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на почтамте состоялось спецгашение почтовой корреспонденции, что вызвало даже некий ажиотаж среди жителей Палласовки. Штемпель «П.С. Паллас. 270 лет со дня рождения» (рис. 2) по инициативе оргкомитета и заказу Волгоградского филиала ФГУП «Почта России» был изготовлен в Москве по дизайн-макету упомянутого выше художника Павла Злобина. Как сообщалось в пресс-релизе Почты России, спецгашение почтовых марок и конвертов производилось только в Палласовке и только один день, что повышает их коллекционное значение.
Russian-French Links in Biology and Medicine
Liva Pormale
University of Picardie, Amiens, France; livapo@hotmail.fr
The colloquium “Russian-French Links in Biology and Medicine” was conjointly organized by two institutions — St. Petersburg Branch of the Institute for the History of Science and Technology RAS and Centre National de Recherche Scientifique5 (CNRS, France), and was funded by the project of GDRI (International Research Group on the history of the Franco-Russian relations in neuroscience). The organizing committee was chaired by Jean-Gael Barbara, Jean-Claude Dupont, Eduard Kolchinsky, and Sergei Inge-Vechtomov. Marina Loskutova acted as an academic secretary of the organizing committee. Hosted at the St. Petersburg Scientific Centre on the 13th—14th of September 2011, the colloquium reunited not only Russian and French scientists, historians and philosophers of science representing various universities and institutions, but also participants from the USA and the UK. The colloquium had five working sessions covering a wide range of subjects on the Russian-French links in biology and medicine ranging from the early 19th until the late 20th centuries. This meeting was a continuation of a four year project (2009-2012) of CNRS GDRI. The previous colloquium of the project was held in Paris at the Collège de France on the 15 th—16th of September 20106.
An introduction was made by Eduard Kolchinsky and Jean-Claude Dupont on the theme of the meeting and the advancement of the work of GDRI. Afterwards, Jean-Claude Dupont (University of Picardie, Amiens, France) discussed some neurological interactions offin de siècle among Russia, France, and Germany. The main point of Dupont’s paper was that besides German input on Russian medical thought in the 19th century, the contacts between French and Russian scientists were decisive on the formation of Russian neurological and psychiatric schools, represented by Alexis Kozhevnikov (1836—1902) and Vladimir Bekhterev (1857—1927) both of them being J.-M. Charcot’s students in Paris. The example of Korsakov’s syndrome illustrates the narrow relations of the Russian neurology with the rest of Europe. Liva Pormale (Université de Picardie) analyzed the German vs. French influence in embryology and nervous research in the first half of the 19th century at the Faculty of Medicine of Dorpat (nowadays Tartu). Céline Cherici (University of Picardie) examined the history of electroencephalography in Russian-
French context. The first improved electroencephalogram (EEG) on dog’s brain was recorded by the physiologist Vladimir Pravdich-Neminsky (1879—1952) in 1913. Pravdich-Neminsky was followed by other scientists on an international level. By the late 1930s and especially after the WWII the electroencephalography started to develop actively in Marseille and Paris. C. Chérici’s presentation was aimed to show the development of EEG concerning the brain activity and mental mechanisms. Yuri Golikov and Victor Klimenko from the Russian Academy of Medical Science (Research Institute for Experimental Medicine — RIEM) gave an update on the cooperation between the RIEM and French scientists (R. Dantzer). Financed by INTAS7 and the International Scientific Foundation, V. Klimenko took part in the study of proinflammatory cytokines’ influence on the functions of the central nervous system (St. Petersburg).
Elena Biryukova (Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology — IHNAN, Moscow) presented the Russian-French collaboration in space medicine: the BION space program (1973—1997). The program included eleven biosatellites BION and several other biological satellites (Cosmos) carrying various specimens (primates, reptiles, rodents) and samples of cells, plants, and insects. François Clarac (CNRS, Marseille) retraced the history of nervous automatisms and its relation to the notion of the central pattern generator (CPG). The first physiological proof of an automatic activity was discovered in relation to respiration as early as in the 18th century. During the 19th and the 20th centuries, more automatisms have been described, including very complicated motor activities (locomotion). Jean Massion (CNRS, Marseille) gave an insight into some sensorimotor concepts in the teaching of Alfred Vulpian (1826—1887). Vulpian noticed that the sensory nociceptive stimuli could provoke motor acts (such as scratch reflex) or ‘movements’. These ‘movements’ could be triggered by various effectors, and were susceptible to adaptation and ‘improvement’ by practice or training. Marat Ioffe from the IHNAN (Moscow) gave an account on the studies of Nicolai Bernstein (1896—1966) associated to movement automation. One of the main contributions of Bernstein to the understanding of a movement automation is related to a description of its mechanism which involves several technical components. Different control levels are in charge of these components during automation: the ‘conscious’ level is replaced by lower levels and the basic component remains under the cortical control.
