The Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent) has named the biggest scientific discoveries made by Russian scientists in 2019, RIA Novosti news agency reports.
The top-ranked discovery is the new treatment of the Ebola virus disease developed by researchers from the Vorozhtsov Novosibirsk Institute of Organic Chemistry, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, together with experts from the VECTOR State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology. The researchers claim that the new treatment is less toxic than the existing ones.
The top-5 discoveries also include a catalyst for better biofuel production. This fuel is more environmentally friendly that traditional petrol and diesel fuels, but most importantly, it can be used at very low temperatures, which is quite relevant for many Russian regions. Another important discovery is a new atherosclerosis drug which removes atheromatous plaques from the patient’s blood. Bacteria that are capable of cleaning up oil spills can also be a promising discovery.
Interestingly, the list of discoveries includes a Yandex algorithm that helps users make better search queries, and also an innovative foam generator for fighting fires in the Arctic.
Patents have been issued for all of the inventions.