Physicists have been aware of quantum effects for more than a hundred years, such as the ability of quanta to disappear in one place and appear in another, or to be in two places at the same time. However, the amazing properties of quantum mechanics are applicable not only in physics, but also in biology.

The best example of quantum biology is photosynthesis: plants and some bacteria use the energy of sunlight to build the molecules they need. It turns out that photosynthesis actually relies on an amazing phenomenon - small masses of energy "learn" all possible ways to apply themselves, and then "choose" the most effective one. Perhaps bird navigation, DNA mutations, and even our sense of smell rely on quantum effects in one way or another. Although this area of ​​science is still very speculative and controversial, scientists believe that once gleaned from quantum biology, ideas can lead to the creation of new drugs and biomimetic systems (biomimetrics is another new scientific field where biological systems and structures are used to create new materials and devices). ).

3. Exometeorology

Jupiter

Along with exo-oceanographers and exogeologists, exometeorologists are interested in studying natural processes occurring on other planets. Now that powerful telescopes have made it possible to study the internal processes of nearby planets and moons, exometeorologists can monitor their atmospheric and weather conditions. and Saturn, with its incredible size, are prime candidates for exploration, as is Mars, with its regular dust storms.

Exometeorologists even study planets outside our solar system. And interestingly, it is they who can eventually find signs of extraterrestrial life on exoplanets by detecting organic traces in the atmosphere or elevated levels of carbon dioxide - a sign of industrial civilization.

4. Nutrigenomics

Nutrigenomics is the study of the complex relationships between food and genome expression. Scientists working in this field are striving to understand the role of genetic variation and dietary responses in how nutrients affect the genome.

Food really has a huge impact on health - and it all starts at the molecular level, literally. Nutrigenomics works both ways: it studies how our genome influences food preferences, and vice versa. The main goal of the discipline is to create personalized nutrition - this is necessary to ensure that our food is ideally suited to our unique set of genes.

5. Cliodynamics

Cliodynamics is a discipline that combines historical macrosociology, economic history (cliometrics), mathematical modeling of long-term social processes, and the systematization and analysis of historical data.

The name comes from the name of the Greek muse of history and poetry Clio. Simply put, cliodynamics is an attempt to predict and describe the broad social connections of history - both to study the past and as a potential way to predict the future, for example, to predict social unrest.

6. Synthetic biology

Synthetic biology is the design and construction of new biological parts, devices, and systems. It also includes upgrading existing biological systems for an infinite number of useful applications.

Craig Venter, one of the leading experts in this field, stated in 2008 that he had recreated the entire genome of a bacterium by gluing together its chemical components. Two years later, his team created "synthetic life" - DNA molecules created with a digital code and then 3D printed and inserted into a living bacterium.

Going forward, the biologists intend to analyze different types of genome to create useful organisms for incorporation into the body and biorobots that can produce chemicals - biofuels - from scratch. There is also the idea of ​​creating pollution-fighting artificial bacteria or vaccines to treat serious illnesses. The potential of this scientific discipline is simply enormous.

7. Recombinant memetics

This area of ​​science is just emerging, but it is already clear that it is only a matter of time - sooner or later, scientists will gain a better understanding of the entire human noosphere (the totality of all information known to people) and how the dissemination of information affects almost all aspects of human life.

Like recombinant DNA, where different genetic sequences come together to create something new, recombinant memetics studies how - ideas passed from person to person - can be adjusted and combined with other memes and memeplexes - well-established complexes of interconnected memes. This can be useful for "social therapeutic" purposes, such as combating the spread of radical and extremist ideologies.

8. Computational sociology

Like cliodynamics, computational sociology deals with the study of social phenomena and trends. Central to this discipline is the use of computers and related information processing technologies. Of course, this discipline only developed with the advent of computers and the ubiquity of the Internet.

Particular attention in this discipline is given to the huge flows of information from our daily lives, such as emails, phone calls, social media posts, credit card purchases, search engine queries, and so on. Examples of work can be the study of the structure of social networks and how information is distributed through them, or how intimate relationships arise on the Internet.

9. Cognitive economics

As a rule, economics is not associated with traditional scientific disciplines, but this may change due to the close interaction of all scientific branches. This discipline is often confused with behavioral economics (the study of our behavior in the context of economic decisions). Cognitive economics is the science of how we think. Lee Caldwell, a blogger about the discipline, writes about it:

“Cognitive (or financial) economics… pays attention to what actually happens in a person’s mind when he makes a choice. What is the internal structure of decision-making, what influences it, what information is perceived by the mind at this moment and how is it processed, what are the internal forms of preference for a person, and, ultimately, how all these processes are reflected in behavior?

In other words, scientists start their research at a lower, simplified level, and form micromodels of decision principles to develop a model of large-scale economic behavior. Often this scientific discipline interacts with related fields, such as computational economics or cognitive science.

10. Plastic electronics

Typically, electronics is associated with inert and inorganic conductors and semiconductors such as copper and silicon. But the new branch of electronics uses conductive polymers and conductive small molecules based on carbon. Organic electronics includes the development, synthesis and processing of functional organic and inorganic materials along with the development of advanced micro- and nanotechnologies.

In truth, this is not such a new branch of science, the first developments were made back in the 1970s. However, it was only recently that it was possible to bring all the accumulated data together, in particular, due to the nanotechnological revolution. Thanks to organic electronics, we may soon have organic solar cells, self-organizing monolayers in electronic devices and organic prostheses, which in the future will be able to replace damaged human limbs: in the future, the so-called cyborgs, it is quite possible that they will consist more of organic than of synthetic parts.

11 Computational Biology

If you like mathematics and biology equally, then this discipline is just for you. Computational biology seeks to understand biological processes through the language of mathematics. This is equally used for other quantitative systems, such as physics and computer science. Scientists from the University of Ottawa explain how this was possible:

“With the development of biological instrumentation and easy access to computing power, biology as such has to operate with an increasing amount of data, and the speed of knowledge gained is only growing. Thus, making sense of the data now requires a computational approach. At the same time, from the point of view of physicists and mathematicians, biology has grown to a level where theoretical models of biological mechanisms can be tested experimentally. This led to the development of computational biology.”

Scientists working in this field analyze and measure everything from molecules to ecosystems.

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11 July 2008

life sciences(life sciences) unite the most diverse branches of biology, biotechnology and medicine. In recent years, this has been one of the priorities of world science and economics. The choice of life sciences as a priority direction of development is explained by a number of reasons. These sciences are the basis for ensuring the priority needs of mankind.

First of all, it is healthcare. In order to take care of health, you need to understand what is happening with a healthy person, and what happens with pathology. Especially important is the life sciences in the context of increasing average life expectancy: the need to provide the elderly members of society with a healthy and active old age poses new challenges for biology and medicine. Secondly, the growing world population and growing prosperity require the development of new ways to increase the productivity of agriculture, new varieties of plants - not only more productive, but also with improved consumer properties. Thirdly, the increasing burden exerted by humanity on nature requires an ever deeper study of the environment and the adoption of measures to reduce this burden - for example, through methods of obtaining biofuels, biodegradable plastics, advanced agricultural practices, reducing environmental pollution and bioremediation. – restoration of polluted or destroyed biocenoses.

The central link uniting the life sciences is biotechnology in the broadest sense of the term.

Priority of living systems

Personal identification and reliable diagnosis of diseases, the cultivation of human organs and the creation of crops with a high content of vitamins, fats and proteins, new vaccines and drugs - these and many other technologies rightfully belong to the widest space called "living systems".

