The advancement of science is the lot of talented and hardworking people who were not afraid at the time to put forward their own hypothesis, propose a project, invent a new device. Improving, mankind for each millennium has seen many special, interesting and important discoveries in the field of biology. Who are the very people who glorified Russia? Who are these famous biologists?
From antiquity to the 19th century
Famous biologists and their discoveries began to appear long ago. Even in ancient times, when there was not even talk about such a science, people appeared who wanted to comprehend the secrets of the world around them. These are such famous personalities as Aristotle, Pliny, Dioscorides.
Biology as a science began to emerge closer to the 17th century. The systematics of living organisms appeared, such disciplines as microbiology, physiology arose. The anatomy continued to develop: the second circle of blood circulation was discovered, the erythrocytes and spermatozoa of animals were first studied. Famous biologists of that time are William Harvey, A. Levenguk, T. Morgan.
XIX and XX centuries - this is the peak of the emergence of new discoveries that changed the world. The most famous biologists who lived at that time were able to tremendously change the course of development of science. The significance of the 19-20th centuries cannot be overestimated, because the main hypotheses and innovations appeared just at that time, and not only in biology, but also in other areas of science. Probably the most important studies were carried out only thanks to such personalities as Pavlov, Vernadsky, Mechnikov and many other famous biologists of Russia.
Jean Baptiste Lamarck
Born in 1744 in Picardy. He put forward his hypothesis of the evolution of life on earth, for which he was nicknamed the predecessor of Darwin. Lamarck also introduced the term “biology” and laid the foundation for such disciplines as zoology and paleontology of invertebrate animals.
Anthony van Levenguk (1632-1723)
After the death of his father, Levenguk began working as an ordinary glass grinder. A few years later, he became a master in his field, which helped him design his own 200-fold microscope. Using this microscope, Levenguk discovered free-living organisms - bacteria and protists.
Also, the scientist was the first to prove that blood is a liquid with a large number of cells. Red blood cells, red blood cells, were also discovered by Levenguk.
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov
I.P. Pavlov was born in Ryazan in 1849. After graduating from a theological seminary in his hometown, he decided to connect his life with science. The future scientist graduated from the Medical and Surgical Academy, taking over the mastery of the scalpel from the teachers. What successes did the most famous biologists of the 19th century achieve?
Pavlov's research activity was based on the functions of the nervous system. He studied the structure of the brain, the process of transmission of a nerve impulse. Also, the scientist was engaged in research of the digestive system, for which in 1904 he received the Nobel Prize. Until his death, I.P. Pavlov worked as rector of the Institute of Physiology of the Academy of Sciences.
Like all famous biologists, Pavlov spent most of his life on science. About 35 years he was engaged in research, linking the work of the central nervous system with the characteristics of psychological behavior. The scientist became the founder of a new direction in science - the physiology of higher nervous activity. Research has been conducted in laboratories, mental hospitals and animal nurseries. In general, all conditions for normal work were provided by the USSR government itself, since the results of the research helped to take a big step towards a scientific revolution in the field of nervous activity.
Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky
Almost all famous biologists in Russia were outstanding chemists, physicists, and mathematicians. A striking example is V.I. Vernadsky, a great thinker, naturalist, researcher.
Vernadsky was born in 1863 in St. Petersburg. After graduating from the Physics and Mathematics Department of St. Petersburg University, he began to study the properties of radioactive elements, the composition of the earth's crust, and the structure of minerals. His research gave impetus to the foundation of a new discipline - biogeochemistry.
Vernadsky also put forward his hypothesis about the development of the biosphere, according to which all organisms are living matter. Involving radioactive solar energy in the cycle of substances, he combined the living and nonliving into one biological system.
Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov
Famous biologists of the 19th century made many discoveries in the field of human physiology and immunology.
Mechnikov was born in 1845 in the village of Ivanovka, Kharkov province, graduated from school in 1862 and entered the Physics and Mathematics Department of Kharkov University. After graduation, the scientist began his research in the field of invertebrate embryology.
In 1882, Mechnikov meets with Louis Pasteur, who offers him a good job at Pasteur University. Ilya Ilyich worked there for several more years. During this time, he not only made several important discoveries in the field of embryology, but also began to study the phenomenon of phagocytosis. Actually, Mechnikov managed to open it for the first time on the example of white blood cells.
In 1908, the scientist received the Nobel Prize for the development of immunology and medicine. Thanks to his research, these disciplines were able to rise to a new level of development.
Until the end of his life, Mechnikov worked at the University of Paris and died after several heart attacks.
Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov
Famous biologists of Russia can boast of the significance of their discoveries. NI Vavilov was no exception - a microbiologist, botanist, plant physiologist, astronomer and geographer.
Vavilov was born in 1887 in Moscow. From early childhood he was fond of collecting plants, compiling herbariums, studying the properties of chemicals. It is not surprising that his future study place will be the Moscow Agricultural Institute, where he was able to show his talent.
Vavilov’s most important discovery is the law of homologous series, which explains the parallelism in the inheritance of traits of several generations of organisms. The scientist found that in closely related species the same alleles of the same gene are found. This phenomenon is used in breeding to predict the possible properties of plants.
Dmitry Iosifovich Ivanovsky (1864-1920)
Famous biologists worked not only in the field of botany, anatomy, physiology, but also promoted new disciplines. For example, D.I. Ivanovsky contributed to the development of virology.
Ivanovsky graduated from St. Petersburg University in 1888 at the Department of Botany. Under the guidance of talented teachers, he studied plant physiology and microbiology, which enabled him to find the source material for his future discovery.
Dmitry Iosifovich conducted his research on tobacco. He noted that the causative agent of tobacco mosaic is not visible in the most powerful microscope and does not grow on ordinary nutrient media. A little later, he concluded that there are organisms of non-cellular origin, which cause similar diseases. Ivanovsky called them viruses, and since then the foundation was laid for such a branch of biology as virology, which could not be achieved by other famous biologists of the world.
Conclusion
This is not a complete list of scientists who were able to glorify Russia with their research. Famous biologists and their discoveries gave impetus to the qualitative development of science. Therefore, we can rightly call the 19-20th century the peak of scientific activity, the time of great discoveries.