PROFESSOR C. B. LEPESHINSKAYA'S DISCOVERIES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600400492-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 25, 2011
• Sequence Number: 492
• Publication Date: August 2, 1951
• Content Type: REPORT

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SUBJECT
HOW
PUBLISHED
WHERE
PUBLISHED
DATE
PUBLISHED
LANGUAGE
CLASSIFICATION CONFDENTIAL ~Qt~~'bEN~IA
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGE~IC`~ ~ REPO
INFORMATION FROM `' ~~~'
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CD PrO.
Scientific - Bielo~, cell theory
Monthly periodical
Moscow
Jan 1951
GATE DIST.
z Aus 1951
N0. OF PAGES
5
SUPPLEI""rn1T rn
REPORT
TXIf DOCU YLNT COMTAIN3 IN FORM ATIOM AIF[OTIMf THE NATIONAL O[FlMSI
OF TN[ UNIT[D STATES MITNIN TN[ YLA NIND OL [3 PIO NAL! ACT f0
Y. S. C.. 31 ANO S1, AS AYLMDLO. ITS TRA NS MISSION OR TNt RtYIlATION
01 ITS CO NTINTf IN ANY YANN[R TO AN UMAUTNO RII[D PIRSON IS PRO
NI LITtD fT LAN. R[PROOU OTION OF TNI3 FORM IS PRO NIf:T[0. J
Meditsinska~a Sestra, Ne 1, 1951, P 5?
PROFESSOR 0. B, LEFESHLNSKP.YA'S DISCOPERIF:S
By decision of the Soviet government, Professor Ol`^a Borisovna Lepeshin-
skaya was awarded the Stalin First Prize for "outstanding scientific investiga-
tions of noncel1T11.ar? forms of life and of the origin of cells" . (The decision
of the Council of M.:nisters i1SSR was published i.n Prsvda, 21 September 1950.)
The essence of the discoveries made by Professor Lepeshinskaya ~.s presented in
the scientific work The Origin of Cells From Living Matter and the~RoleQof{^iv-
in Matter in the Organi_s~The first edition of this wurn wuo pu.,~~o..,,~
19 5; the second edition was issued in 1950 by the Publishing House of the
Academy of Medical Sciences USSR.)
The work of Stalin Prize Laureate Lepeshinskeblowetoethetreactionary~t
discovery in biology. She delivered a shattering
Weissmann and Airchow cell theor'.es, and, as the Stalin Prize Committee stated,
opened "new prospects in the matter of effer_tive'_y dealing with s number of
most important biological problems" (Pravda, 19 September 1950).
Lepeshlnskaya began her outstanding investigations already in 1933, setting
andsdevelopmentkoffplantyce~lsheasrwell asoof~livingeorganismshose of the origin
To understand properly the significance of the task set by Lepeshinskaya
and the importance of her discoveries, it is necessary to recall the entire
previous development of this problem, which started in the first half of the
19th century, wY,en the cell theory was founded. Thia was indeed the greatest
theoretical generalization in biology. The cell theory set forth the unity of
the basis of teachings about the
{ world. The new theory became
Lne uA p..~-^
development of life, ~`.e evolution of animals and plants. Friedrich Enge s
compared the contents of this ii:c^ry andsauah fnr6t1a~teofa~hheehiAtorical develop-
as the law of conservation of energy
ment of the organic world.
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-Nevertheless, this progressive theory was snatched up and then perverted
by the reactionary scholars of that time. The anti-Darwinist R. Virchox, per-
verting the thoughts of the cell theory, made it the basis of his own conser-
vative idealistic theory. The reactionary thecry of Virchow contained tR~ main
theses: "The cell is the ultimate morphological element which is capable of
life processes," and life begins only with the cell, and "each cell originates
only from a cell." ?The Virchow theory became the basis of. biology and retarded
the development of progressive natural sc:tence.
In the capitalist countries at? pres?nty the Virchow cell theory continues
to dominate science. This is not surprising, since the cell theory, as per-
verted by Virchow, confirms the immutability of the "divine origin" of life.
At some time or other, it is all~gea, life was established by God's will, and
therefore it is developed from cell to cell. Just as the atomic theory at its
time produced alarm in the ranks of t?he reactionary scientists, the cell theory
an attempt on the 'fundamental basis", had to :slate the chinch, the main pillar
of capitalist society at that time.
In the Soviet Union, Virchowism was dealt a chattering blow. It must be
emphasized that even up to rosedttoithe~rzcngnition o?dtheevaluableediscoveries
USSR, who were violently app
of Lepeshinskaya, discoveries which were not merely theoretical but also practi-
cal refutations of Virchow's dogma.
Lepeshinskaya's achievements are re^_ogziisea cl?arly if one acquaints him-
self with the most interesting experiments which she performed in her laboratory
and on which she reported in her publish?~''vork..~. (Lepeshinskaya, The Cep S
Life and Its Origin, Moscow, 1950.)
