Ivan Vladimirovich Michurin- a great biologist and breeder, lived and worked in the 19th and 20th centuries. He developed many new varieties of fruits and berries, and created a whole school of scientists - “Michurintsy”. Michurin came from the family of a small, bankrupt nobleman. It is interesting that the future famous scientist did not graduate from the gymnasium: he was expelled because his relatives refused to bribe the director of the gymnasium. He lived all his life in the Russian city of Kozlov, in the provinces, and worked everywhere. Michurin's outlet all his life was fiddling with the varieties of trees and bushes on his property, breeding plant hybrids. Michurin selected uncrossed varieties and achieved their crossing, and thus the birth of a new species, better for agriculture.
And only at the age of fifty Michurin began to publish his observations in scientific journals. He soon became a celebrity.
“Tens of thousands of experiments have passed through my hands. I grew a lot of new varieties of fruit plants, from which several hundred new varieties were obtained, suitable for cultivation in our gardens...” - he wrote about himself.
Despite the fact that by the time of the revolution Michurin had several state awards, and the Americans offered him to move to the USA and have their own laboratory there with a salary, the Orthodox Church demanded that Michurin abandon his experiments, calling the crossing of plants “a blasphemous thing.” In provincial Kozlov, people were frightened that the varieties were productive, with very tasty fruits, and more resistant to frost and disease than ordinary ones. Shortly before Michurin's death, Kozlov will be renamed Michurinsk.
“If there was such a Michurin in America, they would make him rich,” the Americans wrote about him. Michurin's cherry turned out to be the only cherry that did not freeze in the extreme cold in Canada. The Americans did not have time to lure Michurin to the USA, as well as buy his collection of plants from him, as planned - the revolution began.
Even today we eat apricots, cherries, apples, pears and plums bred by Michurin. His developments were actively used in very distant countries, such as the USA and Canada. Many villages, streets, educational institutions, towns in Russia. In the 30s of the last century, the “Michurin movement” and “schools for young Michurinites” were popular in the country.
Nikolai Vavilov put a lot of work and effort into the Center for Agronomic Research and headed the All-Union Geographical Society. I traveled to many countries studying plants: Iran, USA, India, Afghanistan, England, France, Germany, Holland and others, Arab countries and African countries...
During Stalin's repressions Vavilov was arrested. What kind of crimes were not attributed to him by envious people: statements against the Soviet regime, and a sabotage organization... Three years later, the exhausted Vavilov died in custody, in the Saratov camp. The fact that the state did this to the luminary of its science is a shameful stain in history to this day.
Ivan Pavlov, great Russian biologist and physiologist, was born in Ryazan in the mid-19th century. He developed, through experiments on animals, the doctrine of reflexes. He carefully studied digestion, the nervous system, the heart and blood vessels. His work has great importance for medicine around the world.
Pavlov came from a priest's family, but followed a completely opposite path. He worked in St. Petersburg (then in Leningrad), and became widely famous in the world, famous during his lifetime, and had many honorary titles from various academies around the world. He was officially called “the oldest physiologist in the world”; before that, no biologist (or since) had been awarded such a title.
Ilya Mechnikov - Nobel Prize laureate, microbiologist, physiologist, immunologist of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. He devoted his life to studying the cells of living organisms and worked a lot with microscopes. He founded embryology as the science of embryos of living organisms, and gerontology as the science of aging. He made many important discoveries in the field of immunity for the treatment of people. Mechnikov devoted a lot of time to issues of combating serious diseases and epidemics. For example, plague and tuberculosis, cholera, typhoid fever, syphilis.
Perhaps the life of Ilya Mechnikov played a big role in this. His first wife Lyudmila died of tuberculosis 4 years after the wedding.
Mechnikov, already in adulthood, moved to live in Paris, where he was provided with a laboratory to work. He lived there for about thirty years, but did not break ties with his homeland. During the plague epidemic in Russia, he led a medical relief expedition.
In the article we will talk about Russian biologists. We will look at the most significant names of the discoverers, and also get acquainted with their achievements. From the article you will learn about those Russian biologists who really made a significant contribution to the development of this science. Anyone who is interested in animals and flora, I simply must know the names that we will name below.
Ivan Pavlov
In Soviet times, this scientist did not even need to be introduced. However, in modern world Not every person can say exactly who Ivan Petrovich Pavlov is anymore. The man was born in 1849. His most significant achievement is the creation of a doctrine of the activities of higher nervous system. He also wrote many books on the peculiarities of blood circulation and digestion. This is the first Russian scientist to receive the Nobel Prize for his achievements in studying the mechanisms of digestion.
