Май 2001 г.

Российская наука и мир (по материалам зарубежной электронной прессы)

CONTENTS / ОГЛАВЛЕНИЕ


• New type of windmill-electric plant designed in Russia
• ATI Joins Russian Institute to Form Technology Park in Russia Advanced Technology Industries Inc
• Young Russian scientists visiting Japan
• Russia wants to export high technologies to Syria
• Russians Recall Andrei Sakharov
• Russia MP Sees Soviet-Style Muzzling of Scientists
• Russian scientists ordered to report all contacts with foreigners
• Russia, Europe to sign new research agreement soon
• Russia's neurologists to meet in St Petersburg Monday
• Advanced Biotherapy, Inc. Announces Lecture Invitation of Dr. Simon Skurkovich and Resignation of Paul J. Marangos, Ph.D. From Board of Directors
• Russia Scientists Await Nuke Decision
• Russia offers U.S. joint exploration of Mars

MOSCOW, May 31, 2001 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- In an eery revival of Iron Curtain practices, the Russian Academy of Sciences has ordered "constant control" over scientists' cooperation with foreigners, citing the need to prevent espionage, a lawmaker said.
The directive by the academy's presidium, or governing council, was made public by Russian parliament deputy and human rights advocate Sergei Kovalyov. It was being sent to all research institutes that are members of the academy, Kovalyov said Thursday.
The vast majority of Russia's scientific establishments are part of the Academy of Sciences system. The directive orders the academy's "special departments" and the directors of research institutes to "carry out constant control over trips abroad by Academy of Sciences researchers who have access to state secrets", to increase control over international scientific conferences in Russia, and to "tighten control over researchers' filing of reports about their trips abroad".
The orders come amid a spate of high-profile spy cases and amid fears that Russian secret services have begun to re-establish Soviet-era restrictions on foreign contacts since President Vladimir Putin, a 16-year KGB veteran, came to power.
Russian arms control researcher Igor Sutyagin is on trial on charges of spying for the United States and physicist Valentin Danilov is accused of spying for China.
Sutyagin and his colleagues say he had no access to secrets and therefore could not be a spy. Sutyagin works at the respected Institute for USA and Canada Studies, part of the Academy of Sciences system. "What seems dangerous to me is that this directive is quite in line with today's Kremlin policy", Kovalyov said on independent Echo of Moscow radio Thursday.
The vaguely phrased directive lists no specific measures for the tightening of control, and does not specify punishment for failure to comply. But the orders have already prompted at least one research institute in Moscow, the Institute for General Genetics, to issue a memo to its scientists, ordering them to report to their supervisors all contacts with foreign colleagues. The memo, also made public by Kovalyov, was published by Russian news media.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Valentina Matviyenko on Thursday tried to dispute Kovalyov's statements. "I respect Sergei Kovalyov, but unfortunately he sometimes uses information that is not quite reliable", Matviyenko was quoted as saying in Russian news reports. "In this case, too, his statement is groundless".
But deputy director of the Genetics Institute, Ilya Zakharov, confirmed in a telephone interview that he had issued the memo, which was read to him by an Associated Press reporter. He declined further comment, saying the document was "stolen" from the institute. Zakharov would not say what punishment would be envisaged for researchers who fail to comply.
"I think the Academy of Sciences will tell us that", he said.

Российское правительство собирается подписать с Европейским сообществом по атомной энергии соглашение о сотрудничестве в области исследований контролируемого термоядерного синтеза

MOSCOW, May 31, 2001 (Itar-Tass via COMTEX) -- The Russian government has approved the draft of an agreement with the European Atomic Energy Community on cooperation for research in the field of controlled thermonuclear fusion.
The agreement to be signed soon is supposed to step up international cooperation in this field, a spokesman for the government information department told Itar-Tass on Thursday.
The priority task facing Russian and European experts is to implement a project on building an international thermonuclear experimental reactor, though scientists also have other research ideas in mind. Russia's cooperation with the European Atomic Energy Community will include exchanges with information, personnel, materials and instruments as well as work on joint projects. Each side will finance its own experiments.
A coordination committee comprising both sides' representatives will gather for annual meetings to review what was done during the year and to define new promising projects. Executive secretaries appointed by each side will oversee the work between the annual meetings.

