304 politics vatedmorethan35,000differentkindsofwheat,forexample, andshownthatcivilizationdependeduponfoodplantsthat camefromSouthwesternAsiaandEthiopia. Aworldmeetingofgeneticistswasscheduledtomeetin Moscowin1937.Then,accordingtoRobertSimpsonwriting intheSaturdayReviewofLiterature,theinvitationwassuddenlywithdrawn.TheEnglishman,P.C.Koler,writingin Science, reportsthatnoRussiangeneticistsatendedtheSixth InternationalCongressofGeneticswhichwasheldinEdin- burghin1939,eventhoughalargedelegationwasexpected toatend.AndevenafterWorldWarII,Russiangeneticists didnotattendtheLondonConferenceonGenetics.Andthis inspiteofthefactthatVavilovhadbeenelected, inabsentia, presidentofthe1939congress. Somuchisagreedbyalauthorities.Butwhathasbeengo- ingoninRussiangeneticshasonlybeenunderstoodbypiecemealinterpretation.Mosely,forexample,reportsastruggle betweenthefolowersofVavilovandthefolowersof a youngermannamedLysenko.Earlyin1936Lysenkoopened thebattleagainstVavilovbyatackingthegeneticistA.S. Serebrovsky.By1937LysenkohaddenouncedVavilovhim- self.Thechargesflewfastoncetheywerestarted.ThegeneticistYagolwasarestedin1937asafascistagent.Serebrovsky folowedtheformulabyrecantinghis"counter-revolutionary andunscientific"ideas.InOctober,1937the Bolshevik began toreviewthe"cleansing"ofthe"geneticsfront". ItwasdiscoveredthatthejournalofBiologicalReferencehadbeen editedbythe"fascistagentinSovietbiology,M.Levin". Meantime,Lysenko,althoughhehadreceivedatepidre- prooftowardthebeginningofhiscampaign,advancedrapidly. SimpsonreportsthatLysenkonowheadstheLeninAll-Union AcademyofAgriculturalScience,whichwascreatedforhis specialbenefit.HeisadeputytotheSupremeSoviet,amem- berofthecommissioninvestigatingGermanwarcrimes.He hasreceivedtheOrderofLeninwithitsvaluablemoneyprize. Hisbooksselinthemilions. PartofLysenko'srisehasbeenduetoresearchesonplants thathavebeenreportedtobeofgreatpracticalimportance. Hedevelopedtheprocessofvernalizationoryarovisation whichwasoriginallydiscoveredbytheAmericanJohnM. Klippartabout90yearsago.Bytreatingwheatseedwith moisture,andvaryingtheamountsoflightwhichfellupon it,Lysenkowasabletochangewinterwheattospringwheat, andviceversa.Thetreatmentwithlightwasbaseduponthe workthattwoAmericanbotanists,AlardandGarner,had doneon"longday"and"shortday"plants.TheRussianshave reportedthatvernalizationincreasedwheatyieldscon- siderably.Theysaythatfourorfivecropsofspringwheata yearcanbegrownbyapplyingLysenko'sprinciples.Simpson reportsthatatemptstouseLysenko'sprinciplesoutsidethe SovietUnionhavemetwithlittlesuccess. AnotherstepinLysenko'scampaigncamein1939.Inthe AmericanJournalofHeredityJ.W.Pincusreviewsthere- portofaconferenceheldinearlyMarchinMoscow,onthe subjectofplantbreeding.Lysenkoseemstohavecompletely dominatedtheconference,whichwasreportedunderthetitle of UndertheBannerofDarwin. Lysenkopointedoutthat thereweretwodistincttrendsinRussiangenetics.OnefollowedMendel'stheories,andheldthatenvironmentalcondi- tionsdonotessentialychangeanorganism.TheotherfollowedDarwinandrecognizedthattheenvironmentcould changethenatureoftheorganismandthecharacteristicsit passedontoitsdescendants.AsfarasLysenkoisconcerned, Mendel'slawthatsecondgenerationhybridssegregateina ratioof3to1asfarastheircharacteristicsareconcernedis completelyfalse. Atthisconference,Vavilovpresentedthestandard,worldBfblefddgeefdtgrnaoftheprinciplesofheredityas