The creation of a developed economy in a post-industrial society is impossible without updating the technological structure and forms of scientific activity that correspond to the outgoing economic system. Therefore, one of the key tasks of our state is the formation of an effective and competitive sector of science and innovation. The main tool of the state in the field of science and technology development is the federal target program "Research and Development in Priority Areas of Development of the Scientific and Technical Complex of Russia for 2007-2012". Within the framework of this program, the state finances the work corresponding to the selected scientific and scientific-technical state priorities, one of which is “Living Systems”.

STRF Help:
Work in the priority area "Living Systems" is also being carried out within the framework of the Federal Target Program "Research and Development in Priority Areas of Development of the Scientific and Technological Complex of Russia for 2007-2012". Within this direction, in 2008, the following critical technologies were developed, in particular:
– biomedical and veterinary technologies for life support and protection of humans and animals;
– biocatalytic, biosynthetic and biosensor technologies;
– genomic and post-genomic technologies for creating drugs;
– cellular technologies;
- bioengineering technologies.

concept life sciences came to replace the usual concept of "biological sciences" and gave a common name to all the sciences of the living: zoology and genetics, botany and molecular biology, physiology and biochemistry, ecology and medicine. All those who work in these areas deal with living systems, that is, with living organisms, be it a person or a flower, a virus or a bacterium. We can say that living systems are everything that reproduces, breathes, eats, and moves.

However, it is not just about changing the name. The term "living systems" is more active, more structured. It reflects a systematic approach to this interdisciplinary field of science and knowledge, in which biologists, chemists, physicists, and mathematicians work. In addition, the term "Living Systems" is very technological. It provides not only the knowledge and discovery of the principles of the organization of the living, but also the use of this knowledge in the form of new technologies. This approach invites different specialists to move together from a scientific idea to its practical implementation and use in the interests of people.

Personal identification and reliable diagnosis of diseases, the cultivation of human organs and the creation of crops with a high content of vitamins, fats and proteins, new vaccines and drugs - these and many other technologies rightfully belong to the widest space called "living systems". Research and development done in this area will fill our industry with high technology, improve the health and safety of Russian citizens. That is why living systems are one of the main state priorities in the field of science and technology, actively supported with the help of federal target programs.

This collection will briefly introduce the reader to the concept of technological platforms and biotechnologies, as well as some of the developments of the leading Russian research teams working in the priority direction "Living Systems".

STRF Help:
Distribution of funding in the direction of "Living Systems" within the framework of the Federal Target Program in 2008 by regions (million rubles):
FEFD - 9 contracts, budget 116.5
Volga Federal District - 17 contracts, budget 140.1
Northwestern Federal District - 32 contracts, budget 156.0
Siberian Federal District - 34 contracts, budget 237.4
UFO - 1 contract, budget 50
Central Federal District - 202 contracts, budget 2507.8
SFD - 4 contracts, budget 34.85

Knowledge as technology

In a conversation about the development of fundamental and applied developments in the field of living systems, the concept of "technology" is increasingly encountered. In a modern, post-industrial economy, technologies are understood as a set of documented knowledge for purposeful activities using technical means (for example, organizational technologies, consumption technologies, social technologies, political technologies). It should be noted that in a market economy, technology, as a kind of knowledge, is a commodity. The complex of knowledge denoted by this concept raises questions not only about what we do, but also how, and most importantly, why we do it.

When determining the strategies for the development of the scientific and technical complex on a national scale, the concept of "technological platform" is used. There is no unambiguous definition of this term yet. Nevertheless, it is already obvious that this concept includes a set of knowledge, methods, material and technical base and qualified personnel, which varies depending on external orders for scientific and technological work. The priority area "Living Systems" can be viewed as a combination of several technological platforms.

Mysteries Revealed

From living systems we draw technologies that are the norm for nature. She uses them in the birth, development and death of any living organism. Moreover, at each level of the hierarchy of a living system - genetic, cellular, organismal - its own set of technological solutions operates.

Any living system begins with the main molecule of life, DNA, which stores and transmits hereditary information from generation to generation. DNA can be conditionally divided into semantic sections - genes. They send commands to synthesize certain proteins that form the characteristics of the organism and ensure its life. Scientists estimate the number of genes in a person at 20-25 thousand. If there are breakdowns in the genes, called mutations, a person develops serious diseases. The amount of text "recorded" in the genome is identical to the filing of the daily newspaper "Izvestia" for 30 years.

DNA lives and works in the cell. A living cell is perfection itself. She knows how to turn useless substances into necessary ones, synthesize internal medicines for the body, building material, and much more. Every minute, millions of chemical reactions take place in a living cell under the most common conditions - in an aquatic environment, without high pressure and temperatures.

One cell lives by itself only in unicellular organisms - bacteria., Most living systems are multicellular. The body of an adult contains an average of 10 14 cells. They are born, they transform, they do their job and they die. But at the same time they live in harmony and cooperation, building collective systems of protection (immune system), adaptation (regulatory system) and others.

Step by step, we reveal the secrets of living systems and, based on this knowledge, create biotechnology.

Biotechnology

Biotechnology can be defined as processes in which living systems or their components are used to produce substances or other living systems. Living beings are a kind of “factories” that process raw materials (nutrients) into a wide variety of products necessary to maintain their life. And besides, these factories are able to reproduce, that is, to give rise to other very similar "factories".

Today we already know a lot about how the "workers" of living factories are arranged and function - the genome, cell structures, proteins, the cells themselves and the body as a whole.

Thanks to this knowledge, albeit still incomplete, researchers have learned to manipulate individual elements of living systems - genes (genomic technologies), cells (cellular technologies) - and create genetically modified living organisms with traits that are useful to us (genetic engineering). We are able to adapt natural "factories" to produce the product we need (industrial biotechnology). And what's more, to genetically modify these factories so that they synthesize what we need.

This is how we create biotechnologies, which will be discussed further. But before we introduce you to examples of technologies already at the service of man, a few words need to be said about an elegant solution that today helps scientists penetrate the secrets of life and learn about the mechanisms of living systems. After all, the processes occurring in the cell are not visible, and scientific research requires technologies that can be used to see and understand them. By the way, this solution is biotechnology in itself.

glowing squirrels

To find out how genes work, you need to see the result of their work, that is, the proteins that are synthesized at their command. How can we find exactly what we are looking for? Scientists have found a method that makes proteins visible, glowing in ultraviolet light.

Such luminous proteins are found in nature, for example, in marine crustaceans and jellyfish. During the Second World War, the Japanese used as a local light source powder from the "sea firefly" - a crustacean with a bivalve shell. When it was soaked in water, it glowed brightly. It was from this sea firefly and jellyfish that O. Shimomura (Japan) in the late 50s of the twentieth century first isolated luminous squirrels. This was the beginning of the story of today's famous GFP - green fluorescent protein (green fluorescent protein). And in 2008, O. Shimomura, M. Chelfi and R. Tsien (USA) received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for fluorescent proteins. With the help of these proteins, a variety of living objects can be made to glow, from cellular structures to a whole animal. A fluorescent flashlight, which could be attached to the desired proteins with the help of genetic manipulations, made it possible to see where and when this protein is synthesized, to which parts of the cell it is directed. It was a revolution in biology and medicine.

But red fluorescent proteins were first found in corals and other marine organisms by two Russian researchers - Mikhail Mats and Sergey Lukyanov. We now have fluorescent proteins in every color of the rainbow, and their applications are very wide: from the cutting edge of biology and medicine, including oncology, and the detection of poisons and explosives, to glowing aquarium fish.

