93rd National Congress of the Italian Society of Experimental Biology | Palermo, Italy, 22-25 April 2021

This abstract book contains the abstracts presented at the 93rd National Congress of the Italian Society of Experimental Biology; Palermo, Italy, 22-25 April 2021.

“Concerning the Recently Notorious Issue of Rejuvenation”: Geneticist Yuri Filipchenco’s Letter to the Director of the Institute of Experimental Biology, Nikolai Koltsov (August 29, 1923)

The publication aims to introduce into scientific use the letter written by Russian geneticist Yuri A. Filipchenco. It was sent to the head of the Institute of Experimental Biology, Nikolai K. Koltsov on 29 August 1923. The published document thematically falls within the field of the history of science — Soviet biomedicine — in the early Soviet period. One of the documents attached to the letter was the Yu. A. Filipchenco’s response to the Rejuvenation: Collected papers published under N. K. Koltsov’s editorship in 1923. The collection included works of leading foreign specialists who had studied aging processes and rejuvenation in the second half of the 19th and early 20th century. The popularity of the idea of rejuvenation increased and scientists attempted to achieve it venturing into methods of biology and medicine. Their efforts contributed to the development of scientific disciplines focusing on the idea. By early 1920s, rejuvenation had become one of the most popular ideas — there were numerous publications in periodicals devoted to biomedical methods for preventing aging processes. The major scientific center was Institute of Experimental Biology founded in 1917. Another document attached to the letter was Yu. A. Filipchenco’s review of the work of American geneticist R. Goldschmidt. By contrast to the Rejuvenation: Collected papers, this work directly related to his professional interests, as in collaboration with N. K. Koltsov he took part in institutionalization of genetics and eugenics in the first post-revolutionary years. The unpublished materials deposited in the archives of both scientists are important for history of Soviet science in 1920s. The published document has been found in the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ARAN) in the fond of N. K. Koltsov (fond 450). The letter adds to the history of national genetics and rejuvenation studies in the early Soviet period. It also illustrates some nuances of the scientists’ everyday life, as they are mentioned in the letter. The document is published in compliance with current spelling and punctuation rules. The author’s notes and underlining are preserved. Information on the mentioned persons and works is given in the footnotes. Commentary, preceding the publication of the document, assesses its significance.

The genus Camelina (Cruciferae) in Mongolia and China reviewed on the basis of herbarium materials from the Institute of General and Experimental Biology of the ASM (UBA) and the Komarov Botanical Institute (LE)

Herbarium collections of the genus Camelina preserved at the Institute of General and Experimental Biology of the Academy of Sciences of Mongolia (UBA) and the Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (LE) were studied. The collections of these Herbaria contain materials of 3 species from Mongolia (C. caucasica (Sinsk.) Vass., C. sativa (L.) Crantz, C. sylvestris Wallr.) and 4 from China (C. sativa, C. linicola Schimp. et Spenn., C. microcarpa Andrz., C. sylvestris).

The best predictions in experimental biology are critical and persuasive

ABSTRACTA powerful way to evaluate scientific explanations (hypotheses) is to test the predictions that they make. In this way, predictions serve as an important bridge between abstract hypotheses and concrete experiments. Experimental biologists, however, generally receive little guidance on how to generate quality predictions. Here, we identify two important components of good predictions – criticality and persuasiveness – which relate to the ability of a prediction (and the experiment it implies) to disprove a hypothesis or to convince a skeptic that the hypothesis has merit. Using a detailed example, we demonstrate how striving for predictions that are both critical and persuasive can speed scientific progress by leading us to more powerful experiments. Finally, we provide a quality control checklist to assist students and researchers as they navigate the hypothetico-deductive method from puzzling observations to experimental tests.