DNA, Lysenko and the Institute of Biophysics

Igor Abdrakhmanov
University of Hamburg, Dept of Mathematics

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     Last modified: June 15, 2005
     Presentation date: 07/15/2005 9:00 AM in ROZH 105
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Abstract
Lyssenko and the fight against him rank among the most famous chapters in the history of modern biology. They are examples of cheating in science and the danger of ideological influence on science.
Although many crucial fields of biology were officially almost illegal, the field of molecular biology underwent quick development. The reasons are well known:
1) The strong support of biology from nuclear physicists.
2) The acute need for radiobiological research.
3) Competition with the USA in the field of biological weapons.
Each of these reasons are related to the Cold War. Most sources, in secret institutions, are still closed to researchers. An exception is the Institute of Biophysics, founded in 1952 in Moscow, which is open for study. It is my contention that the Institute of Biophysics played an important role in the development of molecular biology in the 1950s. However, it is still almost untouched by historians of science. Studying the Institute of Biophysics could illuminate not only new aspects of the history of molecular biology, but also the socio-cultural situation of the 1950-1960s in the Soviet Union.