Published on: 2026-04-28
Source: Novosibirsk State University –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
On April 25, the results of the 15th anniversary competition for the best popular science work on modern biology “Bio/molec/text”-2025/2026 were summarized.Nikita Ivanov, a 4th-year student of the Faculty of Natural Sciences (FEN) of NGU, took first place in the nomination “Free Topic” with an article“Mission Possible: How Bacteriophage Proteins Become Medicines of the Future”. This year, 190 applications were submitted to participate in the competition in all categories, and 101 works made it to the final.
The competition is organized by the “Biomolecule” community, whose main mission is to open the road for new authors and provide established popularizers with new paths for self-development. Each participant who passes the initial selection is assisted by editors to refine their article for publication, and the most talented authors are invited to join the “Biomolecule” team. Anyone can participate in the competition, regardless of profession, age, or citizenship.
The nomination “Free Topic” allows writing about anything (within the thematic scope of the “Biomolecule” site) in two formats: news (a short article on a recent study — publication date not earlier than 2024, preferably 2025) or review (a story about an entire scientific field).
Nikita Ivanov had known about “Biomolecule” for a long time; during his studies at FEN NGU, he often visited this site to quickly study some topic and not get bored.
—Then I realized that I myself could write something similar and interest people with a topic that is close to me, or simply share an interesting story. This provides a unique experience, since it is difficult to write an article that, on one hand, would be clear and interesting to a wide audience of readers, and, on the other hand, would not be grossly simplified., — shared Nikita Ivanov.
Article by Nikita Ivanov is dedicated to bacteriophages — viruses that infect bacteria. These viruses are diverse, and each of them has its own arsenal of protein molecules (depolymerases, spanins, holins, and others) that help destroy the bacterial cell and its protective structures.
There is currently an acute problem of antibiotic resistance, with an increasing number of bacteria that cause chronic infections becoming resistant to antibiotics and not responding to traditional treatment.
—New antibiotics are being developed slowly and are not always effective, so alternative approaches are very important—for example, the use of bacteriophage enzymes. In this article, I explain how this works and why scientists place great hopes on these enzymes. To keep the text from being boring, I decided to compare bacteriophages to special agents who carry a suitcase of special tools for any occasion, and attentive scientists borrow these tools to fight bacterial diseases (and not only).— said Nikita Ivanov.
According to Nikita, experience and knowledge accumulated during his studies at NSU helped him achieve victory:
—Here, the academic and scientific components are closely intertwined, and even students from the junior courses try to find a laboratory or project on which they will work. This allows them to immerse themselves mentally in the environment and acquire skills that you can’t gain just by sitting at a desk.
Nikita is studying at the Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology of FEF NSU, currently writing a diploma thesis about the protein of bacteriophages, specifically about depolymerase — an enzyme that destroys the polysaccharide of the bacterial biofilm.
—I think this is a practical experience and helped me better understand the topic and write an article that was so highly rated, — added Nikita.
The student plans to continue his path in science and enter graduate school, most likely in the field of molecular biology, and does not rule out the possibility of entering a PhD program in the future.
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