Experiments on dogs
Ivan Pavlov is a Russian biologist who is famous for conducting experiments on dogs. There are many jokes and cartoons related to this in our country. Moreover, when it comes to instincts, everyone immediately remembers Pavlov’s dog. The scientist began conducting experiments in 1890. He managed to develop conditioned reflexes in animals. For example, he achieved that dogs stood out gastric juice after they heard the sound of the bell, and before this bell was always preceded by a meal. The peculiarity of this scientist’s method is that he saw the relationship between mental and physiological processes. Multiple subsequent studies confirmed its presence.
He published his first work in 1923. In 1926 he began research in the field of genetics. For several years he worked in psychiatric clinics. Ivan Pavlov's discoveries helped to learn a lot about mental illness, as well as possible methods their treatment. Thanks to the support of the USSR government, Pavlov had enough resources to carry out all his experiments, which allowed him to achieve other outstanding results.
Ilya Mechnikov
We continue the list of Russian biologists famous name I. I. Mechnikova. This is a famous microbiologist who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1908. Born in Kharkov in 1845. He studied in the same city. He studied embryology in Italy and defended his doctoral dissertation in 1868. In 1886, together with other scientists, he created a bacteriological station, which at that time was the first in Russia.
He wrote his first books on the topic of zoology and evolutionary embryology. He is the author of the phagocytella theory. He discovered the phenomenon of phagocytosis and developed a theory of comparative pathology of inflammation. He wrote a huge number of works on bacteriology. He conducted experiments on himself, and thus proved that the causative agent of Asian cholera is Vibrio cholerae. Died 1916 in Paris.
Alexander Kovalevsky
List of famous Russian biologist scientists Let's continue with the sensational name of Alexander Kovalevsky. This is a great scientist who was a zoologist. Worked in Imperial Academy Sci. Born in 1842. At first he studied at home, and then entered the corps of railway engineers. After that, he graduated from St. Petersburg University in the department of natural sciences. Defended his master's and doctoral dissertations.
In 1868 he was already a professor of zoology and worked at Kazan University. He spent three years in Algeria and the Red Sea, where he carried out his research. Most of them are devoted to invertebrate embryology. In the 1860s, he conducted research that led to the discovery of germ layers in organisms.
Nikolay Vavilov
It is simply impossible to imagine a list of great Russian biologists without the name Nikolai Vavilov. This man created the doctrine of plant immunity. He also discovered the law on hereditary changes in the body and homologous series. He made a significant contribution to the development of the study of biological species and created a huge collection of seeds of various plants. By the way, it is recognized as the largest in the world.
The future scientist was born in Moscow in 1887 in the family of a merchant. He came from peasant background. For some time he worked as director of his father’s company, which dealt with invoices. Vavilov’s mother was from the artist’s family. In total, there were 7 children in the family, but three of them died at an early age.
Training and achievements
Nikolai Vavilov studied at a commercial school and later entered the Moscow Agricultural Institute, from which he graduated in 1911. After that, he began working at the department of private agriculture. From 1917 he lectured at Saratov University, and 4 years later he was already working in Petrograd. Thanks to his research, he described almost all the plants of the Trans-Volga and Volga regions.
The scientist devoted more than 20 years to the expedition, which he conducted in the Mediterranean and Central Asia. I remembered my trip to Afghanistan in 1924 for a long time. All collected materials helped Vavilov determine not only the origin, but also the distribution of plants. His contribution is simply invaluable, because he greatly simplified the further work of breeders and botanists. It seems incredible, but Nikolai managed to collect more than 300 thousand different samples.
In 1926 he received a prize for his work devoted to the study of immunity, the origin of plants, and the discovery of the law of homological series. Nikolai Vavilov is the owner of a huge number of awards and several medals.
However, there is also a dark spot in his biography. A lot of party ideologists were opposed to the scientist because of the scientific activities of his student T. Lysenko. The opposition campaign was directed against the scientist's research in the field of genetics. In 1940, Vavilov had to complete all scientific work. Moreover, he was accused of sabotage, and he was even arrested. A difficult fate befell this great scientist in his last years. He died in prison from starvation in the foreign city of Saratov in 1943.
Rehabilitation
The investigation lasted more than 10 months, during which the scientist was summoned for questioning more than 400 times. After his death, this great Russian scientist was even denied a separate grave; as a result, he was buried with other prisoners. Only in 1955 was he rehabilitated. All charges regarding his activities were dropped.
