27.09.2022

What does molecular biology study. Molecular biologist. Profession in faces

(Molekular biologe/-biologin)

Type
Profession after graduation
Salary
3667-5623 € per month

Molecular biologists study molecular processes as the basis of all life processes. Based on the results obtained, they develop concepts for the use of biochemical processes, for example in medical research and diagnostics or in biotechnology. In addition, they may be involved in pharmaceutical product manufacturing, product development, quality assurance, or pharmaceutical consulting.

Responsibilities of a Molecular Biologist

Molecular biologists can work in different fields. For example, they concern the use of research results for production in areas such as genetic engineering, protein chemistry or pharmacology (drug discovery). In the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, they facilitate the transfer of newly developed products from research into production, product marketing and user advice.

In scientific research, molecular biologists study the chemical-physical properties of organic compounds, as well as chemical processes (in the field of cellular metabolism) in living organisms and publish the results of research. In institutions of higher learning, they teach students, prepare for lectures and seminars, check written work, and administer examinations. Independent scientific activity is possible only after obtaining a master's and doctoral degree.

Where Do Molecular Biologists Work?

Molecular biologists find work, such as

in research institutes, e.g. in the fields of science and medicine
in higher education institutions
in the chemical-pharmaceutical industry
in departments of environmental protection

Molecular Biologist Salary

The salary level received by Molecular Biologists in Germany is

from 3667€ to 5623€ per month

(according to various statistical offices and employment services in Germany)

Tasks and Responsibilities of a Molecular Biologist in Detail

What is the essence of the profession Molecular Biologist

Molecular biologists study molecular processes as the basis of all life processes. Based on the results obtained, they develop concepts for the use of biochemical processes, for example in medical research and diagnostics or in biotechnology. In addition, they may be involved in pharmaceutical product manufacturing, product development, quality assurance, or pharmaceutical consulting.

Vocation Molecular Biology

Molecular biology or molecular genetics deals with the study of the structure and biosynthesis of nucleic acids and the processes involved in the transmission and realization of this information in the form of proteins. This makes it possible to understand painful disorders of these functions and, possibly, to cure them with the help of gene therapy. There are interfaces for biotechnology and genetic engineering in which simple organisms such as bacteria and yeast are created to make substances of pharmacological or commercial interest available on an industrial scale through targeted mutations.

Theory and Practice of Molecular Biology

The chemical-pharmaceutical industry offers numerous areas of employment for molecular biologists. In industrial settings, they analyze biotransformation processes or develop and improve processes for the microbiological production of active ingredients and pharmaceutical intermediates. In addition, they are involved in the transition of newly developed products from research to production. By performing inspection tasks, they ensure that production facilities, equipment, analytical methods and all steps in the production of sensitive products such as pharmaceuticals always meet the required quality standards. In addition, molecular biologists advise users on the use of new products.

Management positions often require a master's program.

Molecular Biologists in Research and Education

In the field of science and research, molecular biologists deal with topics such as the recognition, transport, folding, and codification of proteins in a cell. The results of research, which are the basis for practical applications in various fields, are published and thus made available to other scientists and students. At conferences and congresses, they discuss and present the results of scientific activities. Molecular biologists give lectures and seminars, supervise scientific work, and administer examinations.

Independent scientific activity requires a master's degree and a doctorate.