Under the leadership of Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences S. Lukyanov (Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences), the Russian biotechnology company Evrogen was created, which supplies scientists around the world with multi-colored fluorescent labels. Today Evrogen is one of the leaders in the world market of fluorescent proteins for biological research.

Genetic identification

We are all very different. Appearance, character, abilities, susceptibility to drugs, rejection of this or that food - all this is genetically set. The uniqueness of the genome of each of us makes it a reliable tool for establishing identity. In essence, our genes are the same fingerprints, only of a different nature. The DNA identification method was introduced into forensic practice by the British researcher Alik Jeffreys in the 80s of the last century. Today it is already a common and familiar procedure throughout the world.

It is also used in Russia. However, we buy reagents for analysis abroad. At the Institute of General Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, under the leadership of Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Nikolai Yankovsky, a set of reagents for human DNA identification is being created. The appearance of such a domestic tool is very timely, since the law "On genomic registration" adopted by the State Duma of the Russian Federation on November 19, 2008 will come into force on January 1, 2009. The development of our scientists will not only allow us to refuse imports, but will also give criminalists a more advanced tool, which, unlike Western counterparts, works with heavily damaged DNA. And this is a common case in forensic medical examination.

With the help of this tool, another important social task will be solved - the creation of a bank of genetic data of violators of the law, thanks to which the detection of crimes will increase and the time of investigation will be reduced. In the UK, the genetic database of people, one way or another connected with the criminal world, already has several million people.

The DNA identification method is especially good for identifying people who died in wars, disasters and other circumstances. Today it is also used in Russia. The most famous case is the identification of the remains of the last royal family. The final stage of this great work - the identification of the remains of the emperor's son and daughter - was carried out by Professor Evgeny Rogaev, head of the department of genomics at the Institute of General Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Finally, another area of ​​application of the DNA identification method is the establishment of paternity. Research shows that several percent of legal fathers are not biological. For a long time, paternity was established by analyzing the blood of the child and the parent - they determined the blood group, the Rh factor and compared the data. However, this method was inherently unreliable, as researchers now understand, and produced many errors that turned into personal tragedies. The use of DNA identification increased the accuracy of the analysis to almost 100%. Today, this technique for establishing paternity is also available in Russia.

Genetic diagnostics

To make a complete analysis of the genome of one person still costs a lot of money - two million dollars. True, in ten years, as technology improves, the price will fall, according to forecasts, to a thousand dollars. But after all it is possible and not to describe all genes. Often, it is enough to evaluate the work of only certain groups of genes that are critical for the occurrence of various ailments.

Genetic diagnostics requires special devices, miniature, fast and accurate. These devices are called biochips. The world's first patent for biochips for determining the structure of DNA belongs to Russia - the team of Academician Andrey Mirzabekov from the Institute of Molecular Biology. V.A. Engelhardt RAS. Then, at the end of the 80s of the last century, Mirzabekov's team developed the technology of microarrays. Later they were called biochips.

Biological microchips are a small plate of glass or plastic, on the surface of which there are many cells. Each of these wells contains a marker for a particular region of the genome, which must be detected in the sample. If a patient's blood sample is dropped onto the biochip, then we can find out if it contains what we are looking for - the corresponding well will glow due to the fluorescent label.

Looking at a used biochip, researchers can make a diagnosis of a predisposition to certain diseases, as well as detect dangerous viruses in the patient’s blood, for example, tuberculosis or hepatitis C. After all, a virus is nothing more than a piece of foreign DNA in a protein shell. Thanks to the new technique, the duration of complex laboratory analyzes of biological materials has been reduced from several weeks to one day.

Today, biological microbiochips are being developed by dozens of companies in Europe and the United States. However, Russian biochips successfully withstand competition. One analysis using the Biochip-IMB test system costs only 500 rubles, while the use of a foreign analogue costs 200–500 dollars.

And the Institute of Molecular Biology of the Russian Academy of Sciences has begun certification of biochips that detect varieties of the hepatitis C virus in a patient. The market potential of the new technology is enormous. Indeed, with the help of traditional analyzes, in every third case it is not possible to find out which variety the found virus belongs to. Now this task is solved.

With the help of DNA diagnostics, it is possible not only to identify diseases and predisposition to them, but also to adjust the daily diet. For example, whether to include whole milk in it or not. The fact is that in many people whole milk causes nausea, diarrhea and general malaise. This is due to a lack of an enzyme that breaks down milk sugar - lactose. Because of it, troubles arise in the body. And the presence of the enzyme is genetically determined. According to genetic studies, between a third and a half of adults in our country (depending on the region) are not able to digest whole milk. However, the school diet still mandates a glass of milk per day for every child. With the help of a DNA diagnosticum developed at the Institute of General Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, it is easy to establish who can be recommended whole milk and who can not. This is the aim of the project “Preserving the Health of Healthy People”, implemented by the Russian Academy of Sciences together with the administration of the Tambov region.

Gene therapy

Genetic diagnostics is building the foundation for the medicine of the future. But medicine is not only a diagnosis, it is also a treatment. Can we correct defective genes in a living organism or replace them with complete ones in those severe cases where traditional treatment is powerless? That is the challenge of gene therapy.

The essence of gene therapy is simple in words: it is necessary either to “repair” a broken gene in the cells of those tissues and organs where it does not work, or to deliver a full-fledged gene to the patient’s body, which we can synthesize in a test tube. Today, several methods have been developed to introduce new genes into cells. This includes the delivery of genes using neutralized viruses, microinjection of genetic material into the cell nucleus, shelling cells from a special gun with the smallest particles of gold that carry healthy genes on their surface, etc. So far, there have been very few successes in the field of practical gene therapy. However, there are bright and witty findings made, including in Russian laboratories.

One of these ideas, intended for the treatment of cancer, can be loosely called a "Trojan horse". One of the herpes virus genes is injected into the cancer cells. Until a certain time, this "Trojan horse" does not reveal itself. But it is worth introducing a medicine widely used to treat herpes (ganciclovir) into the patient's body, as the gene begins to work. As a result, an extremely toxic substance is formed in the cells, which destroys the tumor from the inside. Another option for cancer gene therapy is the delivery of genes to cancer cells that will provoke the synthesis of so-called “suicide” proteins, leading to the “suicide” of cancer cells.

The technology for delivering genes to cancer cells is being developed by a large team of scientists from the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry. M.M. Shemyakin and Yu.A. Ovchinnikov RAS, Russian Cancer Research Center RAMS, Institute of Molecular Genetics RAS, Institute of Gene Biology RAS. Academician Yevgeny Sverdlov supervises the work. The main emphasis in the project is on the creation of drugs against lung cancer (first place in mortality) and cancer of the esophagus (seventh place). However, the methods and designs being created will be useful for fighting any type of cancer, of which there are more than a hundred. After the necessary clinical trials, if they are successful, the drugs will enter practice in 2012.

Cancer diagnosis

A large number of scientific teams in Russia and in the world are working on the problem of cancer. This is understandable: every year, cancer harvests a slightly smaller deadly harvest than cardiovascular disease. The task of scientists is to create technologies that allow to detect cancer at the earliest stages, and to destroy cancer cells without side effects for the body. Early and fast diagnosis, when the analysis takes only a few hours, is extremely important for conventional cancer therapy. Doctors know that disease is easier to nip in the bud. Therefore, clinics around the world need diagnostic technologies that meet these requirements. This is where biotechnology comes to the rescue.

