28.12.2018 on the site of the National Academy of Science of Belarus posted the top 10 scientific achievements NASB of 2018 in the field of basic and applied research.

The winners are as follows:

1. The team of scientists of B.S. Stepanov Institute of Physics of the NAS of Belarus and the Institute of Physical Organic Chemistry of the NAS of Belarus - for putting forward a scientific hypothesis and experimental confirmation of the presence of multiple positions of isotopic carbon in a diamond with NV centers. These positions are most suitable for practical implementation of quantum information memory devices and errors correction in processors on NV-spin systems, as well as for applications in nanometrology and biomedicine.

2. The team of authors of B.S. Stepanov Institute of Physics of the NAS of Belarus and the Academpharm State Enterprize - for the establishment of the mechanism of the lethal effect of light on pathogenic microorganisms in visible spectrum. The mechanism is based on multihit effect and on accumulation of a certain number of photodamages of vital target molecules for the development of new phototherapeutic technologies of effective inactivation.

3. Scientists of V.A.Biely Metal-Polymer Research Institute of the NAS of Belarus - for the discovery of the effect of an anomalous increase (more than two orders of magnitude) of the melt viscosity of mixtures of aliphatic polyamides with olefin polymers, which provides the synthesis of fundamentally new types of multifunctional polyamide materials, including super-shockproof ones.

4. The team of scientists of the Institute of Chemistry of New Materials of the NAS of Belarus - for the creation of a new generation of nanocatalysts based on halloysite nanotubes for the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds with high biological activity.

5. The team of authors of the Institute for Nature Management of the NAS of Belarus - for the development of new ideas about the paleogeodynamic evolution of the deep zones of the Earth's crust and upper mantle of the Pripyatsky and Dneprovsky paleorift oil and gas bearing basins, which make it possible to increase the efficiency of geological exploration.

6. Scientists of the Institute of Forest of the NAS of Belarus - for the establishment of molecular genetic mechanisms for the formation of woody plants resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses on the basis of the metagenomic analysis of microbial communities and sequencing of nuclear and cytoplasmic genomes of forest-forming forms, which ensures the improvement of selection activities.

7. The team of authors of the Institute of Radiobiology of the NAS of Belarus - for the discovery of the influence effect of soil microorganisms on the biological mobility of radionuclides as the basis for a new generation of technologies for leveling the transfer of radioactive cesium to agricultural plants.

8. Scientists of the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus - for the discovery and study, using the methods of underwater archeology, of unique monuments and world-class artifacts such as Krivin-3 site of the Neolithic – Bronze Age; a canoe dated early 16th century, raised from the bottom of the river Neuman; fortifications of the Zhabersky castle of the 17 – 18th centuries; and Napoleon army crossing points on the river Berezina in November 1812.

9. The team of authors of the Institute for Fruit Growing - for the creation of the original hybrid apple variety with the use of marker-related selection, which made it possible to obtain an outstanding apple variety of average maturity, with high yield, winter hardiness, and disease resistance.

10. Ivan Sheiko, First Deputy Director General of the Scientific and Practical Center for Animal Breeding of the NAS of Belarus - for the development of methods for the accelerated production of high-quality animal genotypes, based on the construction of total indices for evaluating the breeding qualities of animals, which make it possible to speed up the selection process.

The winners will be awarded at the celebrations on occasion of the Belarusian Science Day in January 2019.