[Soviet pseudoscientist Trofim Denisovich] Lysenko’s supposed innovation … was based on a disproven idea in evolutionary biology called Lamarckian inheritance. French biologist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and his followers thought that things an organism experiences in its lifetime can be handed down to the next generation. The classic example is a giraffe that has to stretch to reach leaves producing offspring with long necks.

This idea ran counter to Mendelian genetics, which holds that genes — not environmental influences — control traits and are passed to offspring. Mendelian geneticists thought it would take five years to breed more cold-tolerant crops. Lysenko said he could do it in two to three years.…

Lysenko was put in charge of a prestigious genetics institute and forced his scientifically unsound farming practices on the collective farms. His methods were disastrous.

Soaking seeds in freezing water hampered germination, leading to crop losses. Millions starved. Meanwhile, Mendelian genetics was branded a “whore of capitalism,” and geneticists were forced to renounce their views or lose their jobs. Many were jailed, and almost a dozen were executed or died in prison. — Tina Hesman Saey, “Here’s what happens when you put politicians in charge of science”

See also:

Trump administration proposal would all but end scientific merit in grant funding, critics say—Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026

Researchers say this new Trump rule could destroy American science as we know it. They’re fighting back, CNN, 4 June 2026

What does Trump’s call for ‘gold standard science’ really mean? —Science, 27 May 2025