A new approach to the early and rapid diagnosis of cancer was proposed for the first time in the world by Alexander Chetverin from the Protein Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The essence of the method is to identify in the blood those mRNA molecules that remove information from the corresponding parts of the genome and carry the command for the synthesis of cancer proteins. If such molecules are present in a patient's blood sample, then a diagnosis can be made: there is cancer. However, the problem is that there are very few of these molecules in a blood sample, while there are many others. How to find and see those single instances that we need? This problem was solved by a team of scientists led by A. Chetverin.

Researchers have learned to propagate the sought-for but invisible marker molecules of cancer cells using the so-called polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

As a result, whole molecular colonies grow from one invisible molecule, which can already be seen through a microscope. If a patient's blood sample (say, one milliliter) contains at least one cancer cell and one marker molecule, then the nascent disease can be detected.

The analysis can be done in just a few hours, and it costs several thousand rubles. But if you use it en masse, for example, during an annual preventive medical examination, then the price can drop to 300-500 rubles.

Cancer treatment

In the field of cancer treatment, too, there are several new approaches based on biotechnology. One of them is the use of specific antibodies as anticancer agents.

Antibodies are protein molecules produced by cells of the immune system. In fact, this is a chemical weapon that our body uses in the fight against all kinds of viruses, as well as with degenerated cells of our own body - cancerous. If the immune system itself cannot cope with cancer, then it can be helped.

Scientists from the Laboratory of Molecular Immunology (Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences), led by Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Sergey Deev, are designing a new generation of antibodies that recognize the target and destroy it. This approach is based on the principle of the so-called "magic bullet", which always and accurately finds its victim. Antibodies are the best fit for this role. One part of their molecule serves as an "antenna" pointing at the target - the surface of the cancer cell. And various damaging agents can cling to the tail of an antibody - toxins, organic molecules, radioactive isotopes. They have different effects, but all eventually kill the tumor.

Cancer cells can be destroyed almost naturally. It is enough to start the mechanism of programmed cell death, a kind of suicide, provided by nature. Scientists call it apoptosis. The suicide mechanism is triggered by intracellular enzymes that destroy proteins inside the cell and DNA itself. Unfortunately, cancer cells are amazingly resilient because they know how to suppress their suicidal “moods.” The problem is that there are very few of these enzymes in cancer cells, and therefore it is difficult to start apoptosis.

However, this problem is also solved. To launch the suicide mechanism, Siberian scientists propose to open the membranes of cellular structures, such as mitochondria. Then the cell will inevitably die. The Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the State Scientific Center "Vector" (Koltsovo village), the Municipal Pulmonary Surgical Hospital (Novosibirsk), the Research and Production Fund "Medical Technologies" (Kurgan), the Research Institute of Clinical and Experimental Immunology of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences (Novosibirsk) are participating in this large project. Together, the researchers selected substances that can open the membranes of cell structures, and developed a method for delivering these substances to a cancer cell.

Vaccines

Our knowledge of the immune system of animals can be used not only for the treatment of cancer, but also for any infectious diseases. We get immunity against most diseases "by inheritance", against others we acquire immunity by suffering a disease caused by a new infection. But immunity can also be trained - for example, with the help of vaccination.

The effectiveness of vaccination was first demonstrated over 200 years ago by physician Edward Jenner, who proved that a person who had had cowpox became immune to smallpox. Since then, many diseases have been taken under the control of doctors. Since Pasteur's time, weakened or killed viruses have been used in vaccines. But this imposes limitations: there is no guarantee that the vaccine is completely free of active viral particles, working with many of them requires great care, and the shelf life of the vaccine depends on storage conditions.

These difficulties can be circumvented using genetic engineering methods. Using them, you can develop individual components of bacteria and viruses, and then administer them to patients - the protective effect will be no worse than with conventional vaccines. The first genetically engineered vaccines were for animals - against foot-and-mouth disease, rabies, dysentery and other animal diseases. The first genetically engineered human vaccine was the hepatitis B vaccine.

Today, for most infections, we can make vaccines - classical or genetically engineered. The main problem is connected with the plague of the twentieth century - AIDS. Vaccination is just right for him. After all, it boosts the immune system, causes the body to produce more immune cells. And the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS, lives and multiplies in these cells. In other words, we give him even more opportunities - new, healthy cells of the immune system to infect.

Research on the search for vaccines against AIDS has a long history and is based on a discovery made back in the 70s of the last century by future academicians R.V. Petrov, V.A. Kabanov and R.M. Khaitov. Its essence lies in the fact that polyelectrolytes (charged polymer molecules that are soluble in water) interact with the cells of the immune system and induce the latter to intensively produce antibodies. And if, for example, one of the proteins that make up the shell of the virus is attached to the polyelectrolyte molecule, then the immune response against this virus will be turned on. According to the mechanism of action, such a vaccine is fundamentally different from all vaccines that were previously created in the world.

The world's first and so far the only polyelectrolyte that is allowed to be introduced into the human body has become polyoxidonium. Then, influenza virus proteins were "sewn" to the polymer. The result was the Grippol vaccine, which has been protecting millions of people in Russia from a viral infection for almost 10 years.

A vaccine against AIDS is being created today using the same methodology. A protein characteristic of the AIDS virus was linked to a polyelectrolyte. The resulting vaccine was successfully tested in mice and rabbits. Based on the results of preclinical trials, the Institute of Immunology of the Russian Academy of Sciences was granted permission to conduct clinical trials with the participation of volunteers. If all stages of testing the drug are successful, it can be used not only for the prevention of HIV infection, but also for the treatment of AIDS.

Medicines Donated by Biotechnology

Medicines are still the main instrument of medical practice. However, the possibilities of the chemical industry, which produces the lion's share of medicines, are limited. The chemical synthesis of many substances is complex and often impossible, as, for example, the synthesis of the vast majority of proteins. This is where biotechnology comes to the rescue.

The production of drugs using microorganisms has a long history. The first antibiotic, penicillin, was isolated from mold in 1928, and its industrial production began in 1940. Following penicillin, other antibiotics were discovered and mass-produced.

For a long time, many drugs based on human proteins could be obtained only in small quantities, their production was very expensive. Genetic engineering has given hope that the range of protein drugs and their number will increase dramatically. And these expectations were justified. Several dozen drugs obtained by biotechnological means have already entered medical practice. According to experts, the annual volume of the world market for medicines based on genetically engineered proteins is increasing by 15% and by 2010 will amount to 18 billion dollars.

The most striking example of the work of our biotechnologists in this area is genetically engineered human insulin, which is produced at the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry. M.M.Shemyakin and Yu.A.Ovchinnikov RAS. Insulin, that is, a hormone of a protein structure, regulates the breakdown of sugar in our body. It can be extracted from animals. They did so before. But even insulin from the pancreas of pigs - biochemically the animals closest to us - is still slightly different from human.

Its activity in the human body is lower than the activity of human insulin. In addition, our immune system does not tolerate foreign proteins and rejects them with all its might. Therefore, the injected porcine insulin may disappear before it has time to have a curative effect. The problem was solved by genetic engineering technology, according to which human insulin is produced today, including in Russia.

In addition to genetically engineered human insulin at the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry. M. M. Shemyakina and Yu. A. Ovchinnikov of the Russian Academy of Sciences, IBCh RAS, together with the Hematological Research Center of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, created a technology for the production of proteins to combat massive blood loss. Human serum albumin and blood clotting factor are excellent first aid and resuscitation tools demanded by disaster medicine.

genetically modified plants

Our knowledge in the field of genetics, replenished day by day, has allowed us to create not only genetic tests for the diagnosis of diseases and luminous proteins, vaccines and drugs, but also new organisms. Today, there is hardly a person who has not heard about genetically modified, or transgenic, organisms (GMOs). These are plants or animals in whose DNA genes are introduced from the outside, giving these organisms new, useful, from the human point of view, properties.

