OCTOBER,1946 SomeNotesonSovietScience MOSTofthesciencenewsfrompresentdayRussiaisas wonderfulasPaulDeKruif'smedicalarticles inReader'sDigest, asfamiliartotheAmericanearasaHearstSun- daySupplementarticle.Theaccentonthrills,ontheincredible,isthesame.Medicalmagicrestoresdeaddogsand deadmentolife.Soldierswoundedinhighlyimportantorgans arebroughtbackbyskiledsurgerytotheirdutiesofincreas- ingthepopulationoftheFatherland.AserumcaledACSis rumoredtobeapotentialcureofcancer,aswellasameans ofnudgingeverycitizenpastthecenturymark.Heartsand othervitalorgansareshufledaroundamongvariousanimals withtheenthusiasticabandonofaschoolboyworkingona fly.Finally,ProfessorKonstantinBykovhasreceivedtheStalin Prize—whichincludesanawardofseveralthousandrubles forconditioningadog'sheartsothatitbeatfasterwhena bugleisblown.Atfirstadrenalinwasinjectedintoadog wheneverheheardthenotesofabugle.Later,theblaring buglealonewouldcausethedog'shearttobeatfasterandhis bloodpressuretorise.Thenextstepseemsobviousenough. ProfessorBykovhasonlytoconditionaSovietcitizeninthe samemanner,substitutingoneofDavidZaslaysky'seditorials forthenotesofthebugle. Anotherimportantaspectofthissuddenfloodofscientific newsoutofRussiaistheenthusiasticreportsofagreatmany leadingBritishandAmericanscientistsonscienceinthe SovietUnion.In1941,accordingtoareportonSovietmedicinerecentlypublishedintheAmericanjournal Science (pub- lishedbytheAmericanAssociationfortheAdvancementof Science)therewere223separateInstitutesformedicalre- searchintheSovietUnion.TheseInstitutesemployed19,000 scientificworkers.Andnowthatthewarisover,thescien- tificbudgetofthegovernmenihasbeenincreased,andnew institutesarebeingcreated,notonlyinmedicine,butin atomicphysics,andmanybranchesofappliedscience.ScientistsinRussiaareawardedprizeswhichbringwiththemtens ofthousandsofrubles.Theyareawardedleadingpolitical positions.Theenthusiasmoftheyoungerworkersisextreme, andvisitingscientificfiremenaregivenheartyreceptions. Suchapublicappreciationofscienceisparticularlydazzling toAmericanscientistswhoareaccustomedtopublichonor onlywhentheyserveasfrontmenforlargecorporationsor constructthemoreuniversalylethalofourwarweapons. Neverthelesstheevidenceindicatesthatscienceinthe SovietUnion,likeallaspectsofSovietculture,ismerelya pistolpointedattheheadoftheenemyofthemoment.Some- timestheenemyisfascism,sometimesthemassiveforcesof Finnishimperialism,andsometimestherigorsoftheRussian climate,whichforbidstheraisingoffivecropsayear. Russiansciencehasalsosuccumbedtotheintensewaveof nationalismwhichhasengulfedRussiaduringandsincethe GreatPatrioticWar.Russianpriorityinmanyscientificfields iscomingtolight,justasthehiddenvirtuesofsuchnature's nobelmenasIvantheTerriblearebeinguncovered.Perhaps therecentreligioustoleranceoftheSovietgovernmenthas madetheRussianpeoplemoresusceptibletoChineseancestor worship.IfwearetobelieveapressreleasefromVOKS( bpulishedbytheUSSRSocietyforCulturalRelationswithFor- eignCountries)whichwasreprintedintheFebruary15th isueof Science, "Fortwocenturies,Russianscholars,in- ventors,engineers,andtalented,self-taughtscientistscreated teleseMutdrimehigifittion."Thereportgoesonto claimthatamongothersthelightningrod,thesearchlight, theelectricmotor,andthetransformerweregiventoanungratefulworldbyRussiangenius.Radiowasthe"inspired invention"ofA.S.Popov,whileradiobroadcastingwasinventedbyM.A.Bonch-Bruevichin1920. AnotherindicationofthefierceatachmentoftheRussiansforanationalpastthattheyarerapidlycreatingfor themselves,iscontainedintheMarch29thissueof Science. J.G.Tolpinwritesaletterwhichannouncesthatthenewly foundedInstituteoftheHistoryofNaturalScienceinthe USSRispreparedtobeginaprogramofpublication.Theonly threehistoricaljournalsMr.Tolpinmentionsbynamearethe projectedHistoryofRussianNaturalScience,Outstanding LeadersofRussianScience,andGreatContributorstoRussianScience. Inspiteofhugebudgetsandaplethoraofjobs,Soviet scientistsareassubjecttooccupationalhazardswhichusual- lyinvolvedisappearancesandsuddendeathasthecharacters inaPunchandJudyshow.Typicalcasesinvolvingmine-run scientistsmaybefoundinanarticlewhichPhilipE.Mosely wrotefortheNovember,1938issueofthe Annalsofthe AmericanAcademyofPoliticalandSocialScience.Inethnography,forexample,Prigozhinwasthe"leaderofaterror- istband."AnethnographernamedZeleninwasdenounced forhavingabookpublishedinpre-HitlerGermany.Bogayev- skyhad"attributedclassantagonismstoCretansociety, whichMarxismclassifiedasapre-classsociety."Nikolsky, Tolstov,andMeshchaninov"underestimatedthedurationof tribalsocietyinthehistoryofmankind."AndMotorin, Busygin,andanonymousothersweredenouncedforhaving atemptedto"liquidateethnographyasascience." OneofthemostremarkablyfavorablepressesofallSoviet scientificachievementshasbeenreceivedbyAlexanderA. Bogomoletz,thenotedSovietstudentoflongevitywhodied inJulyofthisyearattheageof65.Hewasregardedasthe discovererofthemagicalACSwhichhasbeenvariouslyreportedasabletokeepthebodytissuesfromgrowingold, helpingpreventcancerandinfections,andhastensthehealing ofinjuriestothebodytissues.ButasAntonJ.Carlson,noted physiologistandlastyear'sheadoftheAmericanAssociationfortheAdvancementofSciencehassaid,"alltheclaims forthisserumarestillontrial."Carlson,inareviewof Bogomoletz'book, TheProlongationofLife, intheJuly21 issueofthe ChicagoSun hasfurtheraccusedBogomoletzof manycontradictionsinhistheoryandplaceshiminthelong lineofSlaviclife-extenderswhichincludes.Metchnikofof Bulgarianbuttermilkfame,andVoronoffandhismonkey testicles.AndoneskepticalAmericanstudentoftheRussian scenehassuggestedthatBogomoletzwasnotasinterestedin prolonginghumanlifeingeneral,ashewasindiscoveringa wayinwhichthelifeofoneman,JosefStalin,couldbe prolonged. CaseHistory:TheGeneticsRow Since1936,Russiangeneticshasbeeninthethroesofone longtheoreticalconvulsion,aconvulsionwhichbyandlarge hasbeenhiddenfrombourgeoiseyes.Therewasatimewhen Russiangeneticistsattendedinternationalcongressesoftheir felows.ScientistsadmitedthatVavilov,theleadingRussian geneticist,wasafigureofworldimportanceforhisresearches intotheoriginanddevelopmentoffoodplants.Hehadculti-
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