27 мая в Санкт-Петербурге открылась всероссийская конференция неврологов с участием зарубежных ученых и специалистов, организованная Институтом Мозга Человека Российской академия наук

ST PETERSBURG, May 27, 2001 (Itar-Tass via COMTEX) -- An all-Russian conference of neurologists opens here on Monday, with foreign scientists and physicians of related specialities participating.
This widely-representative forum on neuro-immunology problems has been arranged by the Institute of the Human Brain of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the country's leading research and clinical centre, in conjunction with Academician I.P.Pavlov Medical University.
Special attention at the conference will be devoted in the latest achievements in the diagonosing and treatment of and rehabilitation after such diseases as scatter-brained sclerosis, parkinsonism, heart strokes, as well as neuromuscular maladies, and neuroinfections.
An exhibition of products manufactured by domestic and foreign pharmaceutical companies has been also arranged to coincide with the opening of the conference.

В связи с празднованием 75 годовщины Центра гематологии и переливания крови в Москву приглашен доктор Саймон Скуркович, который был ведущим ученым лаборатории иммунологии Центра. Сейчас он работает в США в компании Advanced Biotherapy, Inc. Доктор Скуркович прочтет ряд лекций и встретится с российскими учеными, чтобы обсудить научные результаты совместной работы. Он также встретится с пациентами, которые участвовали в клинических испытаниях компании. Доктор Скуркович будет также встречаться с учеными в нескольких институтах, чтобы обсудить возможность проведения в России клинических испытаний препаратов, созданных в компании для лечения различных заболеваний

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif., May 29, 2001 (Business Wire) -- Advanced Biotherapy, Inc. (OTCBB:ADVB), announced today that the company's Founder, Chairman Emeritus and Vice President of Research and Development, Dr. Simon Skurkovich, has been invited to lecture and make presentations regarding the company's scientific approach, rationale, and clinical trial findings in Moscow, Russia during the week of June 4, 2001.
The invitation came as a result of the company's scientific findings in two randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind trials conducted in Russia, demonstrating efficacy of its anti-cytokine strategy, pioneered by Dr. Skurkovich, in both rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and multiple sclerosis (MS). Dr. Skurkovich will be presenting such lectures at the Institute of Rheumatology at the Medical Academy of the Russian Federation, the Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery at Moscow Medical University, the Institute of Eye Diseases and the Institute of Pediatrics, also at the Medical Academy of the Russian Federation. Dr. Skurkovich is also being honored and will lecture at the Center for Hematology and Blood Transfusion as part of the Center's 75th anniversary celebration.
During his years in Moscow, Dr. Skurkovich was Chief Scientist of the Center's Immunology Laboratory and was responsible for the invention, development and employment of an antistaphylococcal hyperimmune plasma and immunoglobulin for antibiotic-resistant staph infection that saved hundreds of thousands of lives in Russia and Eastern Europe. Dr. Skurkovich was also the pioneer of anti-cytokine therapy during his tenure at the Center.
Commenting on Dr. Skurkovich's visit, Edmond Buccellato, CEO of Advanced Biotherapy, Inc., stated, "We are excited that Dr. Skurkovich will have an opportunity not only to lecture at these distinguished institutes, but will also meet with our collaborative scientists to discuss the company's scientific findings. He will also meet with patients who participated in the company's clinical trials". Mr. Buccellato added, "Dr. Skurkovich will also be meeting with senior scientists at several institutes to discuss the possibility of conducting clinical trials in Russia of the company's developing drug products in other diseases".
The company also announced that Paul J. Marangos, Ph.D., submitted his resignation as a member of the Board of Directors to pursue other business interests and opportunities. Commenting on Dr. Marangos' resignation, Alexander L. Cappello, Chairman of Advanced Biotherapy, Inc. stated, "The company appreciates and recognizes Dr. Marangos' contributions to the advancement of our company over the past year and we wish him continued success in his endeavors".
The Company develops drugs that may effectively treat a range of autoimmune diseases. In two randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind trials conducted in Russia, the Company demonstrated efficacy of its anti-cytokine strategy in both RA and MS. These studies have permitted the Company to determine which cytokines are most active in the autoimmune disease process, and therefore, which need to be removed to most effectively treat these disorders. With a five-day treatment course, statistically significant and clinically relevant responses were obtained that persisted in a one-year follow-up after treatment in the MS studies and a one-month follow-up in the RA studies.
The business strategy of the Company involves the engagement of a corporate partner to assist in the clinical evelopment of its drug treatments for autoimmune disorders. This will involve, upon the identification of such a partner, the filing of the necessary documents with the FDA, conducting clinical trials and obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals, (New Drug Application (NDA) or a 510K device approval). The Company does not intend to market its drug products if they are approved by the FDA, but will instead seek a licensing and royalty arrangement with a corporate partner who will market the product when and if it is approved.
Statements made in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are subject to a number of uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made, including risks associated with the success of clinical trials, the progress of research and product development programs, the regulatory approval process, competitive products, future capital requirements and the extent and breadth of the company's patent portfolio. See the Company's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for information about risks that may affect the Company.