The GMO army is big. Among its ranks are beneficial microbes that work in biotechnological factories and produce many useful substances for us, and agricultural crops with improved properties, and mammals that give more meat, more milk.

One of the most massive divisions of GMOs is, of course, plants. After all, from time immemorial they serve as food for man, food for animals. From plants we obtain fibers for construction, substances for medicines and perfumes, raw materials for the chemical industry and energy, fire and heat.

We continue to improve the quality of plants and develop new varieties through breeding. But this painstaking and time-consuming process requires a lot of time. Genetic engineering, which has allowed us to insert useful genes into the plant genome, has taken plant breeding to a whole new level.

The very first transgenic plant, created a quarter of a century ago, was tobacco, and now 160 transgenic crops are used on an industrial scale in the world. Among them are corn and soybeans, rice and rapeseed, cotton and flax, tomatoes and pumpkins, tobacco and beets, potatoes and cloves and others.

At the Bioengineering Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, headed by Academician K.G. Skryabin. Together with Belarusian colleagues, they created the first domestic genetically modified crop - the Elizaveta potato variety, which is resistant to the Colorado potato beetle.

The first genetically modified crops, produced in the early 1980s, were resistant to herbicides and insects. Today, with the help of genetic engineering, we get varieties that contain more nutrients, are resistant to bacteria and viruses, to drought and cold. In 1994, for the first time, a rot-resistant tomato variety was created. This variety appeared on the markets of genetically modified products in two years. Another transgenic product, Golden rice, has become widely known. In it, unlike ordinary rice, beta-carotene is formed - a precursor of vitamin A, absolutely necessary for the growth of the body. Golden rice partly solves the problem of good nutrition in countries where rice is still the main dish in the diet. And this is at least two billion people.

Nutrition and yield are not the only goals pursued by genetic engineers. It is possible to create such varieties of plants that will contain vaccines and medicines in their leaves and fruits. This is very valuable and convenient: vaccines from transgenic plants cannot be contaminated with dangerous animal viruses, and the plants themselves can be easily grown in large quantities. And, finally, on the basis of plants, it is possible to create "edible" vaccines, when it is enough to eat a certain amount of a transgenic fruit or vegetable, such as a potato or banana, for vaccination. For example, a carrot containing substances that are involved in the formation of the body's immune response. Such plants are jointly created by scientists from two leading biological institutes in Siberia: the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

It cannot be said that society is wary of genetically modified plants (GMPs). And in the scientific community itself, a discussion about the possible potential danger of GMR continues. Therefore, studies are underway all over the world to assess the risks associated with the use of GMR - food, agrotechnical, environmental. While the World Health Organization states the following: “Experience gained over 10 years of commercial use of GM crops, analysis of the results of special studies show that so far there has not been a single proven case of toxicity or adverse effects of registered GM crops as food or feed sources in the world. ".

From 1996, when commercial cultivation of HMR began, until 2007, the total area planted with transgenic plants increased from 1.7 million to 114 million hectares, which is about 9% of all arable land in the world. Moreover, 99% of this area is occupied by five crops: soybeans, cotton, rice, corn and rapeseed. In the total volume of their production, genetically modified varieties account for over 25%. The absolute leader in the use of GMR is the United States, where already in 2002 75% of cotton and soybeans were transgenic. In Argentina, the share of transgenic soybeans was 99%, in Canada 65% of rapeseed was produced in this way, and in China - 51% of cotton. HMR cultivation in 2007 involved 12 million farmers, of which 90% live in developing countries. In Russia, industrial cultivation of HMR is prohibited by law.

genetically modified animals

A similar strategy is used by genetic engineers to breed new breeds of animals. In this case, the gene responsible for the manifestation of some valuable trait is introduced into a fertilized egg, from which a new organism develops. For example, if the gene set of an animal is supplemented with a gene for a growth-stimulating hormone, then such animals will grow faster with less food consumed. The result is more cheap meat.

An animal can be a source not only of meat and milk, but of the medicinal substances contained in this milk. For example, the most valuable human proteins. We have already talked about some of them. Now this list can be supplemented by lactoferrin, a protein that protects newborn children from dangerous microorganisms until their own immunity works.

The body of a woman produces this substance with the first portions of breast milk. Unfortunately, not all mothers have milk, so human lactoferrin must be added to artificial feeding formulas in order to maintain the health of newborns. If there is enough protective protein in the diet, then the mortality of artificial babies from various gastrointestinal infections can be reduced tenfold. This protein is in demand not only in the baby food industry, but also, for example, in the cosmetics industry.

The technology for the production of goat milk with human lactoferrin is being developed at the Institute of Gene Biology of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Scientific and Practical Center for Animal Husbandry of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. This year, the first two transgenic kids were born. For the creation of each of them, 25 million rubles were spent over several years of research. It remains to wait until they grow up, multiply and begin to give milk with valuable human protein.

Cell engineering

There is another tempting area of ​​biotechnology - cell technology. Stem cells, fantastic in their abilities, live and work in the human body. They replace dead cells (say, an erythrocyte, a red blood cell, lives only 100 days), they heal our fractures and wounds, restore damaged tissues.

The existence of stem cells was predicted by Alexander Maksimov, a Russian hematologist from St. Petersburg, back in 1909. Several decades later, his theoretical assumption was confirmed experimentally: stem cells were discovered and isolated. But the real boom began at the end of the 20th century, when advances in experimental technology made it possible to see the potential of these cells.

So far, advances in medicine associated with the use of stem cells are more than modest. We know how to isolate, store, multiply, and experiment with these cells. But we still do not fully understand the mechanism of their magical transformations, when a faceless stem cell turns into a blood cell or muscle tissue. We have not yet fully understood the chemical language in which the stem cell is ordered to transform. This ignorance generates risks from the use of stem cells and hinders their active introduction into medical practice. However, there are advances in the treatment of non-healing fractures in the elderly, as well as in rehabilitation after heart attacks and heart surgery.

In Russia, a method has been developed for the treatment of retinal burns using human brain stem cells. If these cells are introduced into the eye, they will actively move to the burn area, be located in the outer and inner layers of the damaged retina and stimulate the healing of the burn. The method was developed by a research group of scientists from the Moscow Research Institute of Eye Diseases. G. Helmholtz Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Institute of Developmental Biology. N.K. Koltsov RAS, Institute of Gene Biology RAS and Scientific Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences.

While we are at the stage of accumulation of knowledge about stem cells. The efforts of scientists are focused on research, on creating infrastructure, in particular, stem cell banks, the first of which in Russia was Gemabank. Growing organs, treating multiple sclerosis and neurodegenerative diseases is the future, although not so distant.

bioinformatics

The amount of knowledge and information is growing like a snowball. Learning the principles of the functioning of living systems, we realize the incredible complexity of the structure of living matter, in which a variety of biochemical reactions are intricately intertwined with each other and form intricate networks. It is possible to unravel this "web" of life only by using modern mathematical methods for modeling processes in living systems.

