Moscow State University has started an ambitious and large-scale project with a great name “Noah’s Ark of the XXI century”. This idea implies the opening of the National bank-depository of living systems – innovative and modern genetic bio-material storage of all types of existing and extinct organisms of the Earth.
The appearance of the bank-depository will make it possible to preserve the biological diversity of the planet, as if necessary, all these instances will be re-create with the help of cloning. In addition, the project will help create new methods of useful applying of biological material.
It should be noted that such large banks of genetic information exist in the world already. However, they often represent a repository of one particular type of biological material. Another significant difference of MSU’s project is the multifunctionality and interdisciplinary structure. In addition to specialists, the depositary will involve scientists of other areas: physics, mathematics, geology, geography and others.
It is expected that the bank-depositary to be built by 2018 and it will take about 430 km2 of a new campus on the Vorobyovy Hills. In the first phase 1 billion rubles will be invested in the project . The grant is allocated by the Russian Science Foundation.
