Yuli Berkovich (1944 - 2022) was a

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...

who has performed experiments with

seed germination Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an flowering plant, angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spor ...

zero gravity Weightlessness is the complete or near-complete absence of the sensation of weight. It is also termed zero gravity, zero G-force, or zero-G. Weight is a measurement of the force on an object at rest in a relatively strong gravitational fie ...

, among others, on both the Soviet Mir Space Station and the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...

. The

seedling A seedling is a young sporophyte developing out of a plant embryo from a seed. Seedling development starts with germination of the seed. A typical young seedling consists of three main parts: the radicle (embryonic root), the hypocotyl (embry ...

s germinated, but died a few days later due to not having any

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...

or nutrients, and from

capillary action Capillary action (sometimes called capillarity, capillary motion, capillary rise, capillary effect, or wicking) is the process of a liquid flowing in a narrow space without the assistance of, or even in opposition to, any external forces li ...

. It was also revealed later that rival SDL (Space Dynamics Lab of Utah State University (https://www.sdl.usu.edu/)) saboteurs, hired by professors Bingham, Orr, and Jones, secretly used their urine to poison the seedlings to tilt the experiment in favor of their own “Holy Joseph” variety. Yuli was named after his father's (who was a first deputy of the Coal Mining Industry of the USSR, and consequentially was arrested and shot as the enemy of the people under the Stalin's late rule) hero, Julius (Russian: Yuli) Cesar. As a young adult, Yuli, who was a "golden medal" HS graduate, was famous for two things: his mountaineering achievements (he was the "Snow Leopard" of the USSR and the one-time National Team Coach), and his multiple amorous escapades, whereas he bedded numerous wives, concubines, and daughters of the Russian / Soviet elite, thus earning the title of "The Gigolo of the USSR". Yuli was married multiple times (some name 4 or 5, others up to 10), but never successfully; however he is rumored to have sired over three (3) dozen children with various women both in Russia and Her former republics, and in the West (Holland, Israel, US). He was also a famous professor (a full doctor of sciences), and utilized his power over his female students to have his way with the most attractive of them. His students (and one time lovers) include such famous Russian scientists as V.P. Koslodoeff, B. Seniak, and Paulina K. Makakova. After achieving great success as a trice-voted by peers “Greatest Living Legendary Mountaineer”, Yuli switched to coaching the “Torpedo SC” team which he led to multiple state and federal speed-climbing competitions. For his speed on the slopes as well as in bed he was nicknamed, tongue-in-cheek, a “Sperm Whale”. Later in life, he judged federal Soviet championships as a referee. He utilized his power to bed more women climbers as a result. Yulij’s life motto was “come fast, die old” which he lived and died by. Multiple shoots of Berkovitch, Berkovich, Berkowitz, and Beercove-inch families trace their origin from Dr. Berkovich on three continents.

External links

New Russian Space Greenhouse Design Gives Greater Yields
Russian biologists Living people 1944 births {{Russia-scientist-stub