Nikolai Vavilov was one of Russia’s leading experts on plant genetics, recognised worldwide for his work in botany. This passion for plants initially drew him to Trofim Lysenko, an “average man” who claimed to be able to double Russia’s crop yields; however, after discovering that Lysenko’s results could not be replicated, he turned on him. Vavilov’s refusal to renounce “western” Mendelian genetics and opposition to the Stalin-appointed Lysenko landed him in prison in a sham investigation, where he would die of systematic malnutrition during World War II. Read full article here
Science
‘Ghostly’ neutrinos provide new path to study protons
In groundbreaking research, an international collaboration of scientists from the University of Rochester have used a beam of neutrinos to measure the size and shape of the protons that make up the nuclei of atoms. This feat, once thought impossible, provides scientists with a new way of looking at the small components of an atom’s nucleus and opens up a wealth of new information about the structure of an atom’s nucleus and the dynamics of the forces that affect neutrino interactions. The researchers solved the challenge of harnessing neutrinos in large numbers by using a neutrino detector containing a target of both hydrogen and carbon atoms, and over nine years of data collection at Fermilab’s accelerator. Read full article here
Merv
March 25, 2023
