untenable. The "mitogenetic ray" was one of the scientific topics characterized by Irving Langmuir as "pathological science." However, the tenacity of Anna Gurwitsch, together with the development of the photon counter multiplier, resulted in the confirmation of the phenomenon of biophotons in 1962. The observation was duplicated in a Western laboratory by Quickenden and Que Hee in 1974. In the same year, Dr. V. P. Kaznacheyev announced that his research team in Novosibirsk had detected intercellular communication by means of these rays. Fritz-Albert Popp claims they exhibit coherent patterns. These studies have drawn only fringe interest. There has been a recent revival in field theories of life, albeit again at the fringes of science, particularly among those who seek to include an account of developmental psychobiology. The influence of Gurwitsch's theory is particularly evident in the work of the British plant physiologist, Rupert Sheldrake, and his concept of "morphic resonance." See also Regional specification Hans Spemann Walter John Kilner Bibliography A. G. Gurvich. The Theory of Biological Field. - Moscow: Soviet Science, 1944. A. G. Gurvich. Mitogenetic radiation [3rd ed.] - Moscow, 1945. References Sources L. Blyakher, S. Zalkind. Alexander Gavrilovich Gurvich. Bulletin of Moscow Society of Naturalists. Department of Biology, 1955, Vol 60, Part 4: Alexander Gavrilovich Gurvich, Moscow, 1970 (a bibliography). Biophotonics (L.V.Beloussov and F.-A. Popp eds) BioInform Services, Moscow, 1995. Biophotonics and Coherent Systems (L. V. Beloussov, F.-A. Popp, V.L. Voeikov and R. van Wijk eds) Moscow University Press, Moscow 2000. Biophotonics and Coherent Systems in Biology by L. V. Beloussov (editor), V. L. Voeikov (editor), V. S. Martynyuk (editor), Springer Science+Business Media, LLC., 2007, New York. 1954 deaths Scientists from Poltava 1874 births Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Academic staff of Tavrida National V.I. Vernadsky University Stalin Prize winners Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Cell biologists Developmental biologists Ukrainian embryologists Soviet biologists Jewish biologists Jewish Ukrainian scientists Ukrainian Jews