That is why, at the intersection of biology and mathematics, a new direction was born - bioinformatics, without which the work of biotechnologists is already unthinkable. Most of the bioinformatics methods, of course, work for medicine, namely, for the search for new medicinal compounds. They can be searched based on knowledge of the structure of the molecule, which is responsible for the development of a particular disease. If such a molecule is blocked by some substance, selected with high accuracy, then the course of the disease can be stopped. Bioinformatics makes it possible to detect a blocking molecule suitable for clinical use. If we know the target, say, the structure of a "disease-causing" protein, then with the help of computer programs we can model the chemical structure of the drug. This approach can significantly save time and resources that are spent on sorting and testing tens of thousands of chemical compounds.

Among the leaders in the creation of drugs using bioinformatics in Russia is the Khimrar company. In search of potential anti-cancer drugs, it is engaged, in particular, in the screening of many thousands of chemical compounds. The Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences is also among the strongest Russian research centers dealing with bioinformatics. Beginning in the 1960s, a unique scientific school was formed in the Novosibirsk Akademgorodok that united biologists and mathematicians. The main area of ​​work of Novosibirsk bioinformaticians is the analysis of the interaction of proteins inside cells and the search for potential molecular targets for new drugs.

To understand the mechanism of the development of a particular disease, it is important to know which of the thousands of genes working in a diseased cell are really responsible for the disease. This far from easy task is complicated by the fact that genes, as a rule, do not work alone, but only in conjunction with other genes. But how to take into account the contribution of other genes to a particular disease? And here bioinformatics comes to the aid of physicians. Using mathematical algorithms, it is possible to build a map on which the intersections of paths show the interactions of genes. Such maps reveal clusters of genes that work in a diseased cell at different stages of the disease. This information is extremely important, for example, for choosing a cancer treatment strategy depending on the stage of the disease.

Industrial Biotechnology

Man has used biotechnology since time immemorial. People made cheese from milk, fermented cabbage for the winter, prepared fun drinks from everything that was fermented. All these are classical microbiological processes in which the main driving force is a microorganism, the smallest living system.

Today, the range of tasks solved by biotechnology has expanded incredibly. We have already talked about the genetic diagnosis of diseases, new vaccines and drugs obtained with the help of biotechnology, genetically modified organisms. However, life throws up other challenges as well. Giant chemical production, where we get the substances necessary for constructing a comfortable living environment (fibers, plastics, building materials, and much more) today no longer seems as attractive as it was 60 years ago. They devour a lot of energy and resources (high pressures, temperatures, precious metal catalysts), they pollute the environment and occupy precious lands. Can the biotechs here suggest a replacement?

Yes they can. For example, genetically modified microorganisms that work as efficient catalysts for industrial chemical processes. Such biocatalysts were created at the All-Russian Research Institute of Genetics and Breeding of Microorganisms, for example, for the dangerous and dirty stage of obtaining the toxic substance acryalamide. It is made from a polymer polyacrylamide, used in water treatment, and in the production of diapers, and for the manufacture of coated paper, and for many other purposes. The biocatalyst allows a chemical reaction to produce a monomer at room temperature, without the use of aggressive reagents and high pressure.

The biocatalyst was brought to industrial use in Russia by the efforts of the scientific team of CJSC Bioamid (Saratov) under the leadership of Sergey Voronin. The same team developed a biotechnology for the production of aspartic acid and created the import-substituting cardiological drug "Asparkam L". The drug has already entered the market in Russia and Belarus. The Russian drug is not only cheaper than imported analogues, but, according to doctors, more effective. The fact is that "Asparkam L" contains only one optical isomer of the acid, the one that has therapeutic effects. And the Western counterpart, panangin, is based on a mixture of two optical isomers, L and D, the second of which simply serves as a ballast. The discovery of the Bioamide team lies in the fact that they were able to separate these two difficult-to-separate isomers and put the process on an industrial basis.

It is possible that in the future giant chemical plants will disappear altogether, and instead of them there will be small safe workshops that do not harm the environment, where microorganisms will work, producing all the necessary intermediate products for various industries. In addition, small green factories, whether microorganisms or plants, allow us to obtain useful substances that cannot be made in a chemical reactor. For example, spider silk protein. The frame threads of the trapping nets that the spider weaves for its victims are several times stronger than steel at break. It would seem that put spiders in workshops and pull protein threads from them. But spiders do not live in the same jar - they will eat each other.

A beautiful solution was found by a team of scientists led by Doctor of Biology Vladimir Bogush (State Research Institute of Genetics and Selection of Microorganisms) and Doctor of Biology Eleonora Piruzyan (Institute of General Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences). First, the genes responsible for the synthesis of the spider silk protein were isolated from the spider genome. These genes were then inserted into yeast and tobacco cells. Both those and others began to produce the protein we need. As a result, the basis for the production technology of a unique and almost natural structural material, light and extremely durable, was created, from which ropes, bulletproof vests and much more can be made.

There are other problems as well. For example, a huge amount of waste. Biotechnology allows us to turn waste into income. By-products of agriculture, forestry and food industries can be converted into methane, a biogas suitable for heating and energy production. And you can - into methanol and ethanol, the main components of biofuels.

Industrial applications of biotechnology are actively pursued at the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov. It includes several laboratories engaged in a variety of projects - from the creation of industrial biosensors to the production of enzymes for fine organic synthesis, from industrial waste disposal technologies to the development of methods for producing biofuels.

Science, business, government

The successes achieved are the result of the combined efforts of biologists, chemists, physicians and other specialists working in the space of living systems. The interrelation of different disciplines proved to be fruitful. Of course, biotechnology is not a panacea for solving global problems, but a tool that promises great prospects if used correctly.

Today, the total volume of the biotechnology market in the world is 8 trillion. dollars. Biotechnologies also lead in terms of funding for research and development: in the United States alone, government agencies and private companies spend more than $ 30 billion annually for this purpose.

Investments in science and technology will eventually bear economic fruit. But biotechnology alone will not be able to solve complex medical or food problems. A favorable health infrastructure and industrial structure must be created to guarantee access to new diagnostic methods, vaccines and drugs, and plants with improved properties. An effective system of communication between science and business is also extremely important here. Finally, an absolutely necessary condition for building an effective innovative sector of the economy is the interaction of scientific and commercial structures with the state.

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In 2008, 939 applications were submitted for the formation of topics in the direction of "Living Systems" (for comparison: in total for the program - 3180),
– 396 applications were submitted for the competition (total 1597),
– 179 competitions were held (total 731)
– organizations of 23 departments took part in the competitions (36 in total), 17 of them won
– 179 contracts were concluded (total 731)
– 120 contracts ongoing (total 630)
– applications for the formation of topics on living systems were sent by 346 organizations (842 in total)
– 254 organizations (total 806) sent as head applications for the competition
– 190 organizations (total 636) sent applications for the competition as co-executors
– average competition for lots in the direction of 2,212 (average for the program – 2,185)
– the contract budget for 2008 amounted to 1,041.2 million rubles. (21.74% of the total program budget)

Dynamics of growth and distribution of funding in the direction of living systems within the framework of the Federal Target Scientific and Technical Program for 2002–2006 and the Federal Target Program for 2007–2012:
2005 - 303 contracts, 1168.7 million rubles. (100%)
2006 - 289 contracts, 1227.0 million rubles. (105%)
2007 - 284 contracts, 2657.9 million rubles. (227%)
2008 - 299 contracts, 3242.6 million rubles. (277%)

Sciences do not arise by themselves, not because someone invents them simply "out of interest." Any science appears as a result of the need for mankind to solve certain problems that have arisen in the process of its development. Biology is no exception, it also arose in connection with the solution of problems that are very important for people. One of them has always been a deeper understanding of the processes in wildlife associated with obtaining food products, i.e. knowledge of the characteristics of plant and animal life, their changes under human influence, ways to obtain a reliable and increasingly rich harvest. The solution to this problem is one of the fundamental reasons for the development of biology.