To demonstrate that hfe can or+-ginate not e:?ly from cel.l.s, Lepeshinskaya
undertook a thorough study of regenerative proPe+imes but&tner~basisnof itsthe
hydra. Its hardiness has been known for e. long
unusual regenerative capacities had not. beexi '.nyestighted prior to Lepeshinskaya's
studies.
Why does a hydra grow blex organicm~g~that isathe~answerhofcthe naturallcn
and gives rise to a new comp
scientists.
Is only the cell of the hydra endowed with this capacity? To ~serimente
question, Lepeshinskaya and her asaociates pe^formed the fhlsi~nfa~ric~; never-
They made a thick paste out of hydras and rubbed _t throug
theless, new hydras grew from the mass obtained after this filtration. This
phenomenon had been studies earlier by acienti~Onewkindaofdglobules ofhmicro-
the mass obtained after filtration cri.ginally
scopic size are formed, which later. tu_*`n into cells and then finally into t e
lobules are.
organism of the hydra. However, it was not known just what these 6 had been
It was assumed t~hetfiltration through the shlltcfabrichi?h i.n some waY
preserved during
This explanation did no~hearole ofhtheeenglobulessandnalltaspectssofntheir
decided to study thoroughly
development.
First of ell, the following problem we.s set: not a single r..elosef the
mashed-up hydra should pass through the sil~~~oles9 butrtheamass ?btained
hydras were not only chopped up into tiny p t have accidently
was pulverized in a mortar. Tc separate any r-ells which migh
survived, the paste of protoplasB and cell nuclei thus obtained was centrlYuged.
gy this method, the lions ~b~iohcxereothehsurviving cells6Sremained in theta
and the heavier ones,
residue.
CONFIDENTIAL
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For the investigation, the lightest particles were used. They were studied
carefully under the microscope. No cells were discovered; the microscope showed
a transparent gelatinous meas. But the paste did not remain in this condition
for a long time. Within about an hour there already appeared spots, scarcely
visible to the naked eye. They were minute, no larger than a pinpoint.
Under close observation, it could be noted that these spots gradually grew
larger. After awhile, the entire obser~a~ion field showed active colorless
corpuscles of various sizes. Among them, globules of yello-orange color could
~be distinguished. They xere undoubtedly droplets of fat.
While experimenting from day to day with the gelatinous mass, Lepeshinskays
and her co-workers noticed a curious circumstance. Under ordinary conditions,
the globules suddenly died upon reaching a certain stage of development; it wsa
assumed that the medium was not suitable. The researchers began to feed the
globules of this gelatinous mass. The ,juice pressed out from aqu8.tic animals,
cyclopes, was used as food. Cyclopes sae the usual food of 'the hydras, and it
could be assumed that the ,juice of the cyclopes could maintain the viability of
the globules. This assumption proved to be perfectly ,justified; the globules
no longer perished.
The researchers devised an ingenious method of obser$~iontisolatedefromathe
formation of the globules, having created a living prepay
external medium. For that purpose, they placed a drop of the gelatinous mass on
a cover glass, adding to it a little of the extract made from cyclopes, then in-
verted the cover glass and placed it on a thick microscope slide with a small
depression.
In addition to the usual observations, slow-motion microcinematography was
undertaken in the laboratory. In taking the motion picture, the frame was
changed every 5 seconds.
The unusual film which resulted represents documentary evidence of the
Pacts given by Lepeshinskaya in her writings, Several frames are reproduced in
her book. They are an .excellent supplement to the report on the laboratory ex-
periments.
The picture of the origin oP life unfolds before us: life emerges visibly.
At the beginning, spots appear, then the spots grow, acquire brightness
and coloring. Then we notice that some of the globules appear to become turbid.
According to Lepeshinskaya's expression, a du'stlike granularity is produced in
them. ~ihree or four hours after the start of the observation, a brilliant
vacuole can be seen in the grown ^'~bules, It grows and grows and finally turns
into-e nucleus.
A cell has been born. Virchow's statement to the effect that "the cell
grows from a cell" has been refuted. The cell originates without any divine
command and spontaneously. It is created ae a result of the appearance of
suitable relationships which are repeated, from day to day, from hour to hour,
and every second, in different variations.
This self-conceived cell lives, moves, now coagulates, then straightens
out and revolves around its axis. Finally the cell begins to divide, at first
in two, then each new cell also divides in two, and so on. Multiplication of
cells takes place. The aim of this multiplication is formation of an organism.
Finally, before the experimenters' eyes there emerges a globule of 3~-35
cells. We see this in the photographs shown in the book. Thus, a living organ-
ism emerges. '
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CONFI~~IdTIAI
Lepeshinskaya experimentally proved the unforgettable words of Engels, that
life "is a process which is self-contained, intrinsic, and innate to its bearer,
the proteins". (F. Engels, Anti-Duhring.)
However, the outstanding?experiments ca:?ried on for years in the Cytology
Laboratory of the Institute of Experimental Biology of the Academy of Medical
Sciences USSR were not limited to this.
