The article analyzes reforms of organizational structure of Russian science in the post-Soviet period. The authors suggest a new model of organizing research groups with the aim to increase international competitiveness of Russian science. The development of possible versions of organization of such groups was based on unfocused interviews with prominent Russian scholars and representatives of Russian-speaking research diaspora. Major principles of functioning of new laboratories are analyzed, including the linkages with host institutions, financial, human resources, and governance aspects, as well as procedures for monitoring and evaluation.

We report on the development of a heterodyne receiver at mid-infrared wavelength for high-resolution spectroscopy applications. The receiver employs a superconducting NbN hot electron bolometer as a mixer and a room temperature distributed feedback quantum cascade laser operating at 10.6 μm (28.2 THz) as a local oscillator. The stabilization of the heterodyne receiver has been achieved using a feedback loop controlling the output power of the laser. Improved Allan variance times as well as a double sideband receiver noise temperature of 5000 K and a noise bandwidth of 2.8 GHz of the receiver system are demonstrated.

Rene Almeling’s book Sex Cells: The Medical Market for Eggs and Sperm concerns the issues of the gendered framing of the market and the commodification of the human body and its parts. With the rich empirical base of the study, Almeling offers a new way of theorizing bodily commodification, noting the non-commonality of this phenomenon and emphasizing the diversity of market organizational and experienced practices. The detailed and unbiased analysis of market organization and its experience, in which these two aspects are viewed in their interrelationship, promotes a better understanding of what is occurring when bodily products are offered for sale. In addition, Almeling develops Viviana Zelizer’s model for market analysis, adding a biological factor to the economic, structural, and cultural factors. The book teaches us not to forget that the phenomena of the social world are highly complex and multifaceted and, therefore, cannot be explained with the application of simplified analytical schemes. Moreover, Almeling’s study, in which she links together several layers of social reality, is an excellent example of how to deal with this task. The book review acquaints readers with the basic points of the book and sex cells’ market construction in the United States; it also focuses on the issues that require further investigation. The reviewer will try to show the importance of including the biological factor in the theoretical framework for market analyses and its possibilities beyond such a “peripheral” and sensitive subject.

The author's view on the historical significance of two events of 1961 - the flight of Yuri Gagarin and the testing of a hydrogen bomb - is described in the article.

This article provides information on the trail that remained in Russian philately in connection with the 150th anniversary of the great Russian scientist Vladimir Mikhailovich Bekhterev (1857-1927).