i oe Science of biology in the
ft poe Union has been in
bing throes of a free-wheel-
a far-reaching discussion
ae y, reflected by a host of
"ticles in the press, ©

= peest a partial summation
eatin ached at recent annual
W Sciennes of the Academy of
) 4, 1Ces of the USSR and the

) 4 dion Lenin Acad
. Agricultural Sciences. hess

eat, former took a series of
3 inorye. designed radically to
Tee Study and research in
® With a the science dealing
® heredit anges (mutations) and
D The a of living organisms.
® iden ter elected a new pres-
and vice-president.

: In addition, Academician Tro-

rl te. was relieved of his

8 Cultura S$ director of the agri-

Beneticg academy’s institute of

~ the Rens not elected to
€my’s presidium.

- TL ie

tr a erartitific debate has cen-
iS the Lysenko. Critics claim
ries, which came into

Promj
eee and were encour-
Stalin Ting the period of the

held i Personality cult, have

tics, sa development of gene-

fs 1S, the
Sbecific, y say, has most
evelopmereared agricultural

aos theories hold that
~ and on fer estics in plants

as a als are acquired main-

and that result of environment
teristicg eh acquired charac-
Nounced re hereditary. He de-
Ourgeoig reactionary and
aan €ories which looked

Cell to Rid properties of the
sible for heredity factors respon-
the § joPPonents do not deny
Tole, the of environment — a
2 COnside Y say, which must be

Mag
SCience, €d in any branch of

Bu

_ has ey assert that research
dence ‘ uced convincing evi-

ae ® show that the main

WHY SOVIET BIOLOGIST LYSENKO

WILLIAM DEVINE, Tribune staff
correspondent in Moscow, tells
the story behind the lively and
free-wheeling debate among
Soviet biologists that had its ori-
gin back in the days of Stalin cult.

principles governing mutations
and heredity are in fact to be
found in the chromosomes of
the cell. (The chromosomes con-
tain the genes, said to be the
hereditary factor transmitted

- from generation to generation.)

Two methods have been used
to effect changes in the cell,
which then become hereditary.
The first is through ionizing ra-
diation. The-second involves the
transference of a chemical sub-
stance — found in all chromo-
somes — from one cell to an-
other. This chemical substance,
called desoxyribonucleic | acid
(DNA) and discovered some 20
years ago, controls hereditary
changes.

According to biologist S. Alik-
hanyan the discovery of DNA
laid a new foundation for the
development of genetics, involv-
ing research on the molecular
level. Today, he writes, the. iso-
lation of pure DNA and its
transfer from one organism to
another, to give the second the
properties of the first, presents
no difficulties. The new proper-
ties become hereditary.

Application of new genetic
methods, writes D. Belyayev,
has resulted in successful test-
ing and growing of high-yield-
ing varieties of wheat, with
lodging resistance and high res-
ponse to fertilizers. Tomatoes
which ripen two weeks earlier
than usual, as well as high-
yielding, early-ripening and late-
blight-resistant potatoes have
been grown.

er
Petime t

SUnfio:

=
the yoboratory workers E, Ambartsumyan (left) and K. Eliazyan, es
evan Agricultural Institute in Soviet Armenia, conducting eXx-

sae on a new herbicide used for killing weeds on sugar beet,
5 cotton and tomato plantations.

Belyayev is director of - the
Institute of Cytology and Gen-
etics of the Siberian branch of
the USSR Academy of Sciences.

Nothing in these methods,
declares Belyayev, in any way
belittles the significance of
selection (sorting out of new
strains) or hybridization (cross-
breeding). On the contrary the
new genetic methods comple-
ment the process of hybridiza-
tion, and allow the selector ac-

TROFIM LYSENKO
His theories denounced %

tively to influence heredity in-
stead of having to wait for
bounties from nature.

Biologist V. Efroimson states
that in the mid-1930’s Lysen-
ko’s unfounded theories collided
with a most important discov-
ery in practical agriculture —
hybrid corn. Although its suc-

‘cess was demonstrated in the

United States in 1940, this
genetic method was not in favor
in the USSR.

Until 1955, says Efroimson,
losses incurred in the Soviet
Union through not using inter-
lineal hybrids were not very
great. But after 1955, when vast
areas were sown to corn, they
became enormous. .

Academician A. Sokolov has
asserted that a disdainful at-
titude toward soil science has
led to many miscalculations in
cultivation of virgin and long-
fallow lands.

An article in Komsomolskaya
Pravda told how, following the

advice of Lysenko-oriented offi-.

cials, winter rye had been plant-
ed on stubble in a drought area
in 1962. The results were disas-

WAS RELIEVED OF HIS DUTIES

trous and in one area the harv-
est did not even recover the
seed sown. Drought might have
been a factor, but last year’s
harvest on an_ experimental
farm also showed bad results.

It seems the two main blows
against Lysenko’s theories have
been the development of mole-
cular biology and the failure of
his theories in practise.

These theories, however, had
been continued by administra-
tive rebuff of new ideas. In his
report to the annual meeting of
the Academy of Sciences, Presi-
dent Mstislav Keldysh referred
to the 1948 meeting of the agri-
cultural academy at which, he

said, highly important achieve-.

ments of genetics were denied.

In subsequent years, he con-
tinued, purely administrative
measures were used to estab-
lish wrong views. Some scient-
ists were removed, the themes
of scientific institutions were
restricted and major achieve-
ments of science were deleted
from school curricula.

On the Lysenko views them-
selves, biologist Belyayev seems
to have summed up the feelings
of many in writing that nothing
can be more erroneous than as-
sertions that genetics is a bour-
geois pseudo-science, idealism,
metaphysics, etc.

“The science that studies ma-
terial structures, phenomena
and processes, establishes the
laws that govern them, and
applies them in practise, can be
neither idealistic nor metaphy-
sic,” he stated.

Also echoing the sentiments

‘of many, Belyayev further de-

clared: “The very first steps in
the development of genetics
have demonstrated its great im-
portance for the confirmation of
Darwinism, which is the only
materialistic theory of the evo-
lution of the organic world.
Currently genetics has produced
the most convincing proofs re-
affirming all basic: propositions
of Darwinism.”

At its meeting the Academy
of Sciences set up commissions
to revise the curricula and man-
uals on biology, and decisions
were taken to establish an in-
stitute of general genetics, la-
boratories, a journal and society
of geneticists and selectionists.

In his speech to the agricul-
tural academy, the newly-elec-
ted president, Academician Pavel
Lobanov, told that body’s meet-
ing that the main need was to
apply widely the achievements
of science in practical farming.

Keldysh indicated, however,
that the future would not re-
peat the mistakes of thé past.
In criticizing Lysenko, he said,
and in ending his “exclusive po-
sition,” it would be wrong to
deny everything he has done,

Brigade leaders Klavdia Moi-
senya (left) and Lyubov Demuk
on a collective farm in the Minsk
district of the Byelorussion Re-
public.

including his theory of the de-
velopment of vegetation by
stages. This, said Keldysh, is
considered important by some
scientists.

And Keldysh set this note
for the development of the de-
bate:

“Proposals advanced must be
subjected to free discussion and
normal verification. If we cre-
ate in biology, too, the same
normal scientific atmosphere as
in other spheres, any possibility
will be excluded of repeating
such a wrong state of affairs as
we witnessed in the past.”

Bohumil Stephan (Prague)

March 12, 1965—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 7

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