NUMBER THEME
QUANTUM COMPUTERS

Secrets of decryption keys

In the fall of 2023, several companies announced that they had built quantum computers with over 1,000 qubits, which can be seen as a turning point in the field. First, Atom Computing and then IBM broke this record, and the attention of the mass media was again focused this fall on this potentially revolutionary field, of strategic importance in the international race for supremacy in information technologies.
On the other hand, Scott Aaronson, one of the leading experts in this field, who has been running a popular blog on this topic for several years, was visibly reserved and wrote that, in the medium term, artificial intelligence would play a far greater role than quantum computers... Richard Feynman, Nobel laureate and icon of American physics of the 20th century, once said in his manner that nobody understands quantum mechanics. His 1982 paper, "Simulating Physics with Computers" pointed out the seemingly fundamental impossibility of efficiently simulating quantum mechanics on classical computers.

ANNIVERSARIES

Academies are not
anachronistic institutions

The highest scientific institution of the Serbian people celebrated its 182th anniversary in November, to the benefit of our science and artistic creativity. By decree of Prince Mihailo Obrenović, on November 7, 1841, according to the old calendar (November 19 according to the current calendar), the Society of Serbian Literature, the forerunner of today's Serbian Academy of Science and Arts, was founded. In 1864, the Society changed its name to the Serbian Learned Society. In 1887, the Kingdom of Serbia got a real academy - the Serbian Royal Academy, whose first president was Josif Pančić. The president of SANU, academician Zoran Knežević, spoke about its identity, role in society, membership dropout, elections... In public speech, the question often arises: are national academies, such as SANU, "actually anachronistic institutions"? Answering that question, the president of SANU unequivocally pointed out that most institutions of this type "are home to the highest aspirations and a specific social position", whereby he sees the Serbian Academy in a dual role - working and honorary.

MEDICINE

Post-covid and chronic fatigue syndrome

The first international symposium on myalgic encephalomyelitis and the consequences of COVID-19, held at the Dedinje Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases in Belgrade, aimed to inform doctors and the general public about two related, polymorphic conditions that are very difficult to diagnose.
A British pilot study on the proteome of immune cells in patients with post-COVID (post-COVID-19), published recently in the scientific journal Nature, showed a very similar immune pathophysiology to that of myalgic encephalomyelitis, or chronic fatigue syndrome. Since both mentioned conditions are also characterized by damage to the mitochondrial function of energy production, British scientists are now wondering: are post-covid syndrome and chronic fatigue syndrome two very close, perhaps almost identical conditions?
The same question was heard in mid-November last year at the Belgrade Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases "Dedinje" (IKVBD), at the First International Symposium on Post-Covid and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Thanks to the IKVBD, Belgrade has the first regional centre for this problem, equipped with a neurocardiology laboratory for testing the autonomic nervous system, which is otherwise the only diagnostic set that can find an organic substrate in chronic fatigue syndrome, define the damage and help guide the appropriate therapy.

THE VINE

The search for old autochthonous varieties

Autochthonous grape varieties are important for every wine-growing country because they bear witness to its wine-growing tradition and help it build its wine identity. Serbia is a small wine-growing country that cannot build its identity on international varieties. It must be distinguished by its authenticity and quality, which is taken for granted, and autochthonous varieties are important for that. The results achieved with the wines of the "seller" confirm this view.
In November, a multidisciplinary exhibition titled "Wine Chronicle of Serbia" was held in the SANU Gallery. The exhibition was a kind of journey through the history of growing, consuming and making wine on the territory of our country, from the Iron Age to the first half of the 20th century. In addition to the historical heritage, the results of modern genomic research on autochthonous varieties on the soil of Serbia are also presented.

SCIENCE AS LIFE

Athos is part of my life

In medieval studies in general, and Byzantine studies in particular, there is a significant number of women who have one or more works whose topics have points of contact with Mount Athos. Few among them are those for whom Mount Athos is the main field of scientific interest, such as Dionisia Papahrisantou and Vasiliki Kravari from the Paris Center for Byzantine History and Civilization. Academician Mirjana Živojinović, the scientific adviser of the Byzantological Institute of SANU, also belongs to that exclusive society. For more than half a century M. Živojinović tirelessly studied the past of Sveta Gora and Hilandar. She is a recognized connoisseur of their history both in our country and in the world, and she leads the Academy's Hilandar committee and edits the Hilandar anthology.
When asked where the interest in a thousand-year-old monastic community comes from, which, according to the "ruling order" and now in force, forbids women access to its grounds, and thus makes the monastery archives rich in historical material inaccessible, he answers: "I was still a student when Professor Ostrogorski worked at to the book Serska Oblast after Dušan's death: he brought us documents on that topic, and we read them. A special topic could be drawn from them, and the professor suggested that it be the judiciary in Byzantium during the time of Emperor Dušan. I immediately got in touch to write about it. That's how I started researching the Svetogorje documents, and thus also the Hilandar documents."

