On March 20, 2026, the Institute of Biochemistry named after O.V. Palladin of the NAS of Ukraine held the next meeting of the general academic interdisciplinary seminar in the field of natural sciences "Topical Issues of Physico-Chemical and Mathematical Biology". The well-known Ukrainian photo artist and former employee of the Institute of Biochemistry named after O.V. Palladin of the NAS of Ukraine in the 1980s–1990s, Ihor Chervonenko, gave a report titled "Beauty, multifacetedness, and diversity of living nature. Landscape photography as a tool for its study".
In his opening remarks, the seminar leader, Deputy Director for Scientific Work of the Institute of Biochemistry named after O.V. Palladin of the NAS of Ukraine, Head of the Muscle Biochemistry Department of this Institute, academician of the NAS of Ukraine, Sergiy Kosterin, noted that the issues of human unity with nature, the "balance" in the sociobiological system "human – society – living nature," environmental monitoring and protection are also, to some extent, interdisciplinary. He introduced the speaker, mentioning that Ihor Chervonenko worked for a long time at the Institute of Biochemistry named after O.V. Palladin of the NAS of Ukraine – in the Muscle Biochemistry Department. Sergiy Kosterin and Ihor Chervonenko collaborated on several works dedicated to transmembrane proton-calcium exchange in smooth muscle cells. Thanks to numerous travels, Ihor Chervonenko took many photographs of living nature objects. These were awarded and published by reputable publications, including "National Geographic." The artist's solo photo exhibitions (such as the "OBRIY" exhibition) showcase harmonious landscapes and the beauty of landscape photography. "It seems to me that Ihor Chervonenko's photos emphasize the unity of humans with nature. They reflect unique moments of our life and environment," said Sergiy Kosterin.
Then Ihor Chervonenko himself gave a lecture. He spoke about how his interest in artistic photography, the knowledge about nature acquired at university, and his love for it combined into a series of photographic materials that, as the author hopes, have not only artistic but also scientific value. During his travels to more than fifty countries, he took many informative, educational, and artistic photos of living nature objects. Ihor Chervonenko's creative output consists of kilometers of photographic film and terabytes of information. The speaker, as he noted himself, sincerely rejoices that modern photographic equipment allows capturing and carefully studying not only the smallest living nature objects during their ordinary life activities but also "freezing the moment" in such rapid motion as, for example, the wing flap of a hummingbird or a hawk moth. Ihor Chervonenko says this inspires him to improve his skills both for creating artistic photos and for works that demonstrate scientific facts resulting from natural science research. In his exhibitions, the photo artist always tries to show beautiful and interesting landscapes as well as behavioral features of animals through landscape photography. Overall, in his presentation illustrated with his own photographs, Ihor Chervonenko spoke about photography as a tool for studying living nature, manifestations of natural selection in the real environment through the eyes of a photographer, behavioral features of some animal and bird species captured in photos, the diversity of the animal world of our planet, and little-known representatives of Ukraine's ornithofauna living alongside us. He also announced a contest for the best expert on sparrows of Ukraine. The winner was seminar attendee Yana Tsvetkova.
Questions to the speaker and discussion of the report were made, among others, by:
- Director of the Institute of Biochemistry named after O.V. Palladin of the NAS of Ukraine, Advisor to the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, academician of the NAS of Ukraine Sergiy Komisarenko;
- Senior Researcher of the Molecular Biophysics Department of the B.I. Verkin Institute for Low Temperature Physics and Engineering of the NAS of Ukraine, Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor Vlada Pashynska;
- Head of the general academic interdisciplinary seminar in the field of natural sciences "Topical Issues of Physico-Chemical and Mathematical Biology," Deputy Director for Scientific Work of the Institute of Biochemistry named after O.V. Palladin of the NAS of Ukraine, Head of the Muscle Biochemistry Department of this Institute, academician of the NAS of Ukraine Sergiy Kosterin;
- Candidate of Biological Sciences Olena Likhmus;
- Head of the Lipid Biochemistry Department of the Institute of Biochemistry named after O.V. Palladin of the NAS of Ukraine, Candidate of Biological Sciences Halyna Kosyakova;
- Leading Researcher of the Scientific-Informational and Innovative Research Department of the Institute of Biochemistry named after O.V. Palladin of the NAS of Ukraine, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor Olha Matyshevska;
- Seminar participant Yana Tsvetkova.
In his closing remarks, Sergiy Kosterin thanked Ihor Chervonenko for the interesting and informative report and wished him further creative success in studying living nature.
The final chord of the meeting was Beethoven's piece – "Fantasy in G minor" – performed by a student of the National Music Academy of Ukraine, Kyrylo Kadurin.
VIDEO RECORDING OF THE SEMINAR
P.S. The next seminar meeting is scheduled for April 2026.
According to information from the Institute of Biochemistry named after O.V. Palladin of the NAS of Ukraine
Photo author – Volodymyr Koshovenko