Of great interest among these experiments was observation of the growth of
cells in chicken eggs. It was established that the so-calle3 yolk globules
formed in the egg turn into cells in the course of their development. The ob-
servations on the formation of blood cells, i.e. red blood corpuscles (erythrocy-
tes), turned out to be especially important.
With the ingenuity natural to the workers of the Cytos &Ys~orked out.a
method for observing processes taking place in chicken egg
Lepeshinskaya, in The Ori in of the Cellfirst~editlon,M19t5, reports thee
of Living Matter in the Organism, pp 53-5 ,
following on these experiments and on the manner in which they were set up:
ment of the embryo under an ultrapack, it was essen-
develo
th
p
e
To examine
tial, first of all, to have a thermostat specially ac?apted for this P~'~hich was
I designed an electric thermostat with a constant temperature of 38`x,
built by our workshop. At i+.s upper wall it has a round opening for a Koch dish,
and inside the thermostat there is a plate with a screw for ad,iusting the height.
"The Koch dish with the egg is placed on this plate. The eggshell is removed.
The dish is moved by means of the screws to ttie top opening. From above, the
egg placed under the objective of the ultrapack and the objective itself are pro-
tected by a cover of cotton wool, and thus the observation takes place at the
proper optimum temperature.
"To observe the development of the blood islets in vivo under large magni-
fication, viz., under immersion of the ultrapack, it. is necessary after removal
of the top third or even half of the shell and white of the egg to cover the
yolk containing the embryo either with a cover glass or with mica. But both
glass and mica, under the slightest pressure by the objective, will break the
membrance of the yolk, and the, contents of the yolk will flow out, covering
the glass or the mica and destroying the integrity of the embryo. Conditions
under which an observation can no longer be conducted will thus be produced.
Reacting to this difficulty, I worked out, in collaboration with my assistant
ye, P. Lapisova, a valuable and ingenious method. So that the sharP~dgeovaf
the glass or of the mica would not damage the membrane of the yolk, P
glued the glass or the mica onto an opeassistant{coveredtthe yolkewithTthisluing
is done with the aid of collodion. My
rubber and the glued-on .glass or mica. The ends of the rubber hang down from
the edges of the shell. In this manner,'`~.he entire yolls and the remaining white
of the egg are almost hermetically sealed. In addition to this, she constructed
a small device with three screws and a ring, which serves to level the glass and
to make it immovable, thus greatly facilitating observations under immersion.
"For reducing friction between the glass and the embryo, the glass or the
mica was greased with a fine layer of liquid vase line which was, of course, ster-
ilized. Under these conditions, observations of the development of the embryo
over 36 hoius were successful. This period is fully sufficient for in-vivlobule
servations, to follow the development and the transformation of one yolk g
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CONFiQE~lTIAL
Lepeshinakays inclicatea that the most "demonstrative pictures" of the develop-
ment of blood and of the islets in the yolk globules of chicken embryos can be
obtained from 36-hour embryos, and some of them also from embryos in later stages
(6-8 days' incubation). In particular, observations of the development in 8-day
embryos was successful. .
Thus, the many observations with the use of the most variegated and modern
method of investigation have cleared up formerly disputable questions on the
origin of the blood islets.
It should be pointed out that up to the time of Lepeshinskayci!s=Y~emarkabl-e
experiments, a considerable part of the scientists, going out from the Virchow
thesis of cells from cells, were convinced that the globules under discussion
here have no nucleus and represent a lifeless mass of food material. As far as
the globules with nuclei were concerned, scientists considered them either cells
derived from the embryo or took them for modified spermatozoa. Lepeshinakaya's
experiments have shown that globules which have nuclei develop from globules
without nuclei by way of the gradual development of a structure, including the
nucleus, which is characteristic for cells.
In this manner, reviewing everything said above, it must be stressed that
by her tenacious, carefully worked out experiments, accompanied by. the ingenuity
sa ~cle~eniablyhthattthesformationiofpnewicells inbthetorganismetakeskplaceas
not only by the multiplication of cells, but also by the development of cells
from noncellular living matter.
Lepeshinskaya's conclusions'in regard to the role which living ytatter plays
in the process'of healing of wounds acquire special .theoretical and practical
importance. .
The work of Lepeshinskaya and her schc~l in thistoinow butoopensewide a
chapter in wound healing which has not been clear up ,
prospects for the regulations of .. processes taking place in'~he~tissue oY the
organism. They also explain the mechanism of the influencortantlfactor ine heal-
ing process. Observations h++ssueowounust itois asmedicinal agent.
accelerating the healing of
As early as 1945, T. D. Lysenko predicted that Lepeshinskaya's work would
become highly important. This prediction has now been fulfilled.
Lepeshinskaya's work has great practical importance in a number uestionss
of science, primarily in biology and medicine. It has a bearing on q
,like the origin and the development of malignant tumors,-inflammation, regenera-
tion of tissue and recovery of organs, etc.
CONFIQ~~~~~~aL
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