A molecular biologist is a medical researcher whose mission is nothing less than saving humanity from dangerous diseases. Among such diseases, for example, oncology, which today has become one of the main causes of death in the world, is only slightly inferior to the leader - cardiovascular diseases. New methods of early diagnosis of oncology, prevention and treatment of cancer are a priority task of modern medicine. Molecular biologists in the field of oncology develop antibodies and recombinant (genetically engineered) proteins for early diagnosis or targeted drug delivery in the body. Specialists in this field use the latest achievements of science and technology to create new organisms and organic substances with a view to their further use in research and clinical activities. Among the methods used by molecular biologists are cloning, transfection, infection, polymerase chain reaction, gene sequencing, and others. One of the companies interested in molecular biologists in Russia is PrimeBioMed LLC. The organization is engaged in the production of antibodies-reagents for the diagnosis of cancer. Such antibodies are mainly used to determine the type of tumor, its origin and malignancy, that is, the ability to metastasize (spread to other parts of the body). Antibodies are applied to thin sections of the examined tissue, after which they bind in cells to certain proteins - markers that are present in tumor cells, but absent in healthy ones and vice versa. Depending on the results of the study, further treatment is prescribed. PrimeBioMed's clients include not only medical, but also scientific institutions, since antibodies can also be used to solve research problems. In such cases, unique antibodies capable of binding to the studied protein can be produced for a specific task by special order. Another promising direction of the company's research is targeted (targeted) delivery of drugs in the body. In this case, antibodies are used as transport: with their help, drugs are delivered directly to the affected organs. Thus, the treatment becomes more effective and has fewer negative consequences for the body than, for example, chemotherapy, which affects not only cancer cells, but also other cells. The profession of a molecular biologist is expected to become more and more in demand in the coming decades: with an increase in the average life expectancy of a person, the number of oncological diseases will increase. Early detection of tumors and innovative methods of treatment with the help of substances obtained by molecular biologists will save lives and improve its quality for a huge number of people.

Basic vocational education

Percentages reflect the distribution of specialists with a certain level of education in the labor market. Key specializations for mastering the profession are marked in green.

Abilities and skills

Ability to handle reagents, samples, must be able to work with small objects
Ability to work with large volumes of information
Ability to work with hands

Interests and preferences

Eagerness to learn something new
Ability to work in multitasking mode (it is necessary to monitor the progress of several reactions and processes at the same time)
Accuracy
Responsibility (you can not leave the work "for tomorrow", as the samples may be damaged)
scrupulousness
industriousness
Mindfulness (it is necessary to monitor microprocesses)

Profession in faces

Maria Shitova

Daria Samoilova

Alexey Grachev

Molecular biology in the field of oncology is a promising professional area, since the fight against cancer is one of the priority tasks of world medicine.

Molecular biologists are in demand in many areas due to the active development of science, biotechnological and innovative enterprises. To date, there is a small shortage of specialists, especially those with some experience in their specialty. Until now, a fairly large number of graduates continue to go to work abroad. Opportunities for effective work in the field of biotechnology in Russia are now beginning to appear, but it is too early to talk about mass character.

The work of a molecular biologist involves the active participation of a specialist in scientific activities, which becomes a mechanism for career advancement. Development in the profession is possible through participation in scientific projects and conferences, perhaps through the development of related fields of knowledge. Also, in the future, academic development is possible from a junior researcher through a senior researcher to a leading researcher, professor and / or head of department / laboratory.

Molecular biology

a science that sets as its task the knowledge of the nature of life phenomena by studying biological objects and systems at a level approaching the molecular level, and in some cases reaching this limit. The ultimate goal in this case is to clarify how and to what extent the characteristic manifestations of life, such as heredity, reproduction of one's own kind, protein biosynthesis, excitability, growth and development, storage and transmission of information, energy transformations, mobility, etc. , are due to the structure, properties and interaction of molecules of biologically important substances, primarily the two main classes of high molecular weight biopolymers (See Biopolymers) - proteins and nucleic acids. A distinctive feature of M. b. - the study of the phenomena of life on inanimate objects or those that are characterized by the most primitive manifestations of life. These are biological formations from the cellular level and below: subcellular organelles, such as isolated cell nuclei, mitochondria, ribosomes, chromosomes, cell membranes; further on - systems that stand on the border of animate and inanimate nature - viruses, including bacteriophages, and ending with the molecules of the most important components of living matter - nucleic acids (See Nucleic acids) and proteins (See Proteins).

M. b. - a new field of natural science, closely related to long-established areas of research, which are covered by biochemistry (See Biochemistry), biophysics (See Biophysics) and bioorganic chemistry (See Bioorganic Chemistry). The distinction here is possible only on the basis of taking into account the methods used and the fundamental nature of the approaches used.

The foundation on which M. developed. was laid by such sciences as genetics, biochemistry, physiology of elementary processes, etc. According to the origins of its development, M. b. inextricably linked with molecular genetics (See Molecular Genetics) , which continues to make up an important part of M. banking, although it has already formed to a large extent into an independent discipline. M.'s isolation. from biochemistry is dictated by the following considerations. The tasks of biochemistry are mainly limited to ascertaining the participation of certain chemical substances in certain biological functions and processes and elucidating the nature of their transformations; the leading value belongs to information about the reactivity and about the main features of the chemical structure, expressed by the usual chemical formula. Thus, in essence, attention is focused on transformations affecting principal-valent chemical bonds. Meanwhile, as was emphasized by L. Pauling , in biological systems and manifestations of vital activity, the main importance should be given not to principal-valent bonds acting within the same molecule, but to various types of bonds that determine intermolecular interactions (electrostatic, van der Waals, hydrogen bonds, etc.).

