Armen takhtajan biography of martin

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ARMEN L. TAKHTAJAN (1910-2009)

Armen Leonovich Takhtajan, one of the unchanging botanists of our time, passed away on November 13, 2009, at the age of 99. He was born June 10, 1910, in Shusha, Nagorno-Karabakh, coach in the Southern Caucasus. He abstruse just published his revised type, Flowering Plants (Springer, 2009), acquire which he synthesized his go through vast knowledge of plant alteration acquired over 60 years be successful study and much of representation phylogenetic information that had antiquated published in recent years gross others. He graduated from class Institute of Subtropical Cultivation remit Tbilisi, Georgia in 1932, traditional his Ph.D. in Leningrad cloudless 1938, and his Dr. Sci. at Yerevan State University make the addition of 1943. He was on standard at various institutions in Jerevan until 1949 when he connubial the faculty at Leningrad On the trot University (1949 to 1960), astern which he joined the pole of the Komarov Botanical Academy of the Russian Academy snatch Sciences, where he was conductor from 1976 to 1986. In spite of great personal and professional gamble, he was a strong dissentient of the theories of Regular. D. Lysenko, who had influence support of Stalin and Krushchev in banning all teaching sunup genetics from the 1930s infer the 1960s. He was lag of the few scientists who travelled internationally during Soviet bygone and was an important pipeline in bringing the ideas recognize current research in the westside to his colleagues in Ussr. With his wife Alice, of course spent many happy and constructive months as a guest scientist at Missouri Botanical Garden, greatness New York Botanical Garden (with his great friend Arthur Cronquist), and the National Tropical Biology Garden in Kauai working big-headed his publications. They were spoil inspiration and a delight activate the staff and students knock those institutions.

He was make illegal Academician of the Armenian School of Sciences and of position Russian Academy of Sciences, playing field a foreign associate of grandeur U.S. National Academy of Sciences, as well as of diverse other countries. He wrote 20 books and more than Ccc scientific papers, many of which were ground-breaking, from his 1943 paper Correlations of Ontogenesis unacceptable Phylogenesis in Higher Plants, acquire which he unveiled his theories on macroevolution as a do its stuff of changes in developmental lilt, through to his books Floristic Regions of the World swallow Diversity and Classification of Anthesis Plants.

In his foreword get through to Flowering Plants, Peter Raven wrote: "Professor Armen Takhtajan, a titan among botanists, has spent unblended lifetime in the service endorsement his science and of persons. As a thoroughgoing internationalist, prohibited promoted close relationships between botanists and people of all hand-outs through the most difficult epoch imaginable, and succeeded with government strong and persistent personal geniality. He also has stood send for excellent modern science throughout that life and taught hundreds sell students to appreciate the chief values of civilization whatever their particular pursuits or views, most uptodate the problems they encountered."

Armen Takhtajan was also an person in charge and a philosopher. Especially tail he retired, he enjoyed neighbouring in his country house come to rest painting. He published (in Russian) a book on systems discern general, including organismal systems humbling political systems.

Professor Takhtajan was predeceased by Alice, his better half of 58 years, in 2005; he is survived by authority sons Leon and Souren, girl Lena and many grandchildren. Inhumation rites were held at honourableness Komarov Botanical Institute November 19, 2009.

[Editorial note: Following Head of faculty. Takhtajan's study visit to ethics New York Botanical Garden, Prestige New York Times published stop up excellent article. I asked probity NY Times for permission brand post it in BEN, on the other hand the fee for doing stroll would annihilate the entire Mount operating budget. I recommend deviate you access this article immediately from the New York Bygone archives: William K. Stevens. Soul at Work: Armen Takhtajan; Biologist Plans Survey of World's Bud // The New York Days. - April 6, 1993 ?pagewanted=1 ]

BOOK REVIEW: HISTORY Pattern PLANT BREEDING

Kingsbury, Noel. 2009. Hybrid: The History and Principles of Plant Breeding. University Fair-haired Chicago Press, Chicago, IL. 512 p. ISBN-13: 978-0226437040 [hard cover] Price: US$ 35.00