Alexander Vereshchak
We have already talked about Russian biologists who received the Nobel Prize, but this does not mean that we should forget about other researchers, because their contribution is also significant. Alexander Vereshchak is a Russian oceanologist, Doctor of Biological Sciences, professor and corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Studied at Moscow State University at the Faculty of Biology. In 1990 he became a Doctor of Science. Since 2007, he headed the laboratory, which belonged to the Institute of Oceanology. This is how we smoothly moved on to considering Russian biologists of the 21st century. The scientist wrote more than 100 scientific works. His main achievements are related to how modern methods of analysis can be applied in the field of geoecology and oceanology.
Conducted more than 20 dives and 200 expeditions. He is the creator of a model of a hydrothermal system. Developed the concept of an ecosystem inhabited by special fauna. Together with collaborators from other countries, he created a methodology that allows one to determine the role of marine nano- and microbiota. Discovered and described more than 50 species of crustaceans.
Gennady Rosenberg
He was born in 1949 in Ufa. In his name we also continue to consider the list of Russian biologists of the 21st century. He planned to become an engineer, but soon headed a laboratory at the Institute of Biology. In 1987 he moved to Tolyatti. He is the creator of a method for analyzing the structure and dynamics of ecosystems. Created his own system of ecology of large regions for analytical purposes.
Yuri Ilyin
The future scientist was born in the winter of 1941 in Asbest. Renowned molecular biologist. He was a specialist in molecular genetics and biology. In 1976, he conducted a study of mobile genes. It is extremely difficult to overestimate its importance, since it significantly advanced all of science. Studied mobile elements of eukaryotes. He is the creator of the theory about the role of mobile genes in carcinogenesis, evolution and mutagenesis.
Zinaida Donets
Other names
It is worth noting that Russian biologists and their discoveries were not always appreciated. There are many researchers who are known only to those who also connected their lives with this science. For example, it is worth mentioning the name of Nikolai Koltsov, a Russian biologist who is considered the founder of experimental biology. He was the first to create a hypothesis about the molecular structure of chromosomes and their matrix reproduction. The discovery was made in 1928. Thus, this outstanding scientist anticipated everything basic provisions modern biology and genetics.
It is impossible not to mention the Russian naturalist Kliment Timiryazev. He was born in 1843. He is the discoverer of the laws of photosynthesis. He discovered and substantiated the process of the influence of light on the formation of organic substances in the layers of a plant.
Sergei Chetverikov is a talented Soviet geneticist, who is rightfully considered one of the founders of population and evolutionary genetics. This is one of the first researchers who found a relationship between the patterns of selection of individuals in a population and the speed of dynamics in evolutionary processes.
Alexander Tikhomirov is a Russian scientist who discovered artificial parthenogenesis. But this phenomenon is considered the most important section of the doctrine of the individual development of a living being. He made a great contribution to the development of sericulture in our country.
So we briefly reviewed information about Russian biologists and their discoveries. However, I would also like to mention a few names that very few people know about.
It is worth mentioning Ivan Gmelin, a participant in the Great Northern Expedition and a naturalist. The scientist is an academic researcher of Siberia, ethnographer and botanist. Described more than 500 plant species of Siberia. I covered more than 34,000 km there. He wrote a voluminous work on the flora of the region.
Nikolai Turchaninov is the first scientist who described the fauna of Transbaikalia and the Baikal region. He collected a huge private herbarium. He described more than 2000 plant species from all over the world. He is the most significant researcher of Asian flora.
It is also worth mentioning the name of Andrei Famintsyn, who is the discoverer of the semiotic nature of lichens. He also discovered the symbiosis of algae and radiolarians. Globally researched artificial lighting for plants.
This is where we will complete our consideration of the biographies of Russian biologists and their discoveries (briefly). We have mentioned all the most significant names, without which it is simply impossible to imagine Russian biology. However, despite this, there are still many scientists whose contribution to the development of this science is simply invaluable. Russian biologists are worthy of attention, because they literally created basic principles modern science and actually laid the first foundations.
Every person should know these names, if only because biology is the science of life itself. Summing up the article, I would like to once again express my respect to Russian biologists, thanks to whom we have the opportunity to study holistic, complex science. Remember that you can and should be proud of these names. Of course, the contributions of scientists from all over the world are important, but we must know and respect our own heroes.
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Russian biologists. Their contribution to science.
Karl Ernst von Baer 1792-1876
In 1828, the first volume of the famous “History of Animal Development” appeared in print. Baer, studying the embryology of the chicken, observed that early stage of development when two parallel ridges are formed on the germ plate, which subsequently interlock and form the brain tube. Baer believed that in the process of development, each new formation arises from a simpler pre-existing basis. Thus, general foundations first appear in the embryo, and from them more and more specialized parts are isolated. This process of gradual movement from the general to the specific is known as differentiation. In 1826, Baer discovered the mammalian egg. He published this discovery in the form of a message addressed to the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, which elected him as its corresponding member. Another very important discovery made by Baer was the discovery of the dorsal chord (notochord), the basis of the internal skeleton of vertebrates.