The end result of a biochemical study can be represented in the form of a system of chemical equations, usually completely exhausted by their representation on a plane, i.e., in two dimensions. A distinctive feature of M. b. is its three-dimensionality. The essence of M. b. M. Perutz sees it in interpreting biological functions in terms of molecular structure. We can say that if before, when studying biological objects, it was necessary to answer the question “what”, that is, what substances are present, and the question “where” - in which tissues and organs, then M. b. makes it his task to get answers to the question “how”, having learned the essence of the role and participation of the entire structure of the molecule, and to the questions “why” and “what for”, having found out, on the one hand, the connections between the properties of the molecule (again, primarily proteins and nucleic acids) and the functions it performs and, on the other hand, the role of such individual functions in the overall complex of manifestations of vital activity.

The mutual arrangement of atoms and their groupings in the general structure of the macromolecule, their spatial relationships acquire a decisive role. This applies to both individual, individual components, and the overall configuration of the molecule as a whole. It is as a result of the emergence of a strictly determined volumetric structure that biopolymer molecules acquire those properties, due to which they are able to serve as the material basis of biological functions. This principle of approach to the study of the living is the most characteristic, typical feature of M. b.

Historical reference. The great importance of studying biological problems at the molecular level was foreseen by I. P. Pavlov , who spoke about the last step in the science of life - the physiology of the living molecule. The very term "M. b." was first used in English. scientists W. Astbury in application to research related to elucidating the relationship between the molecular structure and the physical and biological properties of fibrillar (fibrous) proteins, such as collagen, blood fibrin, or contractile muscle proteins. Widely use the term "M. b." steel since the early 1950s. 20th century

M.'s emergence. as a mature science, it is customary to refer to 1953, when J. Watson and F. Crick in Cambridge (Great Britain) discovered the three-dimensional structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). This made it possible to speak about how the details of this structure determine the biological functions of DNA as a material carrier of hereditary information. In principle, this role of DNA became known somewhat earlier (1944) as a result of the work of the American geneticist O. T. Avery and coworkers (see Molecular Genetics), but it was not known to what extent this function depends on the molecular structure of DNA. This became possible only after the laboratories of W. L. Bragg, J. Bernal, and others developed new principles of X-ray diffraction analysis, which ensured the use of this method for a detailed knowledge of the spatial structure of protein macromolecules and nucleic acids.

Levels of molecular organization. In 1957, J. Kendrew established the three-dimensional structure of Myoglobin a , and in subsequent years, this was done by M. Perutz in relation to Hemoglobin a. Ideas about different levels of spatial organization of macromolecules were formulated. The primary structure is a sequence of individual units (monomers) in the chain of the resulting polymer molecule. For proteins, the monomers are amino acids. , for nucleic acids - Nucleotides. A linear, filamentous molecule of a biopolymer, as a result of the occurrence of hydrogen bonds, has the ability to fit in space in a certain way, for example, in the case of proteins, as shown by L. Pauling, it can take the form of a spiral. This is referred to as a secondary structure. Tertiary structure is said to be when a molecule that has a secondary structure further folds in one way or another, filling three-dimensional space. Finally, molecules that have a three-dimensional structure can enter into interaction, regularly located in space relative to each other and forming what is designated as a quaternary structure; its individual components are commonly referred to as subunits.

The most obvious example of how a molecular three-dimensional structure determines the biological functions of a molecule is DNA. It has the structure of a double helix: two threads running in a mutually opposite direction (antiparallel) are twisted one around the other, forming a double helix with a mutually complementary arrangement of bases, i.e. so that against a certain base of one chain there is always such a the base that best provides the formation of hydrogen bonds: adepine (A) pairs with thymine (T), guanine (G) with cytosine (C). Such a structure creates optimal conditions for the most important biological functions of DNA: the quantitative multiplication of hereditary information in the process of cell division, while maintaining the qualitative invariance of this flow of genetic information. When a cell divides, the strands of the DNA double helix, which serves as a template, or template, unwind and on each of them, under the action of enzymes, a complementary new strand is synthesized. As a result of this, two completely identical daughter molecules are obtained from one parent DNA molecule (see Cell, Mitosis).