Система защиты семи ядерных реакторов в московском институте им. Курчатова - результат 10-летней совместной российско - американской программы, направленной на уменьшение угрозы оружия массового уничтожения. В настоящее время некоторые американские конгрессмены сомневаются в целесообразности продолжения этой программы. И это не может не беспокоить российских ученых - ядерщиков

MOSCOW, (AP) -- A thief or terrorist trying to get at the seven nuclear reactors at Moscow's Kurchatov Institute will have to break through a sophisticated, $3 million set of safeguards financed by American taxpayers.
The research center's security system is just one result of a 10-year-old U.S.-Russian program to reduce the threat of weapons of mass destruction. The joint effort has also brought much more dramatic achievements, including eliminating nuclear weapons stockpiles in the former Soviet republics of Kazakstan, Belarus and Ukraine, and deep cuts in Russia's own vast nuclear arsenal.
But some U.S. Congress members are questioning the cost and value of the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program. President Bush (news - web sites) has ordered a review - and that's making Russian nuclear scientists nervous. On a broader front, trust has been undermined over such issues as NATO (news - web sites) expansion, Moscow's ties with Iraq and North Korea (news - web sites), and the Bush administration's missile defense plans. Also, some U.S. officials involved in the arms reduction program are being expelled from Russia as part of a wider, tit-for-tat spy scandal between Washington and Moscow.
"We've achieved very important results, which are visible not just on paper but in the physical (security) systems", said Nikolai Ponomaryov-Stepnoi, the vice president of the Kurchatov Institute, named for the father of the Soviet atomic bomb. Over the past five years, the institute has won contracts to develop security systems for the Russian Navy, one of the institutions that Russian and U.S. officials had considered most vulnerable to theft and potential leaks of weapons-grade nuclear materials. "The risk of proliferation of nuclear materials is lessening significantly", Ponomaryov-Stepnoi said.
The joint threat reduction program was launched in December 1991 in the final days of the Soviet Union with a law authored by U.S. Sens. Sam Nunn and Richard Lugar that sought to seize a rare opportunity to cut strategic weapons arsenals. The program is aimed broadly at cutting Russia's nuclear arsenal, preventing the leakage of nuclear and biological weapons technology to terrorists or other countries, and destroying stockpiles of chemical weapons.
Those aims are being promoted through more than two dozen separate projects that have cost the United States some $4.7 billion so far. "It's a very effective defense by other means: Spending relatively little money, you seriously decrease the military potential of your probable enemy or rival", said Ivan Safranchuk, the nuclear arms control project director at the independent PIR institute in Moscow. According to the Pentagon (news - web sites) program's director, Jim Reid, the United States has helped to junk 300 of Russia's intercontinental ballistic missiles, 2,000 nuclear warheads, 52 ICBM silos, 308 submarine launchers, 18 submarines and 42 bombers. The program helped accelerate Russian disarmament and put Russia on track to meet the Dec. 5, 2001 deadline for arms cuts under the 1991 Start I treaty, which should bring each side down to 1,600 strategic missiles and bombers and 6,000 warheads. Considering Russia's economic difficulties, "it would have taxed them significantly to try to use those funds to meet the treaty themselves", Reid said.
Other goals have been partially met. Sensored fences, the first step in comprehensive security systems, have been built around more than half of Russia's nuclear weapons storage places, Reid said. The rest haven't been secured, and the Soviet-era protection systems have broken down, leaving potentially serious security breaches.
Two of the highest-profile projects - to build a fissile materials storage plant in the town of Mayak and a pilot plant for destroying nerve agents stored at Shchuchiye - have been stalled by U.S.-Russian differences over how they should be run. The spy scandal hardly helps. An analyst who has seen the list of 50 U.S. diplomats to be sent home by July said about a dozen are involved with the Pentagon's threat-reduction program. He spoke on condition of anonymity. Scientists at the Kurchatov Institute said they were already feeling the effects, with American partners introducing new financing procedures that could set back some projects.
"I don't know who's pulling the strings, but we already feel that the work is facing difficulties", Ponomaryov-Stepnoi said morosely. "It seems they feel they have to introduce a tougher line".
The harshest U.S. critics question whether the program should be continued at all, especially in light of Russia's increasing cooperation with such potential nuclear proliferators as Iran. In general, U.S. aid programs to Russia face increasing American criticism for inefficiency and vulnerability to corruption, and Russians complain that much of the money ended up in U.S. contractors' pockets. In the arms reduction field, the Russian security service may feel the U.S. monitors are getting too intrusive. The program gives the monitors "unique access", said Alexander Pikayev, an arms control expert at the Moscow office of the Carnegie Endowment. "If political relations deteriorate, Russia will be less interested in transparency". Gennady Khromov, a Russian negotiator, said the Americans demanded only plutonium from weapons be stored at Mayak. "But to prove that, we're being asked to strip naked and show everything we have", he said. Reid rejected the criticism, saying there were demonstrated ways of providing those guarantees without revealing Russian secrets. The National Security Council is supposed to wind up its review of the program in mid-May, according to Reid.