Nikolai Alekseevich Severtsov 1827-1885
Researcher who described a number of zoological taxa. To indicate authorship, the names of these taxa are accompanied by the designation “Severtzov”. Over the last 6 years of his life, Severtsov published several works: “On the flyways of birds through Turkestan”, on crossbreeds in a group of ducks, a monograph of eagles (for which he collected materials since 1857), and, finally, “Distribution of birds of the Palaearctic region” ( prepared for publication, but remains in the manuscript). In his scientific activity, Severtsov is, firstly, as a traveler-researcher who independently studied a huge area of Central Asia and discovered many new things here that were unknown to him, and secondly, as a scientist: Severtsov, with great talent and breadth of vision, processed a very large, he personally obtained the material and made very general and carefully verified conclusions based on these observations.
Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky 1863-1945
The main work of his life was the doctrine of the Earth's biosphere (1926), which caused intense debate, but has since entered the scientific lexicon of the entire planet. Vernadsky called the biosphere the shell of the Earth where biochemical processes take place. According to Vernadsky, as a result of human activity, the biosphere will move into a new state - the noosphere, that is, the sphere of reason, when people will not only draw resources from it, but also transform it to multiply what they have taken. Vernadsky's works fundamentally changed the scientific worldview of the 20th century.
Ivan Vladimirovich Michurin 1855-1935
Russian biologist and breeder, author of many varieties of fruit and berry crops, Doctor of Biology, Honored Worker of Science and Technology, Honorary Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1935), Academician of the All-Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences (1935). Awarded the Order of St. Anne, 3rd degree (1913), Lenin (1931) and the Red Banner of Labor. Three lifetime editions of collected works.
Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov 1829-1905
Outstanding Russian physiologist and materialist thinker, creator of the physiological school; Honored Ordinary Professor, Corresponding Member for Biological Discharge (1869-1904), Honorary Member (1904) of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. He discovered the phenomena of central inhibition and summation in the nervous system, established the presence of rhythmic bioelectric processes in the central nervous system, and substantiated the importance of metabolic processes in the implementation of excitation. Investigated the respiratory function of the blood. The creator of the objective theory of behavior, laid the foundations of labor physiology, age-related, comparative and evolutionary physiology. Sechenov's works had a great influence on the development of natural science and the theory of knowledge. In addition, he established the law of solubility of gases in aqueous solutions of electrolytes
Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov 1845-1916
Russian and French biologist (zoologist, embryologist, immunologist, physiologist and pathologist). One of the founders of evolutionary embryology, the discoverer of phagocytosis and intracellular digestion, the creator of the comparative pathology of inflammation, the phagocytic theory of immunity, the founder of scientific gerontology. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1908).
Timiryazev Kliment Arkadievich 1843-1920
Russian botanist-physiologist. After graduating from St. Petersburg University he continued scientific activity under hand A. N. Beketova. His main scientific achievement was the experimental and theoretical development of the problem of plant photosynthesis. He expressed a number of theoretical positions on various sections of plant physiology: on water regime, mineral nutrition, etc. Timiryazev’s name was given to the former Petrovsky Agricultural Academy and the Institute of Plant Physiology in Moscow.
Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov 1887-1943
Russian and Soviet geneticist, botanist, breeder, geographer, academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences, the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences and the All-Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences. President (1929-1935), vice-president (1935-1940) of the All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences, president of the All-Union Geographical Society (1931-1940), founder (1920) and permanent director of the All-Union Institute of Plant Growing until his arrest (1930-1940), director of the Institute of Genetics of the Academy of Sciences USSR (1930-1940), member of the Expeditionary Commission of the USSR Academy of Sciences, member of the board of the USSR People's Commissariat of Agriculture, member of the presidium of the All-Union Association of Oriental Studies. In 1926-1935, a member of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, in 1927-1929 - a member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov 1849-1936
One of the most authoritative scientists in Russia, physiologist, psychologist, creator of the science of higher nervous activity and ideas about the processes of regulation of digestion; founder of the largest Russian physiological school; winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology in 1904 “for his work on the physiology of digestion.”
Until the 19th century, the concept of “biology” did not exist, and those who studied nature were called natural scientists, naturalists. Now these scientists are called the founders of biological sciences. Let us remember who the Russian biologists were (and we will briefly describe their discoveries) who influenced the development of biology as a science and laid the foundation for its new directions.
