Vol 95, No 7 (2025)

The construction of the Nizhne-Zeyskaya hydroelectric power station, the largest of those currently being designed in Russia, is envisaged by the General Scheme for the Placement of Electric Power Facilities until 2042. The article examines the complex of consequences of the construction of this hydroelectric power station and substantiates the conclusion that its construction is inappropriate. The Nizhne-Zeyskoye reservoir will sharply reduce the ecological corridors of the meridional direction that are extremely important for the sustainability of the region’s ecosystems, will entail a decrease in biodiversity, and will significantly reduce the effectiveness of at least four specially protected natural areas. In socio-economic terms, one should expect a very significant depletion of hunting resources for the local population, a reduction in the fish stock – the most valuable commercial fish, sensitive losses of agricultural land – arable land, pastures, hayfields, difficulties with navigation, and a decrease in the recreational value of the territory. The protective anti-flood role of the reservoir will not be significant; the interception of the same volume of flood waters in the region can be ensured at much lower costs and in a shorter time. Currently, the Amur Region does not need additional electricity, but if it is needed for the development of the region, then, as shown in the article, the increase in its production can be ensured by alternative methods – both hydroelectric power plants at other sections of the Amur tributaries, and the construction of nuclear power plants and thermal power plants on natural gas, which are safer ecologically and more efficient economically.

The article is devoted to a relevant topic – the relationship between science and practice in investigative activities. It is noted that in modern conditions, the effectiveness of government agencies in combating crime largely depends on the use of scientific achievements that take into account accumulated experience and the real situation. Specific examples show that the relationship between science and practice can be traced in all areas of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. The changing nature of crimes and the methods of their commission necessitate the development of new scientifically based methods and technologies for collecting, verifying, evaluating and examining evidence, on the basis of which the circumstances of criminal acts are established. The author focuses on fundamental scientific research conducted with the participation of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the experience of cooperation with its scientific institutes.

The article is based on the materials of the report that the author presented at a meeting of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences on March 18, 2025.

The objective of the work is a retrospective and prognostic assessment of thermal and ice characteristics of lakes in the permafrost zone of the Russian Federation based on satellite information and mathematical modeling. The geographic location and area of the lake are determined using satellite images. Using geostatistical dependencies based on the area values of the reservoir, its average depth is found. The obtained value of the average depth is used as a parameter for calculating the thermohydrodynamic characteristics of the lake and its bottom sediments using the one-dimensional thermohydrodynamic model FLake. The ERA5 meteorological reanalysis data are the basis for the retrospective assessment of the reservoir characteristics; the forecast of the consequences of climate change by the end of the 21st century is made on the basis of SSP greenhouse gas emission scenarios into the atmosphere. Retrospective and prognostic calculations of the characteristics of unexplored and poorly studied lakes are performed without additional verification of the model and do not require labor-intensive in-kind measurements in hard-to-reach areas of permafrost. Retrospective (1940–2015) and prognostic (2016–2100) calculations of thermohydrodynamic characteristics of water and bottom sediments for hypothetical lakes located in the centroids of the studied lake regions were performed for 15 main lake regions covering the permafrost zone of Russia. The results of calculations of water mass heating and ice cover formation in lakes in the regions under consideration correspond to modern ideas about global warming in the northern regions of our country.

The article is devoted to the evolution of Chinese immigration to the United States in the past and present. The internal and external factors of the first mass wave of Chinese immigration are defined, the author’s periodization of Chinese immigration to the United States is proposed taking into account social, political and economic factors. The features of Chinese immigration in different periods of time are revealed. On the one hand, the features of the anti-Chinese movement in the United States, on the other hand, the formation of Chinese quarters (Chinatowns) as a response to rejection in the new socio-cultural conditions are revealed. The contribution of Chinese immigrants to the development of the United States is shown, with special attention paid to the role of the Chinese diaspora in the economy, in the development of infrastructure, entrepreneurship and high technology. The modern Chinese diaspora in the United States is characterized, and the features of modern Chinese immigration at the expense of highly qualified specialists and students as a consequence of the Immigration Act of 1990 are conciderd.

The article discusses the development of recombinant protein engineering, primarily artificial proteins or de novo proteins, from the creation of the first proteins with a given spatial structure and biological activity to modern work in this area, which widely uses machine learning and artificial intelligence methods. The use of these methods, in particular the Rozetta and AlphaFold computer platforms, has led to tremendous progress in this area, as evidenced by last year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Currently, these methods should be recommended for use in any modern laboratory conducting work on the physical chemistry of proteins and protein engineering.

The article is based on the author’s report at a scientific session of the Division of Biological Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences on December 10, 2024.

The article is a brief overview of the biography and main scientific achievements of the outstanding Russian scientist, Nobel laureate I.I. Mechnikov. Much attention is paid to the early embryological (zoological) experiments and observations, thanks to which in 1882–1883 Mechnikov discovered the fundamental cellular immune response - phagocytosis, and soon described the main elements of the complex immune system of animals and humans. It is difficult to find another example in the history of science of the unexpected use of the results obtained in the study of the embryonic development of lower animals to describe the mechanisms characteristic of the organism of higher animals and humans. This is an amazing intellectual foresight and generalization based on scientific intuition. I.I. Mechnikov entered the history of science as the organizer and head of the largest international scientific school in immunology, bacteriology, infectious pathology, anthropology and gerontology at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, thanks to which the Institute became one of the largest scientific centers in the world. The article is based on archival sources, including reports of the department headed by Mechnikov at the Pasteur Institute for 1900–1912 and from the personal collection of I.I. Mechnikov (No. 584) in the Archives of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, as well as his publications for 1889–1916 in the journal “Annales de l`Institut Pasteur” and the proceedings of international congresses of that time.