Similarly, in the case of hemoglobin, it turned out that its biological function - the ability to reversibly attach oxygen in the lungs and then give it to tissues - is closely related to the features of the three-dimensional structure of hemoglobin and its changes in the process of implementing its physiological role. When binding and dissociating O 2, spatial changes in the conformation of the hemoglobin molecule occur, leading to a change in the affinity of the iron atoms contained in it for oxygen. Changes in the size of the hemoglobin molecule, reminiscent of changes in the volume of the chest during breathing, made it possible to call hemoglobin "molecular lungs".

One of the most important features of living objects is their ability to finely regulate all manifestations of vital activity. M.'s major contribution. scientific discoveries should be considered the discovery of a new, previously unknown regulatory mechanism, referred to as the allosteric effect. It lies in the ability of substances of low molecular weight - the so-called. ligands - to modify the specific biological functions of macromolecules, primarily catalytically acting proteins - enzymes, hemoglobin, receptor proteins involved in the construction of biological membranes (See Biological membranes), in synaptic transmission (see Synapses), etc.

Three biotic streams. In the light of M.'s ideas. the totality of the phenomena of life can be considered as the result of a combination of three flows: the flow of matter, which finds its expression in the phenomena of metabolism, i.e., assimilation and dissimilation; the flow of energy, which is the driving force for all manifestations of life; and the flow of information, penetrating not only the whole variety of processes of development and existence of each organism, but also a continuous series of successive generations. It is the idea of the flow of information, introduced into the doctrine of the living world by the development of biomaterials, that leaves its own specific, unique imprint on it.

The most important achievements of molecular biology. Swiftness, scope and depth of M.'s influence. progress in understanding the fundamental problems of the study of living nature is rightly compared, for example, with the influence of quantum theory on the development of atomic physics. Two intrinsically related conditions determined this revolutionary impact. On the one hand, a decisive role was played by the discovery of the possibility of studying the most important manifestations of vital activity under the simplest conditions, approaching the type of chemical and physical experiments. On the other hand, as a consequence of this circumstance, there was a rapid involvement of a significant number of representatives of the exact sciences - physicists, chemists, crystallographers, and then mathematicians - in the development of biological problems. In their totality, these circumstances determined the unusually rapid pace of development of M. b., the number and significance of its successes, achieved in just two decades. Here is a far from complete list of these achievements: disclosure of the structure and mechanism of the biological function of DNA, all types of RNA and ribosomes (See Ribosomes) , disclosure of the genetic code (See genetic code) ; discovery of reverse transcription (See transcription) , i.e. DNA synthesis on an RNA template; study of the mechanisms of functioning of respiratory pigments; discovery of a three-dimensional structure and its functional role in the action of enzymes (See Enzymes) , the principle of matrix synthesis and mechanisms of protein biosynthesis; disclosure of the structure of viruses (See Viruses) and the mechanisms of their replication, the primary and, in part, the spatial structure of antibodies; isolation of individual genes , chemical and then biological (enzymatic) gene synthesis, including human, outside the cell (in vitro); transfer of genes from one organism to another, including into human cells; the rapidly progressing deciphering of the chemical structure of an increasing number of individual proteins, mainly enzymes, as well as nucleic acids; discovery of the phenomena of "self-assembly" of some biological objects of ever-increasing complexity, starting from nucleic acid molecules and moving on to multicomponent enzymes, viruses, ribosomes, etc.; elucidation of allosteric and other basic principles of regulation of biological functions and processes.