Vavilov N.I. (1887-1943)
Our biologists and their discoveries are known throughout the world. Among the most famous is Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov, a Soviet botanist, geographer, breeder, and geneticist. Born into a merchant family, he was educated at the Agricultural Institute. For twenty years he led scientific expeditions studying the plant world. He traveled almost all Earth, with the exception of Australia and Antarctica. He collected a unique collection of seeds of various plants.
During his expeditions, the scientist identified centers of origin of cultivated plants. He suggested that there were certain centers of their origin. He made a huge contribution to the study of plant immunity and revealed what made it possible to establish patterns in the evolution of the plant world. In 1940, the botanist was arrested on trumped-up charges of embezzlement. Died in prison, posthumously rehabilitated.
Kovalevsky A.O. (1840-1901)
Among the pioneers, domestic biologists occupy a worthy place. And their discoveries influenced the development of world science. Among the world-famous researchers of invertebrates is Alexander Onufrievich Kovalevsky, embryologist and biologist. He was educated at St. Petersburg University. He studied marine animals and undertook expeditions to the Red, Caspian, Mediterranean and Adriatic seas. Created the Sevastopol marine biological station and for a long time was its director. He made a huge contribution to aquarium husbandry.
Alexander Onufrievich studied embryology and physiology of invertebrates. He was a supporter of Darwinism and studied the mechanisms of evolution. Conducted research in the field of physiology, anatomy and histology of invertebrates. He became one of the founders of evolutionary embryology and histology.
Mechnikov I.I. (1845-1916)
Our biologists and their discoveries were appreciated throughout the world. Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov won the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1908. Mechnikov was born into the family of an officer and received his education at Kharkov University. He discovered intracellular digestion, cellular immunity, and proved, using embryological methods, the common origin of vertebrates and invertebrates.
He worked on issues of evolutionary and comparative embryology and, together with Kovalevsky, became the founder of this scientific direction. Mechnikov's works were of great importance in the fight against infectious diseases, typhoid, tuberculosis, cholera. The scientist was interested in the aging process. He believed that premature death is caused by poisoning with microbial toxins and promoted hygienic methods of control; he assigned a large role to the restoration of intestinal microflora with the help of fermented milk products. The scientist created the Russian school of immunology, microbiology, and pathology.
Pavlov I.P. (1849-1936)
What contribution did domestic biologists and their discoveries make to the study of higher nervous activity? The first Russian Nobel laureate in the field of medicine was Ivan Petrovich Pavlov for his work on the physiology of digestion. The great Russian biologist and physiologist became the creator of the science of higher nervous activity. He introduced the concept of unconditioned and conditioned reflexes.
The scientist came from a family of clergy and himself graduated from the Ryazan Theological Seminary. But in my last year I read a book by I.M. Sechenov about brain reflexes and became interested in biology and medicine. He studied animal physiology at St. Petersburg University. Pavlov, using surgical methods, studied the physiology of digestion in detail for 10 years and received the Nobel Prize for this research. The next area of interest was higher nervous activity, to the study of which he devoted 35 years. He introduced the basic concepts of behavioral science - conditional and non-conditional conditioned reflex yep, reinforcements.
Koltsov N.K. (1872-1940)
We continue the topic “ Domestic biologists and their discoveries." Nikolai Konstantinovich Koltsov - biologist, founder of the school of experimental biology. Born into a family of an accountant. He graduated from Moscow University, where he studied comparative anatomy and embryology and collected scientific material in European laboratories. Organized a laboratory of experimental biology at the Shanyavsky People's University.
He studied the biophysics of the cell, the factors that determine its shape. These works were included in science under the name “Koltsov’s principle.” Koltsov is one of the founders of the first laboratories and the department of experimental biology in Russia. The scientist founded three biological stations. He became the first Russian scientist to use the physicochemical method in biological research.
Timiryazev K.A. (1843-1920)
Domestic biologists and their discoveries in the field of plant physiology contributed to the development of the scientific foundations of agronomy. Timiryazev Kliment Arkadyevich was a naturalist, a researcher of photosynthesis and a promoter of Darwin's ideas. The scientist came from a noble family and graduated from St. Petersburg University.
Timiryazev studied plant nutrition, photosynthesis, and drought resistance. The scientist was engaged not only in pure science, but also attached great importance to the practical application of research. He was in charge of an experimental field where he tested various fertilizers and recorded their effect on the crop. Thanks to this research, agriculture has made significant progress along the path of intensification.
