Vol 93, No 9 (2023)

The paper is devoted to optogenetics as a method that allows the cells of an organism to acquire light sensitivity. The history of the origin and development of optogenetics is briefly reviewed. The role of optogenetics in studying both the fundamental mechanisms of brain functions and in understanding the mechanisms of a number of neurological and psychiatric diseases, including those associated with memory loss, is discussed.

The real field of clinical application of optogenetics methods to date, namely in ophthalmology, is discussed in detail. Clinical trials have shown the principal possibility of optogenetic prosthetics of “blind” retina and partial restoration of visual functions. Data on one of the four ongoing clinical trials, its success and limitations are presented. The conditions and prospects for further development of optogenetic prosthetic technologies for blind retina in the last stages of the neurodegenerative process are discussed in detail. The question of the type of nerve cells in the degenerating retina most promising for optogenetic prosthetics is discussed. The authors believe that genes of visual, G-protein-binding rhodopsins (most likely cones), which trigger the enzymatic cascade of light signal amplification, are the most promising for optogenetic prosthetics. The use of genes of genetically modified channel rhodopsins as “tools” for optogenetic prosthetics of degenerative retina is undoubtedly possible and, as clinical trials show, quite realistic.

Biological invasions of alien species – the occupation by living organisms of territories and water areas outside their historical range – have now acquired a gigantic scale, affecting all countries and continents. The recent trends in the development of the invasive process indicate its significant intensification. The proposed review provides information on the scale of biological invasions on Earth, history, current state and main directions of scientific research in this area. In particular, the factors that determine the possibility of invasion of an alien species are considered; stages of the invasive process; ecological, genetic and evolutionary consequences of invasions for natural ecosystems; the impact of invasive species on human safety and health and the social and economic sectors; approaches to forecasting and control of the invasive process.

Modern problems of the investigation of marine biodiversity and bio-resources and their inventory in the deep-sea of the World Ocean are considered. The discussion of these problems is also based on the data of a series of deep-water marine expeditions of the National Scientific Center of Marine Biology of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (NSCMB FEB RAS) in the deepest areas of the Far Eastern Seas and adjacent waters of the North-West Pacific. New results of a series of the deep-sea expeditions within the special RAS Project “Fundamental problems of investigation and conservation of the deep-sea ecosystems in the potentially ore-reach areas in the North-West Pacific” are briefly introduced and discussed (project of RAS № 3.1902.21.0012). Several “unique” deep-sea ecosystems found in the ore bearing sites and the active fishing areas in the North-West Pacific are described. Some safety opportunities for these “unique” ecosystems and possible limitations in the use of dangerous mining and fishing techniques disturbing deep-sea landscapes are considered, including various conservation statuses.

Virotherapy, or therapy with oncolytic viruses, is one of the most rapidly developing approaches to the treatment of a wide range of solid tumors. The article is devoted to the development and study of the properties of the first domestic drug based on recombinant vaccinia virus. The recombinant virus VV-GMCSF-Lact was engineered from Lister strain (L-IVP) vaccinia virus. The cytotoxic activity and antitumor efficacy of the virus against human tumor cells of various tissue origins were shown on cell cultures and tumor models. The drug has successfully passed preclinical studies as a drug against human breast cancer, including a triple negative phenotype. The drug was proven to be safe, well tolerated and pharmacologically effective. It is currently in Phase I clinical trials to study safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics in patients with relapsed and/or refractory metastatic breast cancer. VV-GMCSF-Lact is the first Russian antitumor oncolytic virus which received the permission from the Russian Ministry of Health to conduct clinical trials.

The paper provides a brief overview of the available facts and ideas about the nature of climate change. The problems of ecological research, which are becoming more acute in relation to biosphere research, are considered: this is the problem of data deficit and the problem of the uniqueness of ecosystems. The key difference between the biosphere and natural ecosystems is highlighted, which ensures the long-term, in the ultimate perspective infinite, existence of the biosphere – the existence of a balance of biogen cycles or the closure of the flows of substances. The advantages of laboratory closed ecological systems (CES) as tools for experimental and theoretical study of the biosphere are considered. The contribution of the most well-known CES (BIOS-3, Folsom microcosms, Biosphere-2, micro-CES) to the understanding of biospheric processes is discussed. The problems and paradoxes identified in the mathematical modeling of CESs (Vernadsky-Darwin paradox, limitations of models of rigid metabolism), which are closely related to the well-known ecological paradoxes of May and Hutchinson, are discussed. A flexible metabolism approach is proposed to reduce the severity of these paradoxes. The measures proposed within the framework of so-called “green initiative” are discussed from the position of “biosphere as a CES”. Among these measures are reducing the carbon footprint of pets, migration to electric vehicles and renewable energy sourcesб and carbon sequestration by trees. The seriousness of biosphere-climatic changes problem is emphasized, which cannot be resolved without accounting the closure of substance flows in the biosphere.

Limited reserves of fossil fuels and the negative impact of their combustion products on the environment are two pressing problems of our time. The development of alternative energy sources, among which solar energy is the most accessible, is considered as a possible solution. Acquisition of skills of its effective and environmentally friendly use by creating artificial photosynthetic systems imitating the processes of natural photosynthesis, as well as the use of artificial photosynthesis for the production of biofuels can contribute to a way out of the current situation.