Pushchino

Pushchino 

a city (since 1966) in Serpukhov Raion, Moscow Oblast, RSFSR; standing on the right bank of the Oka River. Pushchino is located 13 km below Serpukhov, with which it is connected by a highway.

The Radio Astronomical Observatory of the Physics Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR was built in the city in 1957. The Scientific Center for Biological Research of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR was organized in Pushchino in 1963. The center makes extensive use of the latest methods of chemistry, physics, mathematics, and computer technology. It has institutes for the study of agricultural chemistry and soil science, proteins, biophysics, the biochemistry and physiology of microorganisms, and photosynthesis. The center also includes the research computer center of the special design office for biological instruments and a branch of the biology department of Moscow State University. It has a scientific and technical information section and a central library.

Research at the center is focused mainly on the structure of biopolymers (proteins and nucleic acids), the role of biopoly-mers in living systems, the structure and functions of supra-molecular complexes and subcellular structures (biological membranes in particular), the mechanisms of protein biosynthesis, and the molecular basis of the mobility and irritability of biological structures. Also studied are the primary effects of ionizing radiation on living systems, molecular genetics, and the metabolism of microorganisms in relation to their synthesis of biologically active compounds and transformation of organic compounds. In addition, the center is engaged in a mul-tidisciplinary study of photosynthesis. Research is being conducted in experimental soil science, agricultural chemistry, modeling of soil processes, and biosphere problems.

The purpose of the research is not only to solve theoretical problems of modern biology but also to benefit the microbiological industry, agriculture, and clinical medicine. The Division of the Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Chemistry of Physiologically Active Compounds of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR directs the scientific activities of the center.

A. N. CHERKASHIN