Before it could fully emerge, Russia's middle class was hit by the economic crisis.

It has been known for a long time that early risers work less efficiently at night than night owls do. But researchers from the Higher School of Economics and Oxford University have uncovered new and distinctive features between the night activities of these two types of individuals. At night, early risers demonstrate a quicker reaction time when solving unusual attention-related tasks than night owls, but these early risers make more mistakes along the way.

New findings by HSE researchers indicate that prenatal testosterone exposure can influence an individual's financial behaviour, such as the use of bank cards, deposit accounts, loans and insurance.

HSE researchers found different patterns of brain activity involved in processing instrumental and non-instrumental verbs.

Qualifications and education being equal, it's rare for women in Russia to make it to the top of the corporate ladder compared to men. The reasons for this may vary from a lack of state support to gender role stereotypes which view women as primarily mothers and homemakers, according to the HSE researchers.

Most migrants coming to Russia change occupations, go without healthcare and spend their free time with their compatriots.

Low-quality dairy products have taken one quarter of the Russian dairy market. In the cheese segment, this share has reached 80%.

A good knowledge of algebra and geometry helps schoolchildren to solve some other types of tasks, including applied ones. These are the findings made by researchers from HSE, Stanford, and Michigan State University in a joint study.

Advertising on the internet, billboards and regional TV has been found to be the most effective.

Needing to switch attention between tasks causes stronger activation in certain brain regions in men compared to women.

Family conflicts about child rearing can affect a mother's confidence and prompt her to hire a nanny.

Alexander Belenky's book 'How US Presidents Are Elected' covers some of the more puzzling features of the American electoral system.