined data on microwave emissions from several active solar regions. Astronomers discovered that a few hours prior to a flare, there was an increase in oscillations in the region with the highest observed brightness of the microwave emission during the flare. This method can potentially be used to achieve more accurate predictions of severe solar flares. The study has been published in Geomagnetism and Aeronomy.