Anastasia Fedotova (St. Petersburg Branch of IHST) presented a paper on a ‘veterinary’ research trip to Paris of the Russian soil scientist Pavel Kostychev (1845—1895). A. Fedotova’s presentation was based on archival documents and aimed to explain how Kostychev’s work on the anthrax vaccine became relevant to his soil studies. Lloyd Ackert from the Drexel University (USA) portrayed the last period in the career of the Russian microbiologist and soil scientist Sergei Winogradsky (1856—1953). In 1922, Winogradsky accepted a leading position at the Pasteur Institute’s experimental station at Brie-Compte-Robert in France. This period in Winogradsky’s career was significant by return to his previous research on nitrification and by adapting the ‘cycle of life’ theory to a broader vision, i.e., ecology. Sergey Fokin (St. Petersburg State University, University of Piza) reviewed the connection with France of two Russian scientists — Sergey Metalnikov (1870—1946) and Konstantin Davydov (1877—1960). In 1919, Metalnikov installed in Paris and started to work at the Pasteur Institute; he contributed to the advance of psychoneuroimmunology. Davydov was already an established scientist in comparative embryology before he settled in France after 1922. Among Davydov’s publications, one should stress the Manual in Comparative Embryology of Invertebrates (1928) and a number of treatises in French that appeared in the Traité de zoologie (1948—1959).
Colloquium participants at the St. Petersburg Scientific Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Photo by Nadezhda Slepkova
Irina Sirotkina (IHST, Moscow) introduced the audience with the less known biographic and professional details of the French-born Russian physiologist and chemist Victor Henri (1872—1940). Tatiana Kursanova (IHST, Moscow) showed the link between the Russian botanist and geneticist Nikolay Vavilov (1887—1943) and the French plant breeders. French colonies and plant breeding school represented a great value for Valivov since he was responsible for the coordination of the selection stations and experimental fields all across Russia. Galina Zhouravleva (St. Petersburg State University) stressed some major successes in French-Russian cooperation to study the regulation of protein synthesis involving the genes SUP45 and SUP35. The collaboration began in 1992 with the University of Rennes 1 (Prof. M. Philippe) and during this leap of time several young scientists from both sides have participated at the project and three doctoral dissertations have been defended. Nadezhda Slepkova (Zoological Institute, St. Petersburg) reviewed the main directions of scientific contacts between the Zoological Institute and the French zoologists from 1950 to 1986.
Eduard Kolchinsky explored the reception of the main French catastrophism theoreticians (Georges Cuvier (1769—1832) and others) in Russian-speaking space, and their influence on the development of neo-catastrophism movement in Russia in the early 20th century. Stéphane Tirard from the University of Nantes (France) analyzed the book of the French biologist Marcel Prenant (1893—1983) Biology and Marxism that was first published in 1936 and repeatedly in 1948. Prenant was asked by the French Communist Party to defend the ideas of the Soviet agronomist Trofim Lysenko (1898—1976). S. Tirard showed how Prenant adapted his own biological discourse to the restraints of the Marxist methodology of science. Mikhail Konashev (St. Petersburg Branch of IHST) examined the reception of the evolutionary theories of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881—1955) and Theodosius Dobzhansky (1900—1975) including such countries as the USSR, the USA, and France.
Colloquium co-chairs Jean-Claude Dupont (left), Eduard Kolchinsky (centre) and academic secretary Marina Loskutova (right). Photo by Nadezhda Slepkova
At the end of the colloquium, Eduard Kolchinsky addressed a final speech in which he expressed his satisfaction about the results and rich discussions of the colloquium that reunited participants alltogether from fourteen universities and institutions. Jean-Claude Dupont thanked E. Kolchinsky and the St. Petersburg organizing team for the cordial reception and expressed contentement about the high scientific level of the colloquium. After the colloquium, a meeting was held in order to determine the future actions of the Franco-Russian cooperation: namely, the publication of colloquium’s materials in a book and the program of GDRI meetings in 2012 which will be held in St. Petersburg and Moscow.
Вехи и перспективы российской геоботаники
Ольга В. Галанина*, Анастасия А. Федотова**
*Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет, Санкт-Петербург, Россия;
ogalanina@gmail.com “Санкт-Петербургский филиал Института истории естествознания и техники им. С.И. Вавилова РАН, Санкт-Петербург, Россия; f.anastasia.spb@gmail.com