Michurin I.V. (1855-1935)
Russian biologists and their discoveries have significantly influenced agriculture and horticulture. Ivan Vladimirovich Michurin - and breeder. His ancestors were small-scale nobles, from whom the scientist adopted an interest in gardening. Also in early childhood he looked after the garden, many of the trees in which were grafted by his father, grandfather and great-grandfather. Michurin began selection work in a rented, neglected estate. During the period of his activity, he developed more than 300 varieties of cultivated plants, including those adapted to the conditions of central Russia.
Tikhomirov A.A. (1850-1931)
Russian biologists and their discoveries helped develop new directions in agriculture. Alexander Andreevich Tikhomirov - biologist, doctor of zoology and rector of Moscow University. He received a law degree at St. Petersburg University, but became interested in biology and received a second degree at Moscow University in the department of natural sciences. The scientist discovered such a phenomenon as artificial parthenogenesis, one of the most important sections in individual development. He made a great contribution to the development of sericulture.
Sechenov I.M. (1829-1905)
The topic “Famous biologists and their discoveries” will be incomplete without mentioning Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov. This is a famous Russian evolutionary biologist, physiologist and educator. Born into a landowner's family, he received his education at the Main Engineering School and Moscow University.
The scientist examined the brain and discovered a center that causes inhibition of the central nervous system and proved the influence of the brain on muscle activity. He wrote the classic work “Reflexes of the Brain,” where he formulated the idea that conscious and unconscious acts are performed in the form of reflexes. He imagined the brain as a computer that controls all life processes. Substantiated the respiratory function of blood. The scientist created the domestic school of physiology.
Ivanovsky D.I. (1864-1920)
The end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries was the time when great Russian biologists worked. And their discoveries (a table of any size could not contain their list) contributed to the development of medicine and biology. Among them is Dmitry Iosifovich Ivanovsky, a physiologist, microbiologist and founder of virology. He was educated at St. Petersburg University. Even during his studies, he showed interest in plant diseases.
The scientist suggested that diseases are caused by tiny bacteria or toxins. The viruses themselves were seen using an electron microscope only 50 years later. It is Ivanovsky who is considered the founder of virology as a science. The scientist studied the process of alcoholic fermentation and the influence of chlorophyll and oxygen on it, as well as soil microbiology.
Chetverikov S.S. (1880-1959)
Russian biologists and their discoveries made a great contribution to the development of genetics. Chetverikov Sergei Sergeevich was born a scientist in the family of a manufacturer, and received his education at Moscow University. This is an outstanding evolutionary geneticist who organized the study of heredity in animal populations. Thanks to these studies, the scientist is considered the founder of evolutionary genetics. He laid the foundation for a new discipline - population genetics.
You have read the article “Famous domestic biologists and their discoveries.” A table of their achievements can be compiled based on the proposed material.
Russian biologists have made a great contribution to world science. In this article we will talk about the main names that every person interested in the animal and plant world should know. Russian biologists, whose biographies and achievements you will become acquainted with, inspire the younger generation to study this interesting science.
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov
This man in Soviet time needed no introduction. However, now not everyone can say that Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (life - 1849-1936) created the doctrine of higher nervous activity. In addition, he wrote a number of works on the physiology of digestion and blood circulation. He was the first Russian scientist to receive the Nobel Prize for his achievements in the field of digestive mechanisms.
Experiments on dogs
Many people remember his experiments on dogs. Countless cartoons and jokes have been created on this topic both in our country and abroad. Every time they talk about instincts, they remember Pavlov’s dog.
Pavlov Ivan Petrovich already in 1890 began conducting experiments on these animals. He used surgical techniques to bring out the ends of the dogs' esophagus. When the animal began to eat, food did not enter the stomach, but gastric juice was still released from the created fistula.
Over time, Pavlov's experiments became more complex. He trained the dogs to respond in a certain way to external stimuli, in particular to a bell that signaled imminent feeding. Thanks to this, the animal developed a conditioned reflex: immediately after the bell, food appears. Even without seeing food, the dogs began to secrete gastric juice from their fistulas.
Features of Pavlov's technique
The peculiarity of Pavlov’s technique was that he connected physiological activity with mental processes. The results of many studies have confirmed the existence of this connection. Pavlov's works, describing the mechanism by which digestion occurs, became the impetus for the emergence of a new direction in science - the physiology of higher nervous activity. Ivan Petrovich devoted more than 35 years of his life to this area.
Origin, training
The future scientist was born in Ryazan on September 14, 1849. His ancestors on the maternal and paternal lines were clergymen who devoted their lives to the Russian Orthodox Church. Pavlov graduated from the Ryazan theological school in 1864, after which he entered the theological seminary of the same city, which he later spoke about with great warmth. When he was in his last year, he read Sechenov’s work “Reflexes of the Brain.” He turned his future life around.
