News

Supercomputer with Basic Specialization in Bio- and Nanotechnologies

A presentation-startup of a Supercomputer Cluster Center "The Center of competence in biotechnology, aerobiology, bionanotechnologies, general and industrial microbiology", being founded within the innovation educational program of the national project "Education", took place in Vyatka State University on January 25, 2008.

The Supercomputer Center core is a cluster system with such parameters, as:
- capacity: over 20 TFlops;
- repository capacity: over 20 TB;
- option to upgrade the system by means of GRID-know-how;
- remote access to the Center resources.

The Vyatka State University Supercomputer took the 242-nd place (among 500 of the most powerful ones) in the Annual International Rating. After its 2-nd unit putting into operation, it will be in the top half of the rating of the 50 most powerful ones in the World.

It has been designed with basic specialization of "Bio- and nanotechnologies". Only 3 Supercomputers in the world (the Vyatka State University Supercomputer in Russia, USA and Switzerland ) have the same specialization.

Findings of Russian scientists not to drain abroad

"Rossiyskaya Gazeta" ("Russian newspaper") - Federal issue №4572 of January 25, 2008 г. has published an interview with Sergey Mazurenko, the Head of Federal Agency on Science and Innovation who has shared his thoughts on changing the role of Russian science and Russian scientists in international cooperation and global scientific community.

S. Mazurenko told that the times when our scientists were selling abroad the ideas for pittance pass. Whereas the cooperation between Russia and leading countries in basic sciences took place even in the times of the "Cold War", we had not been participating at all during about 80 years in cooperation in the field of high technology and innovation characterized by tough competition. So we have to study a lot how the ideas are to be commercialized.

The current state of Russian science is not unpromising. Some research institutes managed to earn good money based on own scientific ideas and concepts even in 90s, the extremely difficult years for science.

Now, on the initiative of many Russian scientists supported by the President V. Putin we are participating in creation in Germany of the Free-Electron Laser (FEL) providing a lot of opportunities for basic sciences including the field of nanotechnologies. It costs about 1 bln. Euros. Besides, the Russians are the leaders in the ambitious project on experimental thermonuclear reactor ITER based on the Russian "Tokamak" device. When participating in the ambitious projects we develop our own science and production as well as earn good money. Within the Seventh Framework Program (FP7) for research and technological development the joint (Russia - the EU) tenders have been announced in the fields of energy and biotechnologies where the companies and organizations from France, Germany, Holland take part. The similar tenders have been announced also with China.

World bioeconomy market to grow over $2.0 trillion euro by 2010

A popular Russian newspaper (edition of the Russian Government) "Rossiyskaya Gazeta"- Federal issue №4572 of January 25, 2008 г. published an article authored by Oleg MOROZOV, the First Deputy Chairman, Russian State Duma, and the Chairman of Board of Trustees of the Yu.A. Ovchynnikov Russian Biotechnologists Society, and Professor Raif VASILOV, the President of the Yu.A. Ovchynnikov Russian Biotechnologists Society. The article raises the most pressing issues of state of the art of the Russian biotechnology, makes a comprehensive assessment and outlines the prospects of bioeconomy's development in Russia.

The authors emphasize that these are not only the issues of pace and quality of the economic growth. This is the survival issue of Russia as a Great Power. After the detailed review of biotechnology development and bioeconomy's shaping in the world, the authors characterize the current state of biotechnology in Russia as distant of satisfactory: a share of Russia in world biotechnology market does not exceed 0.2% (it was 5% 25 years ago) and the country takes only 70th place in the world ranking. Russia imports most of vital biotechnology products. Every second high school graduate specializing in molecular biology goes abroad as a rule irrevocably. Russia has missed "the green wave" of biotechnological revolution related to agribiotechnology. A decoding of the human genome has been executed almost without Russian participation.

Even an optimistic scenario envisages producing by 2010 only 1/4 of world output of biotechnology products. The reasons are obvious. Firstly, it is a manifestly inadequate funding of scientific and practical developments, but what is most importantly - it is a lack of state strategy.

Bioeconomy: this is reality

January 22, 2008 Raif Vasilov, the President of the Yu.A.Ovchinnikov Russian Biotechnologists Society, the Chairman of Board of Directors of the Russian National Biofuel Association and Alex Ablaev, the Vice-president of the Russian National Biofuel Association took part in the program "The personal opinion" of the broadcasting station "Radio of Russia". They discussed the problems and prospects of bioeconomy's development.

R. Vasilov believes that knowledge-based bioeconomy is ongoing reality presenting an economic system in which biotechnology and biological resources provide food, energy, chemicals and materials as well as environmental benefits.

The term "bioeconomy" has appeared recently when biotechnology has broken the boundary of traditional industries producing and processing bioresources as agriculture, food and fish industries, forestry and begun to penetrate such economy fields as energy, mining, light, textile industries, etc.