Reductionism and integration. M. b. is the final stage of that direction in the study of living objects, which is designated as "reductionism", i.e., the desire to reduce complex life functions to phenomena occurring at the molecular level and therefore accessible to study by the methods of physics and chemistry. Achieved M. b. successes testify to the effectiveness of this approach. At the same time, it must be taken into account that in natural conditions in a cell, tissue, organ, and the whole organism, we are dealing with systems of increasing complexity. Such systems are formed from lower-level components through their regular integration into wholes, acquiring a structural and functional organization and possessing new properties. Therefore, as the knowledge of patterns available for disclosure at the molecular and adjacent levels is detailed, before M. b. the task of understanding the mechanisms of integration as a line of further development in the study of the phenomena of life arises. The starting point here is the study of the forces of intermolecular interactions - hydrogen bonds, van der Waals, electrostatic forces, etc. By their combination and spatial arrangement, they form what can be designated as "integrative information". It should be considered as one of the main parts of the already mentioned flow of information. In M.'s area. examples of integration can be the phenomena of self-assembly of complex formations from a mixture of their constituent parts. This includes, for example, the formation of multicomponent proteins from their subunits, the formation of viruses from their constituent parts - proteins and nucleic acids, the restoration of the original structure of ribosomes after the separation of their protein and nucleic components, etc. The study of these phenomena is directly related to the knowledge of the main phenomena " recognition” of biopolymer molecules. The point is to find out what combinations of amino acids - in protein molecules or nucleotides - in nucleic acids interact with each other during the processes of association of individual molecules with the formation of complexes of a strictly specific, predetermined composition and structure. These include the processes of formation of complex proteins from their subunits; further, selective interaction between nucleic acid molecules, for example, transport and matrix (in this case, the discovery of the genetic code has significantly expanded our information); finally, this is the formation of many types of structures (for example, ribosomes, viruses, chromosomes), in which both proteins and nucleic acids participate. The disclosure of the corresponding laws, the knowledge of the “language” underlying these interactions, is one of the most important areas of mathematical linguistics, which is still awaiting development. This area is considered as belonging to the number of fundamental problems for the entire biosphere.

Problems of molecular biology. Along with the specified important tasks M. would. (knowledge of the laws of "recognition", self-assembly and integration) the actual direction of scientific search for the near future is the development of methods that allow deciphering the structure, and then the three-dimensional, spatial organization of high-molecular nucleic acids. This has now been achieved with respect to the general plan of the three-dimensional structure of DNA (double helix), but without exact knowledge of its primary structure. Rapid progress in the development of analytical methods allows us to confidently expect the achievement of these goals over the coming years. Here, of course, the main contributions come from representatives of related sciences, primarily physics and chemistry. All the most important methods, the use of which ensured the emergence and success of M. b., were proposed and developed by physicists (ultracentrifugation, X-ray diffraction analysis, electron microscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, etc.). Almost all new physical experimental approaches (for example, the use of computers, synchrotron, or bremsstrahlung, radiation, laser technology, and others) open up new possibilities for an in-depth study of the problems of M. b. Among the most important tasks of a practical nature, the answer to which is expected from M. b., in the first place is the problem of the molecular basis of malignant growth, then - ways to prevent, and perhaps overcome hereditary diseases - "molecular diseases" (See Molecular diseases ). Of great importance will be the elucidation of the molecular basis of biological catalysis, ie, the action of enzymes. Among the most important modern directions of M. b. should include the desire to decipher the molecular mechanisms of action of hormones (See Hormones) , toxic and medicinal substances, as well as to find out the details of the molecular structure and functioning of such cellular structures as biological membranes involved in the regulation of the processes of penetration and transport of substances. More distant goals M. b. - knowledge of the nature of nervous processes, memory mechanisms (See Memory), etc. One of the important emerging sections of M. b. - so-called. genetic engineering, which sets as its task the purposeful operation of the genetic apparatus (Genome) of living organisms, starting with microbes and lower (single-celled) and ending with humans (in the latter case, primarily for the purpose of radical treatment of hereditary diseases (See. Hereditary diseases) and the correction of genetic defects ). More extensive interventions in the human genetic basis can only be discussed in a more or less distant future, since in this case serious obstacles, both technical and fundamental, arise. Concerning microbes, plants, and it is possible, and page - x. For animals, such prospects are very encouraging (for example, obtaining varieties of cultivated plants that have an apparatus for fixing nitrogen from the air and do not need fertilizers). They are based on the successes already achieved: the isolation and synthesis of genes, the transfer of genes from one organism to another, the use of mass cell cultures as producers of economic or medically important substances.