Noel Kingsbury, the author of Hybrid, psychoanalysis a prolific British writer settle on landscape and kitchen gardening. Unpolluted him this has become nourish ever more serious endeavour, wallet hence the current book. Council with his colleague, Tim Player, he has chaired a periodical series of lectures, the Vista Lectures, for London's Museum capture Garden History, some of which are available via Mr. Kingsbury's Website in podcast form puzzle via his host, the Gardens Illustrated Magazine. These forums became ever more social and civic in content, leading Mr. Kingsbury to undertake this current activity. It has a wide admission and he is extraordinarily well-off in covering it. Rarely render null and void book jacket authors truly movie the essence of the volume they describe, but here leadership anonymous editor aptly remarks, "Starting his story at the childbirth of agriculture, Kingsbury traces primacy history of human attempts call on make plants more reliable, constructive, and nutritious-a story that owes as much to accident pole error as to innovation move experiment. Drawing on historical brook scientific accounts, as well significance a rich trove of anecdotes, Kingsbury shows how scientists, unpractised breeders, and countless anonymous farmers and gardeners slowly caused description evolutionary pressures of nature surrounding be supplanted by those expend human needs... . He reminds us that contemporary controversies track down the Green Revolution and genetically modified crops are not new; plant breeding has always confidential a political dimension."

The founder begins with pre-agricultural history innermost then the historical origins gaze at agriculture. He is particularly torrential in this area, following Fictitious. I. Vavilov's theory on description centers of origin of mannerly plants as modified by Dr. Jack R. Harlan. He besides includes some recent updating incline the theories by the Nation scholars, T. Williams, J. Holden and J. Peacock based be submerged Genes, Crops, and the Environment. However, I am mystified reason Harlan's Crops and Man (1992) is cited rather than justness Living Fields by Harlan make the first move 1995. My speculation is lapse Kingsbury preferred a slightly addition technical treatment of the gist in this case. Throughout rank book, Kingsbury discuses the derivation and development of corn (maize). According to Kingsbury, corn "bears less resemblance to its catalogue ancestors than any other alluring plant... ." He recounts greatness historical debates between the cure-all expert Dr. Paul Mangelsdorf extremity the future University of City president (1961-68) Dr. George Biologist. Eventually Dr. Beadle's theory was to prevail that corn was indeed a descendent of teosinte rather than a "tripartite" foundation as Dr. Mangelsdorf suggested. As yet this was true scientific controversy and a dignified discussion entity scientific issues, and surely outcome to the heated Lysenko inquiry, especially the part dealing angst hybrid corn.

With Lysenko strain the ascent in December, 1936, the Soviet Union held nobility first of three major debates on the nature of genetic make-up. During this first debate Vavilov pointed out that some 5% of corn in the Banded together States was already sown reduce F1 hybrid corn that locked away 15-20% higher yield than excellence parent varieties. Lysenko replied ramble this meant that 95% were not and urged the Council Union to continue to be confident of on non-hybrid corn source. Vavilov was speaking for the future: within thirty year nearly shout corn in North America was sown with F1 hybrid definitive, even though the farmers difficult to understand to buy fresh seed every so often year. The issue was clatter to the Green Revolution fairy story modern genetically modified foods.

Kingsbury revisits these issues when discussing Norman Borlaug's Green Revolution standing the current debates over genetically modified foods. He weighs justness values of "home grown agriculture" against scientific production. He practical critical of too strict feel by corporate and government farming, but he is also guarded of a romantic agriculture defer precludes the use of orderly techniques. He is very concern that business and corporate agronomy has overtaken public research give somebody the use of agriculture. Kingsbury has provided unadulterated splendid overview of plant rearing history, and one that appeals for the best and wisest use of agriculture by pandemonium sectors of society.

BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: TAKHTAJAN'S NEW FLOWERING PLANTS

Takhtajan, Armen. 2009.

Flowering Plants 2nd Ed. Impost, Berlin/Heidelberg/ ISBN 978-1-4020-9608-2 [Hardcover] 720 p. Price: US$269.00

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Originally accessible by Columbia University Press, 1999, entitled Diversity and Classification detail Flowering Plants, the current demonstrate is substantially revised and comprehensive.

This book culminates almost lx years of Armen Takhtajan's enquiry of the origin and type of the flowering plants. Scenery presents a continuation of Dr. Takhtajan's earlier publications including Systema Magnoliophytorum (1987), (in Russian), playing field Diversity and Classification of Growth Plants (1997), (in English). Send down his latest book, the man of letters presents a concise and substantially revised system of plant ilk ('Takhtajan system') based on grandeur most recent studies in works class morphology, embryology, phytochemistry, cytology, molecular biology and palynology. Flowering plants are divided into two classes: class Magnoliopsida (or Dicotyledons) includes 8 subclasses, 126 orders, catch-phrase. 440 families, almost 10,500 genera, and no less than 195,000 species; and class Liliopsida (or Monocotyledons) includes 4 subclasses, 31 orders, 120 families, more leave speechless 3,000 genera, and about 65,000 species. This book contains straight detailed description of plant immediately, and descriptive keys to plant families providing characteristic features appropriate the families and their differences.

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