No 9 (2021)

DNA is crucial to life. This molecule rests at the heart of a cell nucleus, stands in between most important metabolic pathways, and provides the basis for genetic information flow. However does it really just rest? Is that big and early invention of evolution limited to the inert function of information storage? To address this we tackle several aspects of DNA structure. Each of them may become crucial when the molecule changes its role — when it serves as a blueprint for copying, a site for precise binding of proteins, or is involved in complex and dynamic interactions with them. We focus on promoters which initiate the process of transcription, i.e. the “rewriting” of DNA into RNA. Our setting is the tiny genome of bacteriophage T7 and its petite, very similar yet very distinct promoters.

The article presents, in chronological order, a brief history of formation and development of the first in Russia and one of the first in the world marine biological station, created in Sevastopol in 1871 by remarkable scientists of our country, and reorganized in 1963 into the Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas (IBSS). Generalization of historical material about Sevastopol Biological Station (SBS)—IBSS allows us to highlight the main stages of the development of the institute. The article reflects the role of leaders and leading scientists in the formation of new directions of fundamental and applied research and their major achievements. The history of formation and development of expeditionary works and research fleet of SBS—IBSS is described. The importance of the accumulated scientific potential for further development of marine research and technologies at the Federal Research Center “A.O.Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS” and other institutions in the south of Russia is shown.

The conducted analysis of the geographical directories and special geographical literature has shown that there is two approximately equally mentioned estimations of the total area of the Peninsula of Kamchatka — 370 and 270 thousand km2. A simple, no time- and effort-consuming method of determination the area by squares or by weighing the cut outs convinces that the measured area of the peninsula is very close to 270 thousand km2 (±2–3 thousand km2). This means that an erroneous estimation of 370 thousand km2 has got inside such authoritative publications as the “Great Soviet Encyclopedia”, various encyclopedic geographical dictionaries, and, consequently, to the new “Great Russian Encyclopedia”.

Poachers, and sometimes people with no respect to the rules of in-a-den hunting, kill a female bear and doom her offspring to death. Practically the best fortune to such cubs is to occur in a circus or a zoo. Is it possible to help orphaned cubs? How to raise a wild bear and to return it to the wild? These questions have long worried zoologists, including V.S.Pazhetnov, who devoted his life to study the behavior and biology of brown bears. This experience allowed him to develop a unique method of raising and rearing bear cubs and to create Orphan Bear Rescue Centre that rehabilitates and reintroduces orphaned brown bear cubs in order to restore their population within the range. Valentin Sergeevich Pazhetnov recently passed away, but his numerous followers, including his wonderful family, are with us.