theyhavebeenworkedoutbyDarwin,Mendel,ThomasHunt Morgan,andothers.Hewassupportedbyanotherscientist whopointedoutthatallRussianvarietiesofwheathadbeen developedbytheseacceptedmethods.Buthiscauseandthe causeofwhatisgeneralyconsideredworldsciencewasal- readydefeatedbeforetheconferencebegan. Lysenkos' associate,Prezent,wasquicktoatackVavilov's ideas.HeridiculedtheMendeliantheoryas"Threelikemama andonelikepapa,orthreelikepapaandonelikemama." Prezentconcludedthedebatebypointingoutthattherewere twoAmericas.Theyarethe"Americaofthedrosophilist MorganandtheAmericaoftheCreatorofVarieties—Burbank.WhileVavilovisfortheAmericaofMorgan,we,Dar- winists,arefortheAmericaofBurbank." Thereis,ofcourse,onlyonetroublewithLysenko'sap- pealtoDarwin.ThereisnothinginDarwinismtoindicate theenvironmentcanpermanentlychangethenatureofthe organism.Onthecontrary,suchideaswereheldbythebiologistLamarck,whoseevolutionarytheorywasoverthrownby Darwin.ThesecondyearstudentinAmericanhighschools canexplainthefalaciesofLamarck'stheories. Lysenkowonthedisputehandsdown.Vavilov,likeso manymilionsintheSovietUnion,simplydisappeared.Vladi- mirC.Asmous,writingaletterintheMarch1,1946issueof Science says,"WenowhavereliableinformationthatVavilov diedinaconcentrationcampinSiberiain1942."(TheRussianshavebeensocontemptuousofworldscientificopinion thattheyhaveseennoneedforeitherconfirmingordenying theAr mepeoric r a t n .) shavehadanopportunitytoexamineLysenko's ideasatfirsthandwiththepublicationofhisbook Heredity andItsVariability. Therearethreereviewsofthisbookbeforemeas I writethis.OneisbyWaldemarKaempffert, scienceeditorofthe NewYork.Times, whofirstbeganwritingabouttheLysenko-Vavilovcontroversyasfarbackas 1939.AnotherisbyL.C.Dunn,ProfessorofZoologyat Columbia,ChairmanoftheAmericanSovietScienceSociety whowritesin Science. ThelastisbyRobertSimpsoninthe SaturdayReviewofLiterature.Allthreereviewsareincom- pleteagreement;Lysenkorunscompletelycountertoall knownfactsaboutbreeding. KaempffertpointsoutthatLysenkoderiveshisideasfrom Mitchurin"asortofBurbank."ItwasMitchurinwhom Lysenkoquotesashavinginventedtheterm"pealaw"for Mendelianscience.MoreinsorowthaninangerDunnpoints outthatLysenkoisasortof"biologicalfundamentalist." Thisisputtingitmildly.Scientistsbelievethatnomatter howwithafewexceptions,suchasX-raysandthedrug colchicine--anorganismisaffectedbytheenvironment,the ofspringoftheorganismwillnotbeafected.Nomatterhow manygenerationsofratshavetheirtailscutoff,thestubborn ofspringmaketheirbowintotheworldequippedwithtails. Russiangeneticistsholdthatthissadstateofaffairsmustbe combatted;itdemands,toquoteoneofLysenko'schapter headings,"TheLiquidationoftheConservatismoftheNa- tureofOrganisms." WhatexplanationisthereforLysenko?Afewsolutions maybesuggested;inthefirstplaceheisanidealcitizenof asocietythathasacompletecontemptfortheoryinfavorof practicalresults.LysenkoasaDarwinistisjustasplausible andconsistentasHitlerasapractisingmemberoftheChas- sidim.ButRussianleaders,Russiantheoreticians,wouldbe perfectlywilingtoteachthatthemoonwasmadeofgreen cheeseif itwouldaddfivebushelstotheaverageannualyield ofwheatperacre.Oncethestateapparatusisundertightcon- trolanyideacanbemadetobebelieved.Whichmakespathetic andnaiveDunn'sremarkthatLysenkorepresentsa"smal
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