Российские ученые предложили американским коллегам провести несколько новых совместных экспериментов по освоению Марса

Russian scientists have suggested to U.S. colleagues several new experiments in the exploration of Mars, Igor Mitrofanov, head of the Laboratory of Gamma-Ray Spectroscopy of the Institute of Space Exploration (IKI) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said in an exclusive interview with ITAR-TASS.
Mitrofanov is heading Russian HEND experiment (High Energy Neutron Detector) staged aboard the U.S. 2001 Mars Odysseus interplanetary craft. He is just back from a conference on Mars exploration held at Pasadena, Ca.
"Our Institute has suggested a program, which is an extension of the HEND experiment. These will be next-generation instruments with a space resolution of 30 kilometers instead of the present 300, which will considerably boost the accurateness of prospecting for water on Mars. We have also suggested installing on future Marscars the neutron moisture gauge, an instrument which beams neutrons to the planet's surface and makes a high-precision measurement of the amount of moisture in the soil from reflected particles. In principle, it might be installed on American 2007 Marscar. Our moisture gauge would tell the car where to head on the 'cool, hotter, hot' principle and lead it to a point with the maximum moisture content. There it may drill for water and consequently traces of life", he said.
"NASA decided to run another two special expeditions, both designated as Scout, within the framework of the main Mars exploration program. These, on the one hand, are due to help in the implementation of the main program, while on the other, to test new technologies and methods of exploration. The first one is scheduled for 2007 and was covered by the conference, which representatives of 40 scientific groups attended", he said.
"Some of the suggested experiments were very bold, from delivering to Mars different aircraft, walking Marscars, and balloons, to landing on the planet's icecap and performing deep heat drilling. As far as winners are concerned, they will be announced by the special selection committee in 2002", he said.
In his words, Russia's HEND, which is flying to Mars aboard the U.S. 2001 Mars Odysseus spacecraft, has registered several splashes of gamma-ray radiation and a powerful flare on the Sun.
"Our instrument 'saw' a very beautiful Sun flare. It lasted sufficiently long and was sufficiently strong. In parallel it was recorded by other patrol craft, but from the near-earth orbit", he said.
"The instrument, which is now at the distance of more than 13 million kilometers from the Earth, has also started registering surges of space gamma-ray radiation. Data obtained from different spacecraft separated by huge distances will make it possible to precisely spot the coordinates and possibly elucidate the nature of mysterious sources of gamma-ray splashes, which stun scientists by the colossal amount of energy they emit", he said.

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