Currently we can see a real "biotechnology conquest" in the world. Driving forces of the process are firstly, a high demand in energy and raw materials, secondly, huge environmental problems, thirdly, the need for development of depressive and rural regions and fourth, a desire to improve the quality of life.

Russian Venture Company intends to launch 2nd Competitive Selection of management companies

February-March, 2008 the "Russian Venture Company" intends to launch the Second Competitive Selection among management companies qualified to be appointed trust managers of the monetary assets to be contributed by the OJSC "RVC" and subsequently included into closed-end unit funds.  "The maximum amount to be contributed to acquire units of venture funds at the Second Competitive Selection will be approved at the next Board Meeting", said Alexey Korobov, the CEO of RVC. "It will total approximately RUB 6 billion".

Russian nano-industry: plans for 2008

The matters of scientific and organizational maintenance for Russian nano-industry have been considered at the meeting of the Russian Government on January 17, 2008.

In particular the Cabinet has discussed a program on nano-industry development which will be eventually adopted next March. The Government has set ambitious target: to create until 2015 a high-tech nano-industry sector; to reach 900 bln. Roubles in sales of domestic products; to get 3% share of the high-tech world market for the Russian products (while currently it is a scanty percentage).

Unfortunately, Russia has missed the time when the world revolution in informatics and biotechnology took place, so apparently Russia is going to perform a breakthrough in nanosphere. The Pesident V. Putin was first to mention it, he called nano-technologies as "the locomotive of science and technology strategy". Shortly after the Government has adopted an relative Federal Target Program and the State Corporation for nanotechnology has been established (the GK "Rosnanotech") .

130 bln. Roubles have been allocated to the GK "Rosnanotech" for development and funding the innovative projects. The following approach to the project financing is pursued: companies involved in research and manufacture in the field of nanotechnologies will be established based on state-private partnerships.That means if the private individuals provide 60-70% of the project financing the GK "Rosnanotech" will additionally finance the rest. When a company reach the payback level the state will voluntarily sell its share under the conditions specified when creating the company.

Chuvashia to launch the pilot project on biotechnology

December 14, 2007 the intergerional meeting with participation of leading Russian biotechnologists and their partners from Finland took place in the frame work of the International forum "Strategy and Practice of Successful Business" in Cheboksary.

Professor R.Vasilov, the President of the Yu.F. Ovchinnikov Russian Biotechnologists Society (Moscow), member of the Russian Academy, head of the Scientific Center in Puschino (Moscow) A. Miroshnikov and representative of the Finnish company IQlink G.Cheremisin participated in the discussion.

Opening the discussion R.Vasilov especially accentuated the role of biotechnology as a key structural element of the knowledge-based bioeconomy R.Vasilov outlined the milestones of biotechnology's development in medium- and long-term perspective. He stressed that biofuels (bioethanol) manufacturing is an especially promising field in Russia presently. The projects on bioethanol manufacturing are have been already launched in few Russian regions, including Omsk, Krasnodar, Volgograd and Tatarstan. R. Vasilov told, the oil-refining factories very soon will be partially replaced by biomass-refining factories.

Biofuels threatens the food supply in developing and poor nations ?

December 13, 2007 the Vice-president of the Russian National Biofuel Association Alex Ablaev and the President of the Yu.A.Ovchinnikov Russian Biotechnologists Society, the Chairman of Board of Directors of the Russian National Biofuel Association Raif Vasilov took part in the program "The personal opinion" of the broadcasting station "Radio of Russia".

They explained the latest food price spike in the world by the following reasons:
Firstly, a rise of food prices has been mainly provoked by increasing demand for corn and oil in China and India due to the growth of prosperity and correspondingly much more food consume.Secondly, over the last few years Argentina and Canada, the world's largest producers of crops, failed to produce enough crop.And only lastly, biofuels can be called the only the last reason driving up the food prices.

Five perspective trends in Russian biotechnology

- Immunomodulators and diagnostic test kits
- Functional food
- Pharmaceuticals
- Veterinary preparations
- Medical preparations for especially dangerous infections' treatment

(Sources: Ministry of Healthcare of RF, "Sanepidprom")

Russian medical biotechnologies development is hampered by the lack of the clear state policy

November 16, 2007 the Roundtable "Russian medical biotechnology: current state and perspective of further development" took place in the Collegium Hall of the Ministry of education and science of RF. The event was hosted by the Foundation "The Centre of economic researches and spreading of economic information "Opened economy".

The problems of technological platforms development in the field of medical biotechnology in Russia and future trends of the industry have been discussed. The speakers emphasized that the demand for the new platforms currently correlates with structure of social significant diseases such as tuberculosis and sexual transmitted diseases, cancer and cardio-vascular diseases. Speakers stressed also a necessity of setting up the nano-technologies based platforms providing early diagnosis and reliable prognosis and the opportunity to reveal the genome sites responsible for drug resistance.