Another, no less important “spring” is the study of the biological characteristics of a person. Man is a product of the development of living nature. All processes of our life activity are similar to those that occur in nature. And therefore, only a deep understanding of biological processes serves as the scientific foundation of medicine. The emergence of consciousness, which means a giant step forward in the self-knowledge of matter, also cannot be understood without deep studies of living nature in at least two directions - the emergence and development of the brain as an organ of thinking (until now the riddle of thinking remains unresolved) and the emergence of sociality, a social image life.

The increase in food production and the development of medicine are important, but not the only problems that have determined the development of biology as a science for thousands of years. Living nature is a source of many materials and products necessary for humanity. You need to know their properties in order to use them correctly, to know where to look for them in nature, how to get them. In many ways, the source of such knowledge is biology. But even this does not exhaust the significance of the biological sciences.

In the XX century. The population of the Earth has increased so much that the development of human society has become a determining factor in the development of the Earth's biosphere. To date, it has become clear that wildlife is not only a source of food and many necessary products and materials, but also a necessary condition for the existence of mankind itself. Our ties with it turned out to be much closer and more vital than was considered at the beginning of the 20th century.

For example, air seemed to be the same inexhaustible and constant resource of nature as, say, sunlight. Actually it is not. The qualitative composition of the atmosphere to which we are accustomed, with its 20.95% oxygen and 0.03% carbon dioxide, is a derivative of the activity of living beings: respiration and photosynthesis of plants, oxidation of dead organic matter. Oxygen in the air arises only as a result of the vital activity of plants. The main oxygen factories on Earth are tropical forests and ocean algae. But even today, as observations show, the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere is constantly increasing as a result of the release of a huge amount of carbon during the combustion of oil, gas, coal, wood, and other anthropogenic processes. From 1958 to 1980, the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere increased by 4%. By the end of the century, its content may increase by more than 10%. In the 70s. 20th century the amount of oxygen entering the atmosphere as a result of the vital activity of plants was estimated in t/year, and the annual consumption by mankind - in t/year. This means that we already live at the expense of oxygen reserves accumulated in the past, over millions of years of evolution of living beings on the planet.

The water that we drink, or rather, the purity of this water, its quality is also determined primarily by living nature. Our treatment facilities only complete that huge process that goes on invisibly to us in nature: water in the soil or reservoir repeatedly passes through the bodies of myriads of invertebrates, is filtered by them and, freed from organic and inorganic impurities, becomes what we know it in rivers, lakes and springs.

Thus, the qualitative composition of both air and water on Earth depends on the vital activity of living organisms. It should be added that soil fertility - the basis of the harvest - is the result of the vital activity of living organisms living in the soil: a huge number of bacteria, invertebrates, algae.

Mankind cannot exist without wildlife. Hence the vital need for us to keep it in “working condition”.

Unfortunately, this is not so easy to do. As a result of human exploration of the entire surface of the planet, the development of agriculture, industry, deforestation, pollution of continents and oceans, an increasing number of species of plants, fungi, and animals are disappearing from the face of the Earth. An extinct species cannot be restored. It is a product of millions of years of evolution and has a unique gene pool - only its inherent code of hereditary information, which determines the uniqueness of the properties of each species. According to some estimates, in the early 80's. In the world, an average of one animal species was destroyed daily, by the year 2000 this rate may increase to one species per hour. In our country, one species of vertebrates disappears in an average of 3.5 years. How to change this trend and return to the evolutionarily justified path of a constant increase in the total "sum of life", and not its decrease? This problem concerns all mankind, but it is impossible to solve it without the work of biologists.

Figuratively speaking, modern biology is a huge, multi-storey building containing thousands of "rooms" - directions, disciplines, entire independent sciences. One listing of them can take dozens of pages.

In the building of biology, four main "floors" are distinguished, as it were, corresponding to the fundamental levels of organization of living matter. The first "floor" is molecular genetic. The object of study of the living is here the units of hereditary information (genes), their changes - mutations and the process of transmission of hereditary information. The second "floor" is ontogenetic, or the level of individual development. Events on this "floor" are still the least studied in biology. A mysterious process takes place here, which determines the appearance in the right place, at the right time, of what should appear in the course of the normal development of each individual - a foot or an eye in an animal, a leaf or bark in a plant. The next "floor" is the population-species level. The elementary units at this level are populations, that is, relatively small, long-term groups of individuals of the same species, within which the exchange of hereditary information takes place. Elementary phenomena here are irreversible changes in the genotypic composition of populations and, ultimately, the emergence of various adaptations and new species. On the last, fourth "floor", processes take place in ecological systems of various scales - complex communities of many species, up to biospheric processes as a whole. The elementary structures of these communities are biogeocenoses, and elementary phenomena are the transition of biogeocenosis from one state of dynamic equilibrium to another, which ultimately leads to a change in the entire biosphere as a whole. Each level has its own patterns, but the events that occur at each of them are closely related to the events at other levels.

In recent decades, molecular biology has moved forward somewhat (in terms of the number of scientists employed in this field, in terms of funds allocated in different states for the development of this particular area of ​​research). Remarkable results have been obtained, ranging from purely theoretical (decoding of the genetic code and synthesis of the first artificial genes) to practical ones (for example, the development of genetic engineering). Population biology is now beginning to develop rapidly, which will allow us to successfully solve many modern problems associated with increasing the production of food products necessary for a numerically growing humanity, the conservation of rapidly disappearing species of living organisms, a number of problems associated with the daunting task of transitioning to managing the evolutionary development of an ever larger and more types. Not far off is the intensive development of the biospheric "floor" of research.

One should not think that biologists in the classical fields - zoology, botany, morphology, physiology, systematics and others - have already done everything. There is still a lot of work here. Did you know that less than half of the organisms inhabiting our planet are scientifically described (accurate descriptions are given and a scientific name is given) - only about 4.5 million species, and according to some calculations, no more than a third or even a quarter of them? Even in our country, located mainly in the temperate climate zone, which is not distinguished by the diversity of organic forms, scientists discover dozens of new species (mainly invertebrates) every year.

But isn’t the research of paleontologists fascinating, who, using scattered remains of fossil organisms, recreate the appearance of long-extinct animals, reconstruct the nature of past eras, and find out the ways of development of the organic world?

And here researchers are waiting for the most interesting finds. How sensational, for example, was the discovery of the oldest pre-nuclear fossils in rocks over 3 billion years old! This means that even then there was life on Earth. No less exciting and full of discoveries is the work of geneticists, zoologists, botanists, biochemists, physiologists, etc.

There are more and more of us, people on Earth, and we want to live better and better. Therefore, the development of society requires more and more raw materials, a variety of products. Hence arises the daunting task of intensifying the entire national economy, including those of its branches that are connected with biology, primarily agriculture, forestry, hunting, and fishing. But not only these industries. In our country, for example, the microbiological industry has been created and is successfully developing - a huge branch of the national economy that provides food and feed (for livestock and poultry, farmed fish, etc.) products, the latest medicines and medical preparations, and even helps to extract various minerals. Another biological branch of the national economy has started and is already bearing its first fruits - biotechnology, based on the use of processes and structures discovered by physicochemical (molecular) biology to create substances and products necessary for mankind. The development of the most important areas of the biological sciences, the expansion of their practical connection with medicine and agriculture is mentioned in the "Basic Directions for the Economic and Social Development of the USSR for 1986-1990 and for the period up to 2000", adopted by the XXVII Congress of the CPSU.