EXHIBITIONS

Sima Lozanić, the lone knight
of Serbian chemistry

Chemist Sima Lozanić (1847-1935) is one of the most important Serbian scientists at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. He was the rector of the Great School, the first rector of Belgrade University, twice president of the Academy of Sciences, minister, diplomat and active participant in all the wars of his time. However, after his death he quickly fell into oblivion, remaining almost unknown to our general public.
The exhibition "Sima Lozanić: Knight of Serbian Science" in the SANU Gallery is the final event marking the 175th anniversary of the birth of the greatest Serbian chemist. Sima Lozanić received his primary and secondary education in Serbia in the cities where his father served and then graduated from the Faculty of Law in Belgrade. Although, as an excellent student, he was sent to Switzerland to study pedagogy, he eventually completed chemistry in Germany. He taught chemistry and chemical technology at the Great School in Belgrade, from the time he was elected as a teacher in the fall of 1872 until the beginning of 1894 when he left the teaching profession and devoted himself to politics. Sima Lozanić is responsible for the transformation of the Great School into a University in 1905, and he advocated for the establishment of the Agricultural Department at the Faculty of Philosophy.

TESLA

The most important moments in life

Nikola Tesla experienced countless great moments in his life. Although for his inventive work and enormous contribution to the development of technology of his time, he received a large number of recognitions, honorary doctorates from the world's largest universities, orders and diplomas, and numerous scientific institutions and societies accepted him as an honorary member with great respect, he remained modest and unobtrusive. He did not long for rewards of any kind and probably experienced far more excitement and immense satisfaction in the moments of great discoveries and new solutions that he came up with experimenting in his laboratories.
The first big moment in his life happened in 1892 in Budapest when he discovered a rotating magnetic field and realized his dream of a force that would drive electric motors without brushes and commutators. Only a year later, he made his first induction motor in Strasbourg, but then no one will understand the magnitude of this invention, which will soon change the world.

WINTER VEGETATION

Stolen thawing days

Winters vary by latitude and longitude. As we move from the equator to the poles, temperatures become lower and the climate changes. At the equator, where the latitude is the lowest, winters are usually mild or non-existent. Temperatures are high throughout the year, so there is no obvious difference between the seasons. In temperate climate zones, such as much of Europe and North America, winters are usually cold, with lower temperatures and often precipitation in the form of snow or rain. During the winter, the night lasts longer, while the days are shorter. In polar regions, such as the Arctic and Antarctic, winters are extremely long and cold. Temperatures can be extremely low, with long periods of darkness and cold. These areas are also characterized by strong winds and snow. Thus, longitude and latitude play an important role in determining what winter will look like in a certain region, and the influence of habitat altitude cannot be ignored either. Plants that grow in cold climates must adapt to survive low temperatures and other extreme conditions.

TWO DECADES OF FACEBOOK

The social network that changed the world

A small website was supposed to help students of an American university get to know each other better and stay connected, but it caused a real revolution in the digital socialization of people around the world and led to global tectonic social and cultural changes. In 2004, digital social networks such as LinkedIn and MySpace already existed, and the first modern dating website that brought couples together, kiss.com, was available to users for almost a full decade. Moreover, sharing was already possible on these and similar sites - music (MySpace, Napster site), photos (Picasa, Photobucket) and information (Wikipedia), and producers of goods and services could present themselves and advertise on them. However, it was only Facebook that showed the power that forever changed the way people communicate. Despite being born out of a simple desire to help college friends get to know each other better and stay connected, that little website sparked a veritable revolution in connecting people digitally - all over the world. Moreover, it can be said that in the two decades that it has existed on the global scene, it has led to tectonic social and cultural changes.
The small college social platform TheFacebook - which will later be called just Facebook - was launched from his student room on February 4, 2004 by Harvard freshman, 19-year-old Mark Zuckerberg.