Do you know what parosmia is? Before you learn, we will tell you about some young Bulgarians who not only know what this impaired function of the body is but have even researched it and presented a scientific report on it.

These are the 12 of the best students in physics, chemistry and biology in Bulgaria who participated with two teams called "A" and "B" in the 10th International Young Naturalists’ Tournament (IYNT) which took place in Tbilisi, Georgia at the end of August. More than 100 young people under the age of 18 from 10 countries took part in the international science competition this year. All of them presented their scientific experiments and their results through specially prepared presentations and discussed their conclusions with competitors and a jury of experts. Three of the participants of the golden team "A" of Bulgaria and graduates of the National High School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences in Sofia, Yavor Yordanov, Lora Serafimova and Nevena Beycheva, were guests to the studio of BNR.

"Our tournament is different than the scientific olympiads we often go to and where we usually have 4 hours to solve problems. Here, the scientific problems we are working on are given in advance and we have a few months to solve and research them," Nevena says.

Yavor Yordanov, who participated in the competition three years ago, was now the team’s leader.

"It's a team tournament where you have to do a scientific research on a pre-assigned topic. We do not seek solutions to specific tasks, but solutions to certain research problems. After that the results of the study are presented during the tournament itself by the whole team to two other teams, who give a critical analysis of the work, which is also handed to a jury. The presentation of the work comprehensibly and clearly for the others is of great importance. The process is quite long and difficult," he says.

Therefore, the national teams that wish to participate in the tournament are formed at a local level in April before beginning their studies and analyzes on the main topics. According to the second team leader, Nikola Karavasilev, these tournaments are very useful for students with a deep interest in natural sciences, because they help in developing qualities that the Bulgarian education system rarely requires.

Lora Serafimova told us more about one of the most researched topics this year.

"In general, one of the most popular topics that we have been working on is parosmia, which is a term used to describe health conditions that distort your sense of smell. This is one of the most common side effects of Covid-19 and we prepared statistics that included about 300 people, on whom we studied the different manifestations of parosmia and drew the relevant conclusions.”

The Bulgarian student team "A" has become the first in the world that managed to win the absolute first place in the International Young Naturalists’ Tournament two years in a row. The 'B' team also performed well and won bronze medals. The three gold medalists told the Bulgarian National Radio that they would continue their path in science. For Yavor, who is now a student of "Theoretical Physics" at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", the challenge is to widen human knowledge on the issue of dark energy and dark matter. Nevena Beycheva is passionate about genetics, while Lora Serafimova’s scientific interests are in the field of human brain functions and memory.

• Young Bulgarian scientists with a contribution to the progress of science
  
  
• John Atanasoff Awards – Open Source for Advancement in Science
  

Compiled by: Vesela Krasteva

English: Alexander Markov