Intensification also means austerity of natural resources, their preservation in the interests of a developing society. A remarkable property of living natural resources is their renewability, the ability to recover as a result of reproduction of living organisms. Therefore, with the intensification of the use of living natural resources, it is possible and necessary to ensure that they serve us indefinitely for a long time. This can be done by organizing a real economic, economical use and maintenance of the living forces of nature. Many scientists are solving these problems. The party and the government pay great attention to all these questions. The Program of the CPSU (new edition) reads: "The Party considers it necessary to strengthen control over the use of natural resources, to expand environmental education of the population more widely."

When the idea of ​​creating this book arose, one of the main tasks set before the team of authors was to tell about the important and interesting features of modern biology, about what has already been achieved in its various fields, and what unresolved problems biologists face. We wanted, without repeating the textbook, but relying on the knowledge provided by the school curriculum in biology, to show what biologists are working on in laboratories and expeditions. The dictionary also contains many essays about outstanding biologists of our country and other countries. It is thanks to the work of our predecessors in science that we have today's knowledge.

A few words about how to read this book. You will often see words in italics in the text. This means that there is a special entry in the dictionary about this concept. An alphabetical index at the end of the book will help you navigate the contents of the dictionary. Be sure to check out the recommended reading list as well.

We hope that the "Encyclopedic Dictionary of a Young Biologist" will help you learn a lot of new and exciting things about wildlife, find answers to your questions, awaken and develop interest in the wonderful science of life - biology.

Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences Alexander Pechen described to Lente.ru the most promising areas of physics and related sciences following the results of the National Blavatnik Award, the largest award for young scientists. Now Pechen is a leading researcher and scientific secretary of the V.A. Steklov of the Russian Academy of Sciences, he was educated at the Faculty of Physics at Moscow State University, worked at Princeton University and became one of the first Russians to receive the Blavatnik Prize in 2009.

main topic

Photo: Jens Kalaene / ZB / Global Look

Photonics explores the possibilities of using light to transmit, store, process information, control micro-objects (cells, macromolecules) and quantum systems (individual atoms). Photonic-based technologies can speed up or make energy less expensive the transmission, storage and processing of information. This is important, for example, for data centers, which are now the largest consumers of energy in the United States. Modulated light and artificially created materials with special optical properties not found in nature are the basis of laser and photochemistry, as well as such interesting things as invisibility cloaks and optical tweezers.

Practical application of photonics

Photo: Tachi Laboratory, the University of Tokyo

Metamaterials are a new class of artificial materials with special optical properties that make it possible to hide objects and make them invisible. Theoretically, such materials were first studied by the Soviet physicist Viktor Veselago.

Currently, active development of such materials is underway. For example, in 2009 physics invisible carpets for infrared light.

Optical tweezers - a tool that allows you to manipulate microscopic objects using laser light, for example, to sort and move individual cells, protein molecules.

The award, founded by Russian-born American billionaire Leonid Blavatnik, is awarded to US-based researchers under the age of 42. The amount - 250 thousand dollars - allows us to consider it a kind of analogue of the Nobel Prize for young scientists. This year's laureates were honored in the United States, and a symposium was held on the most promising scientific trends of our time.

Nominees

The prize is awarded in three categories: "life sciences" (biology, medicine, neurobiology, etc.), "physical and engineering sciences", and "chemistry". In 2015, about 300 nominees were nominated from 147 American institutions and universities. Approximately ten finalists were selected for each of the disciplines. Then one laureate was chosen from each group of finalists. All three of this year's honorees are from the University of California: Edward Chang (University of San Francisco, life sciences), Syed Jafar (University of Irvine, physical sciences), and Christopher Chang (UC Berkeley, chemistry) .

Now in photonics a new approach to the control of quantum systems, that is, individual atoms or molecules, is being formed. (This is the main theme of the scientific works of Alexander Pechenya - approx. "Tapes.ru"). Traditionally, particles are controlled by a variable intensity laser. New methods use the environment for this. In traditional systems, its influence can almost never be eliminated, and it has a devastating effect on atomic and molecular quantum systems. However, now the influence of the external environment is taken into account and used to control these systems.

Control of quantum systems is applied in controlling the rate of chemical reactions using a laser to increase the yield of the desired reaction product and selectively break chemical bonds in complex molecules, isotope separation using lasers or incoherent optical radiation. Quantum control is used both in quantum computing, which is still being studied, and in practice - to increase the speed of magnetic resonance imaging.

Quantum simulators and new materials

Quantum materials can be used in quantum memory devices, to create high-temperature superconductivity, biodiagnostics based on quantum dots, supercapacitors based on laser-induced graphene.

To model biological molecules, crystals, atomic nuclei and other complex systems, it is necessary to calculate the quantum dynamics of a large number of particles, which is absolutely inaccessible to modern computing devices. Quantum simulators are model quantum systems whose parameters can be adjusted to simulate other complex systems of practical interest. In fact, quantum simulators are analog quantum computers.

Medical and Biotechnology

Photo: Robson Fernandjes / Estadao Conteudo / Global Look

In the field of life sciences, scientists pay more attention to the development of telemedicine - the use of telecommunication technologies, such as smartphones, along with various medical sensors for remote diagnosis of diseases without a personal visit to the doctor. It was this direction that was the most prominent among the examples of the commercialization of scientific developments.

However, one of the promising areas of neuroscience is optogenetics, which studies the control of neurons with the help of light pulses. The use of fiber optic light guides and light-sensitive proteins makes it possible to achieve high precision in influencing nerve cells. Through targeted activation and deactivation of various areas of the brain, optogenetics has revolutionized the study of the nervous system in recent years.

Mathematical physics

Modern theoretical models require complex mathematical apparatus. Although the Nobel Prize is not awarded in this discipline, there are lesser known ones, as well as nominations in related fields. For example, Clement Hongler won the 2014 Blavatnik Regional Prize. It is noteworthy that he received his PhD under the guidance of Russian mathematician and Fields Prize winner Stanislav Smirnov. Hongler reported new precise results in the Ising model, a mathematical model used to describe the process of magnetization of materials. The Ising model also serves as the basis for today's largest D-Wave quantum computing devices manufactured by D-Wave Systems. I will make a reservation that there are ongoing discussions about the extent to which these computers should be considered quantum.

Hongler's work is at the intersection of statistical mechanics, probability theory, complex analysis and quantum field theory. He and his co-authors obtained rigorous results of the study of the Ising model, including in such an important area as establishing a connection between the critical Ising model and the conformal field theory of Belavin, Polyakov and Zamolodchikov - a universal theory that serves to describe various critical phenomena in physics, that is, situations when a slight change in some parameter, such as temperature, leads to the most radical changes in the behavior of a physical system.

Also interesting are the directions associated with wandering planets that are not associated with any star, and the creation of new observational instruments that will soon be put into operation to search for and study planets outside the solar system. They will help to significantly expand our knowledge of such planets, explore the chemical composition of their atmospheres, determine the presence of organic matter and look for life there.

Commercialization of research

The current trend is the commercialization of scientific discoveries. At the award event, almost two dozen companies in the field of medical diagnostics, energy storage, data analysis were founded by the award winners. The Harvard Blavatnik Biomedical Accelerator is also developing.

The level of modern science makes it possible to move relatively quickly from fundamental to applied research, and then apply scientific discoveries in commercial products.