Pushchino

Pushchino (Russian: Пущино, IPA: [ˈpuɕːɪnə]) is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia, an important scientific center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Situated 100 kilometers (62 mi) south of Moscow, and 13 km south-east of Serpukhov, on the right side of the Oka River opposite the Prioksko-Terrasny Nature Reserve. It is informally called Pushchino-on-Oka. Population: 20,332 (2010 census); 19,964 (2002 census); 19,479 (1989 Soviet census). Pushchino Research Center of Russian Academy of Sciences has unique status and significance. It hosts a major component of Russian Federation endeavor in the fields of physical, chemical, and bio-molecular biology. It employs more than 3000 people, of whom 800 hold doctorates in science or medicine. Pushchino scientists have made seminal contributions to molecular and cell biology, bio-organic chemistry, plant and soil biology, as well as to astronomy and astrophysics - including the discovery of the solar supercorona and radial magnetic fields within it, and the discovery of radio recombination lines of highly excited atoms.