Pavlov's achievements
He published his first work in 1923, and in 1926 the USSR government built a Biological station. Here Pavlov began his research in the field of nervous activity and genetics of behavior of great apes (anthropoids). In addition, he worked in psychiatric clinics.
It should be noted that Pavlov made almost the largest contribution in history in the field of knowledge of how the brain works. The use of the scientific methods of this scientist allowed science to understand a lot about mental illness, as well as to outline ways to treat them. The academician, with the support of the USSR government, had access to the resources necessary for research. This allowed him to make revolutionary discoveries.
Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov
Great Russian biologists of world renown are Ivan Petrovich Pavlov and Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov. We have already talked about the first of them. Let us introduce the reader to the second one.
Mechnikov Ilya Ilyich (years of life - 1845-1916) - a famous Russian microbiologist, as well as a pathologist. In 1908 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology (jointly with P. Ehrlich). Mechnikov received this prestigious award for his achievements in the field of the nature of immunity.
The future scientist was born in a village near Kharkov on May 3, 1845. In 1864, Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov graduated from Kharkov University, after which he interned at the departments of universities in Munich, Göttingen and Giessen. Mechnikov also traveled to Italy, where he studied embryology. He defended his doctoral dissertation in 1868. From 1870 to 1882 the scientist worked in Odessa. Here, at Novorossiysk University, he was a professor of zoology. The scientist successfully combined teaching activities with scientific work. In 1886, together with N.F. Gamaleya, he organized a bacteriological station, the first in Russia. The scientist moved to Paris in 1887, and a year later, at the invitation of L. Pasteur, he began working at his institute, where he headed the laboratory. Since 1905, Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov was the deputy director of this educational institution.
Ilya Ilyich’s first works were written on the topic of zoology of invertebrates (coelenterates and sponges), as well as evolutionary embryology. He belongs to the theory of phagocytella (the origin of multicellular organisms). The scientist discovered the phenomenon of phagocytosis, which is the absorption of living cells and particles by single-celled organisms or phagocytes - special cells, which include, for example, some types of leukocytes. Based on this theory, Mechnikov developed another - comparative pathology of inflammation.
There are many works written by Ilya Ilyich on bacteriology. He conducted experiments on himself, as a result of which he proved that Vibrio cholerae is the causative agent of Asian cholera. Ilya Ilyich died on July 2, 1916 in Paris.
What other Russian biologists are worthy of attention? We invite you to meet one more of them.
Alexander Onufrievich Kovalevsky
This is another great Russian scientist whose name cannot be ignored. Kovalevsky was a zoologist, worked at the Imperial Academy of Sciences as an ordinary academician.
Kovalevsky Alexander Onufrievich was born in 1840, November 19. He received his primary education at home and then continued his studies in the corps of railway engineers. Alexander Onufrievich left there in 1859 and entered St. Petersburg University (department of natural sciences). In the period from 1860 to 1862, Kovalevsky studied with Bronn, Carius and Bunsen in Heidelberg, and then with Leydig, Quenstätt, Luschka and Mohl in Tübingen.
In 1862, Kovalevsky Alexander Onufrievich completed his studies at St. Petersburg University, followed by the defense of his master's and doctoral dissertations. In 1868, Kovalevsky became a professor of zoology. At this time he worked at Kazan University.
The period from 1870 to 1873 includes a trip to Algeria and the Red Sea for scientific purposes. In 1890, after another trip abroad, he was elected a member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, and also received the title of ordinary academician. In 1891, he took the chair of histology at his native St. Petersburg University.
Most of this scientist's work is devoted to embryology, especially invertebrates. His research in the 1860s discovered the germ layers in these organisms. Kovalevsky's research in recent years has been devoted mainly to the identification of phagocytic and excretory organs in invertebrates.
Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov
This man owns the doctrine of the immunity of plants, as well as their origin from world centers. Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov discovered the law on hereditary changes in organisms and on homological series. This man made a great contribution to the study of biological species. He created the most impressive collection of seeds of various cultivated plants in the world. This is another scientist whose name has glorified our country.
Origin of Vavilov
Vavilov Nikolai Ivanovich was born in Moscow on November 25, 1887 in the family of a merchant of the second guild and public figure Vavilov Ivan Ilyich. This man came from a peasant background. Before the revolution of 1917, he worked as director of the Udalov and Vavilov company, which was engaged in manufacturing. Postnikova Alexandra Mikhailovna, the scientist’s mother, was from the family of an artist-carver. In total, Ivan Ilyich’s family had 7 children, but three of them died in childhood.
