  This work briefly surveys unconventional research in Russia from the end of
the 19th until the beginning of the 21th centuries in areas related to
generation and detection of a 'high-penetrating' emission of non-biological
origin. The overview is based on open scientific and journalistic materials.
The unique character of this research and its history, originating from
governmental programs of the USSR, is shown. Relations to modern studies on
biological effects of weak electromagnetic emission, several areas of
bioinformatics and theories of physical vacuum are discussed.