Organization of research in molecular biology. M.'s rapid development. led to the emergence of a large number of specialized research centers. Their number is growing rapidly. The largest: in the UK - the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, the Royal Institute in London; in France - institutes of molecular biology in Paris, Marseille, Strasbourg, the Pasteur Institute; in the USA - departments M. b. at universities and institutes in Boston (Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology), San Francisco (Berkeley), Los Angeles (California Institute of Technology), New York (Rockefeller University), health institutes in Bethesda, etc.; in Germany - Max Planck institutes, universities in Göttingen and Munich; in Sweden, the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm; in the GDR - the Central Institute for Molecular Biology in Berlin, institutes in Jena and Halle; in Hungary - Biological Center in Szeged. In the USSR the first specialized institute M. would be. was created in Moscow in 1957 in the system of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (see. ); then the following were formed: the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in Moscow, the Institute of Protein in Pushchino, the Biological Department at the Institute of Atomic Energy (Moscow), and the departments of M. b. at the institutes of the Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences in Novosibirsk, the Interdepartmental Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Moscow State University, the Sector (later the Institute) of Molecular Biology and Genetics of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR in Kyiv; significant work on M. b. is conducted at the Institute of Macromolecular Compounds in Leningrad, in a number of departments and laboratories of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and other departments.

Along with individual research centers, organizations of a wider scale arose. In Western Europe, the European Organization for M. arose. (EMBO), in which more than 10 countries participate. In the USSR, in 1966, at the Institute of Molecular Biology, a Scientific Council on M. B. was established, which is the coordinating and organizing center in this field of knowledge. He published an extensive series of monographs on the most important sections of M. b., “winter schools” on M. b. are regularly organized, conferences and symposiums are held on topical problems of M. b. In the future, scientific advice on M. would. were created at the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR and many republican Academies of Sciences. The journal Molecular Biology has been published since 1966 (6 issues per year).

For rather short term in the USSR the considerable group of researchers in the field of M. has grown; these are scientists of the older generation who have partially switched their interests from other fields; for the most part, they are numerous young researchers. From among the leading scientists who took an active part in the formation and development of M. b. in the USSR, one can name such as A. A. Baev, A. N. Belozersky, A. E. Braunshtein, Yu. A. Ovchinnikov, A. S. Spirin, M. M. Shemyakin, V. A. Engelgardt. M.'s new achievements. and molecular genetics will be promoted by the resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR (May 1974) "On measures to accelerate the development of molecular biology and molecular genetics and the use of their achievements in the national economy."

Lit.: Wagner R., Mitchell G., Genetics and metabolism, trans. from English, M., 1958; Szent-Gyorgy and A., Bioenergetics, trans. from English, M., 1960; Anfinsen K., Molecular basis of evolution, trans. from English, M., 1962; Stanley W., Valens E., Viruses and the nature of life, trans. from English, M., 1963; Molecular genetics, trans. With. English, part 1, M., 1964; Volkenstein M.V., Molecules and life. Introduction to molecular biophysics, M., 1965; Gaurowitz F., Chemistry and functions of proteins, trans. from English, M., 1965; Bresler S. E., Introduction to molecular biology, 3rd ed., M. - L., 1973; Ingram V., Biosynthesis of macromolecules, trans. from English, M., 1966; Engelhardt V. A., Molecular biology, in the book: Development of biology in the USSR, M., 1967; Introduction to molecular biology, trans. from English, M., 1967; Watson, J., Molecular Biology of the Gene, trans. from English, M., 1967; Finean J., Biological ultrastructures, trans. from English, M., 1970; Bendoll, J., Muscles, Molecules, and Movement, trans. from English, M., 1970; Ichas M., Biological code, trans. from English, M., 1971; Molecular biology of viruses, M., 1971; Molecular bases of protein biosynthesis, M., 1971; Bernhard S., Structure and function of enzymes, trans. from English, M., 1971; Spirin A. S., Gavrilova L. P., Ribosome, 2nd ed., M., 1971; Frenkel-Konrat H., Chemistry and biology of viruses, trans. from English, M., 1972; Smith C., Hanewalt F., Molecular Photobiology. Processes of inactivation and recovery, trans. from English, M., 1972; Harris G., Fundamentals of human biochemical genetics, trans. from English, M., 1973.

