In 2020, more than 200 million people saw news about the research of scientists from the Krasnoyarsk Science Center of SB RAS. The most prominent scientific results in the media were a new hypothesis on the nature of the Tunguska meteorite, creation of a tick-borne encephalitis test based on a luminous bacterium and detection of thermal anomalies in permafrost after fires in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Region. The assessment of the rating of news stories and media outreach was made using the monitoring and analysis system "Medialogia".

Every year we summarize the rating of the research of our scientists in the media. Why is it important for scientists that common people should know about their research and not only their colleagues? First of all, although not everyone agrees on this, but informing the public about the results of scientific research is part of the work of scientists. Science is mainly funded from the state budget. This means that a Russian taxpayer should know what his money is spent on. Ultimately, his awareness is converted into the prestige of the profession of scientist and public support for science.

Communication with the media also brings direct benefits to scientists. It has been proven that scientific articles discussed in the media, receive more citations in the scientific community. In addition, decision-makers, politicians, officials, and others on whom the funding of science depends, often learn about the results of scientific research only from the media. Moreover, very often a publication in the media unexpectedly leads to new scientific contacts or attracts the attention of business representatives as potential investors. One also should not forget about the younger generation. For many schoolchildren and students, a vivid story about an interesting development, the personality of a scientist on the pages of popular media or on a social network can become a role model for young people to become involved in science.

Of course, presenting results of complicated experiments or long-term observations in an understandable form takes time, but this time pays off. For example, according to Medialogia's estimates, more than 35 million people saw the news on the creation of light magnets operating at temperatures over 240 degrees Celsius! The process of acquiring scientific knowledge does not tolerate fuss. However, the results of the scientific work are worthy for everyone to know about them. But for this, one has to go out into the light from the silence of classrooms and laboratories.

Below are presented the titles and brief annotations of the ten most noticeable scientific news in 2020 about the research of scientists of the Federal Research Center "KSC SB RAS".
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The century-old secret of the Tunguska catastrophe is close to a solution

A team of Russian scientists proposed a new explanation of the Tunguska phenomenon. According to their calculations, significant damage in the region of Podkamennaya Tunguska is not associated with the fall of a space object on the Earth, but with shock waves which occurred during the passage of an iron asteroid through the Earth’s atmosphere. This explains the absence of meteorite fragments on the Earth's surface. The research results are published in a series of articles in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
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Tick-borne encephalitis test made from world's smallest glowing molecule

A luminous protein isolated from the crustacean Metridia longa, which is the smallest of the discovered bioluminescent enzymes, was first used by scientists in tests for tick-borne encephalitis. A milligram of this protein can be enough for a hundred thousand accurate tests to detect the presence of the tick-borne encephalitis virus. The research results are published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.  
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Permafrost has been abnormally warm for more than 15 years after fires in the tundra

Krasnoyarsk scientists identified “thermal anomalies” in the soil of Evenkia, which persist after the fires which occurred 15 to 20 years ago. Anomalies double the thawing of frozen soil in summer. This can not only promote the growth of trees, but also lead to the fact that instead of reforestation, forests turn into swamps. The research results are published in the journal Forests.
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Krasnoyarsk scientists: it is possible to monitor the state of Arctic soil from space

Krasnoyarsk scientists have developed a model for studying Arctic soils using satellite data. It converts information from space into interpretable characteristics of the state of the surface frozen layer, its humidity and temperature. The created software package will allow a detailed assessment of the state of the Arctic area, in particular, monitoring the response of permafrost to climate change. The results of the study are published in the International Journal of Remote Sensing.
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One-stage processing of wood into cellulose and vanillin

Scientists from the Federal Research Center “KSC SB RAS”, together with colleagues from the Siberian Federal University and Research Institute for Catalysis and Environment of Lyon (France), developed new methods for producing microfibrillated and nanocrystalline cellulose and vanillin from larch wood. The new technology will reduce the number of stages and improve the environmental safety of the production of wood products as compared to traditional methods. The research results are published in the journal Catalysis Today.
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Climate change and fires in the northern taiga will affect the quality of water in the rivers of the Arctic Ocean basin

An international team of scientists with the participation of researchers from KSC SB RAS evaluated the effect of forest fires on the content of organic matter and nutrients in waterways of the Central Siberian Plateau. In the coming decades, the predicted increase in the frequency of fires and their intensity will result in an increased amount of nitrogen in the rivers of Siberia and in the decreased carbon intake from forest ecosystems. These changes can affect the productivity of not only rivers, but also that of the seas of the Arctic Ocean. The results of the study are published in the journal Scientific reports.
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Bacterial nanoparticles assist antibiotics to better fight inflammation

Scientists of the Federal Research Center "Krasnoyarsk Science Center SB RAS" developed an ointment made of magnetic nanoparticles and an antibiotic for the treatment of burns. Owing to nanoparticles, the antibiotic penetrates deep into the wound and kills a larger number of pathogenic bacteria, contributing to rapid tissue repair. The study is published in the journal Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine.
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Metal-organic magnets with exceptional properties were synthesized

An international team of scientists proposed a simple and effective approach to the synthesis of light magnets based on chromium and pyrazine. The resulting metal-organic magnets retain their properties at temperatures up to 242 ° C and they are not demagnetized by a sufficiently powerful external magnetic field at room temperature. The resulting material is superior in properties to all known synthetic molecular magnets and hardly differs from traditional inorganic magnets. The results of the study are published in the journal Science
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Climate change will lead to rapid loss of moisture in the northern hemisphere swamps

A team of several dozen scientists from eight countries estimated moisture loss in the swamps of Eurasia and North America under various scenarios of climate change. With a decrease in air humidity, swamps will lose moisture much faster than forests, which can lead to an increase in the number of fires and increased atmospheric emissions of carbon stored in northern ecosystems in the form of greenhouse gases. The results of the study are published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
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Krasnoyarsk scientists: not only climate change is to blame for the Siberian fires of 2020

In 2020, fires blazed again in the Siberian taiga. In total, the fire burnt over 25 million hectares. Krasnoyarsk scientists note that this is not a unique phenomenon. Such incidents happen in Siberia every few years and this is not necessarily the result of global warming. However, an increase in the frequency and area of fires due to climatic reasons is also observed. Scientists from the Krasnoyarsk Science Center of SB RAS analyzed the features of this year's fires and published the results in the Wildfire journal.