Неутрони в науките за живота | Факултетен семинар 21.12.2022

Лектор:
Prof. Dmitry Kazakov, corr. member of RAN
Director of Bogoliubov Laboratory of Theoretical Physics,
Join Institute of Nuclear Research - Dubna, Russia
Scientific research in general and life sciences have always benefited from the
development of large-scale scientific infrastructures. Starting with the first X-ray
tubes - coincidently around the same time as Alzheimer’s disease was identified - and
all the way to modern synchrotron radiation sources, neutron sources, and powerful
lasers, research approaches based on nuclear physics have been playing a significant
role in biology-related investigations.
The peculiar properties of neutrons, power of synchrotrons, innovations in optical
spectroscopy, including Raman, have their own niche in studies of the chemical
composition and structure of condensed matter that possesses a rather high level of
disorder - disorder that is believed to be one of the foundations of life.
At the Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics (FLNP) of the Joint Institute for Nuclear
Research (JINR) much attention is paid to life science research for more than half a
century now. Owing to advances in research approaches, there is now a better
understanding of the relevant mechanisms for health protection and even its recovery.
Establishing the regular monitoring of environmental pollution helps to alleviate its
negative impact on people and the planet. The examples of notable results obtained by
scientists at the FLNP, some of which are presented in this talk, demonstrate the
importance of taking a closer and more detailed look at life sciences through the prism
of radiation.