V. A. Engelhardt.

Great Soviet Encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1969-1978 .

interview

Pirogov Sergey - a participant in the preparation for the Olympiad in biology, organized by "Elephant and Giraffe" in 2012.
Winner of the International Universiade in Biology
The winner of the Olympiad "Lomonosov"
Winner of the regional stage of the All-Russian Olympiad in Biology in 2012
Studying at Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov at the Faculty of Biology: Department of Molecular Biology, 6th year student. Works in the Laboratory of Biochemical Genetics of Animals of the Institute of Molecular Genetics.

- Seryozha, if readers have questions, will they be able to ask you?

Yes, of course, you can ask questions at least immediately. In this field:

Click here to ask a question.

- Let's start with school, didn't you have a super-cool school?

I studied at a very weak Moscow school, such an average secondary school. True, we had a wonderful teacher at the Moscow Art Theater, thanks to whom we had a largely nominal "art history" orientation of the school.

- What about biology?

Our biology teacher was a very elderly, deaf and sharp woman, whom everyone was afraid of. But love for her subject did not add. I have been passionate about biology since childhood, from the age of five. I read everything myself, mainly being carried away by anatomy and zoology. So school subjects existed in parallel with my own interests. The Olympics changed everything.

- Tell me more about it.

In the 7th grade, I took part in the municipal stage for the first time (of course, in almost all subjects at once, since I was the only student whom the teachers had reason to send). And he won in biology. Then the school treated this as a funny, but not very interesting fact.

- Did it help you in school?

I remember that despite my brilliant studies, I often received B from a biology teacher with nit-picking like "in the drawing of a section of an onion, the roots should be painted brown, not gray." It was all pretty depressing. In the 8th grade, I again went to the Olympiad, but for some reason I was not sent in biology. But he became a winner and prize-winner in other subjects.

- What happened in 9th grade?

In the 9th grade, I did not go to the district stage. It was there that I unexpectedly scored a weak, borderline score, which nevertheless turned out to be passing to the regional stage. It had a powerful motivating force - the realization of how much I don’t know and how many people who know all this (how many such people on a national scale I was even afraid to imagine).

- Tell us how you prepared.

Intensive self-study, forays into bookstores, and thousands of last year's assignments had a healing effect. I scored one of the highest scores for the theory (which was also completely unexpected for me), went to the practical stage ... and failed it. At that time, I did not even know about the existence of the practical stage.

- Did the Olympics influence you?

My life has changed radically. I learned about many other Olympiads, especially I fell in love with the SBO. Subsequently, he showed good results on many, won some, thanks to Lomonosovskaya he received the right to enter without exams. At the same time, I won Olympiads in the history of art, to which I still breathe unevenly. True, he was not friends with practical tours. In the 11th grade, I nevertheless reached the final stage, but Fortune was not favorable, and this time I did not have time to fill out the answer matrix of the theoretical stage. But this made it possible not to worry too much about the practical.

- Have you met many Olympiads?

Yes, I still think that I was very lucky with the circle of my peers, who greatly expanded my horizons. The other side of the Olympiads, in addition to the motivation to study the subject more harmoniously, was acquaintance with the Olympiads. Already at that time, I noticed that horizontal communication is sometimes more useful than vertical communication - with teachers at the training camp.

- How did you enter the university? Did you choose a faculty?

After the 11th grade, I entered the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University. Just the majority of my then comrades made a choice in favor of the FBB, but here the primary role was played by the fact that I did not become the winner of the All-Russian. So I would have to take an internal exam in mathematics, and in it, especially at school - I fell in love with the higher one much more - I was not strong. And there was very poor preparation at school (we were not even prepared for almost the entire C part). In terms of interests, even then I guessed that, in the end, you can come to any result, regardless of the place of admission. Subsequently, it turned out that there are many FBB graduates who switched to predominantly wet biology, and vice versa - many good bioinformaticians started out as amateurs. Although at that moment it seemed to me that the contingent at the biological faculty would be unlike the FBBshny one. In this I was certainly wrong.

Did you know?

Interesting

Did you know?

Interesting

In the camp Elephant and Giraffe there are shifts in biochemistry and molecular biology, where schoolchildren, together with experienced teachers from Moscow State University, set up experiments and also prepare for Olympiads.

© Interviewed by Reshetov Denis. The photos were kindly provided by Sergey Pirogov.

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