Study and teaching activities
Nikolai Ivanovich received his primary education at a commercial school, and then began to study at the Moscow Agricultural Institute. He graduated in 1911, after which he remained to work at the institute in the department of private agriculture. Vavilov began lecturing at Saratov University in 1917, and from 1921 he worked in Petrograd. Nikolai Ivanovich headed the All-Union Institute of Plant Growing until 1940. Based on research conducted in 1919-20, he described all cultivated plants of the Volga and Trans-Volga regions.
Vavilov's expeditions
Nikolai Vavilov led expeditions for 20 years (from 1920 to 1940) to study the vegetation of Central Asia, the Mediterranean, etc. With one of them, he visited Afghanistan in 1924. The obtained materials allowed the scientist to determine the origin and distribution of cultivated plants. This greatly facilitated the further work of botanists and breeders. The collection of plants collected by the researcher includes more than 300 thousand specimens. It is stored at VIR.
last years of life
Vavilov received the Lenin Prize in 1926 for his work on immunity, the origin of cultivated plant species, as well as for the law of homological series discovered by him. He received a number of awards and several medals. However, a campaign launched against the scientist was launched by his student T.D. Lysenko and supported by party ideologists. It was directed against research in the field of genetics. In 1940, as a result of this, Vavilov’s scientific activities were terminated. He was accused of sabotage and arrested. The great scientist had a difficult fate in recent years. He died in Saratov prison from hunger in 1943.
Rehabilitation of a scientist
The investigation against him continued for 11 months. During this time, Vavilov was summoned for interrogation more than 400 times. After his death, Nikolai Ivanovich was even denied a separate grave. He was buried along with other prisoners. Vavilov was rehabilitated in 1955, all charges of activities directed against the revolution were dropped. His name was finally restored to the USSR Academy of Sciences.
Alexander Leonidovich Vereshchaka
Modern Russian biologists show great promise. In particular, A.L. Vereshchak, who owns many achievements. He was born in Khimki on July 16, 1965. Vereshchaka is a Russian oceanologist, professor, Doctor of Biological Sciences, and corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
In 1987, he completed his studies at Moscow State University, Faculty of Biology. In 1990, the scientist became a doctor, in 1999 - a professor at MIIGAIK, and since 2007 he has headed a laboratory belonging to the Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, located in Moscow.
Vereshchaka Alexander Leonidovich is a specialist in the field of oceanology and geoecology. He owns about 100 scientific papers. His main achievements are related to the use modern methods in the field of oceanology and geoecology, such as the deep-sea manned vehicles "Mir" (more than 20 dives, 11 expeditions).
Vereshchaka is the creator of a model of a hydrothermal system (three-dimensional). He developed the concept of a boundary ecosystem (benthopeligal), inhabited by a specific fauna and associated with the bottom layer. In collaboration with colleagues from other countries, he created a method for determining the role of marine nano- and microbiota (prokaryotes, archaea and eukaryotes) using modern advances in molecular genetics. He is responsible for the discovery and description of two families of shrimp, as well as more than 50 species and genera of crustaceans.
Rosenberg Gennady Samuilovich
The scientist was born in Ufa in 1949. He began his career as an engineer, but soon began to head a laboratory located at the Institute of Biology of the Bashkir branch of the Academy of Sciences. Gennady Samuilovich Rosenberg moved to Tolyatti in 1987, where he worked as chief researcher at the Institute of Ecology of the Volga Basin. In 1991, the scientist headed this institute.
He is responsible for the development of methods for analyzing the dynamics and structure of ecosystems. He also created a system for analyzing the ecology of large regions.
Ilyin Yuri Viktorovich
This scientist was born in Asbest on December 21, 1941. He is a molecular biologist, and since 1992, an academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences. His achievements are great, so the scientist is worthy of a more detailed story about him.
Yuri Viktorovich Ilyin specializes in molecular genetics and molecular biology. In 1976, the scientist cloned dispersed mobile genes, which are a new type of eukaryotic genes. The significance of this discovery was very great. These were the first mobile genes to be discovered in animals. After this, the scientist began to study mobile elements of eukaryotes. He created a theory about the role of dispersed mobile genes in evolution, mutagenesis and carcinogenesis.
Zinaida Sergeevna Donets
The great biologists of Russia are not only men. It is worth telling about such a scientist as Zinaida Sergeevna Donets. She is a Doctor of Science, professor of zoology and ecology at Yaroslavl State University.
Of course, there are other biological scientists in our country worthy of attention. We talked only about the largest researchers and achievements that are useful to remember.
