Use of nuclear physics methods in life sciences in the USSR

Analytical nuclear physics methods, as well as radioanalytical, X-ray, and radiometric techniques are widely used in the Soviet Union in life sciences studies. Main approaches to the study of natural materials by activation analysis, including bulk analyses, localized analyses, speciation, and in vivo experiments are described. Examples of applications in agriculture to increase protein content of wheat, to improve crop yield, and to enhance resistivity of cotton plants to diseases are given. Activation analysis is used in medicine for prognosis and study of processes of pathogenesis. Detailed information on trace elements is valuable in environmental studies, and general regularities in biogeochemistry may be clarified with activation analysis.