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Message From Michelle: A Fond Farewell
Message From Michelle: A Fond Farewell Dear BBSA Community, As many of you may know, I officially retired from SANBI and as the Biodiversity Biobanks South Africa Lead at the beginning of November 2024. This ...
Job Opportunity: Curator Of Ornithology – Durban Natural Science Museum
Job Opportunity: Curator of Ornithology - Durban Natural Science Museum The Durban Natural Science Museum (DNSM) is a small museum with a big mission: to acquire and disseminate knowledge about the Earth, its history, and ...
National Science Week 2024: Sharing Life In A High-Tech World
National Science Week 2024: Sharing Life In A High-Tech World National Science Week is an annual celebration of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and innovation (STEMI) that brings together thousands of students and members of the ...
IMBM Microbial Biobank Provides Training Opportunities For The Next Generation of Microbial Biotechnologists
IMBM Microbial Biobank Provides Training Opportunities For The Next Generation of Microbial Biotechnologists The Institute for Microbial Biotechnology and Metagenomics (IMBM) is recognised as one of the leading research units at the University of the ...
Youth Of The BBSA: The Future Of Biodiversity Biobanking
Youth Of The BBSA: The Future Of Biodiversity Biobanking Biobanks can help study, preserve and protect our biodiversity - and also help us learn to deal with diseases and genetic abnormalities in humans, livestock and ...
Seeds of Hope: Millennium Seed Bank Partnership Preserves Our Plants For The Future
Seeds of Hope: Millennium Seed Bank Partnership Preserves Our Plants For The Future “If you’ve ever had the chance to look at a seed under a microscope, you’ll know that each seed is completely different ...
Message From Michelle: A Change In Leadership
Michelle’s Message: A Change In Leadership After working for more than 30 years, including 15 years at SANBI, it’s time for me to hand over the reins to the next generation to lead the Biodiversity ...
BBSA Job Opportunities – Director & Deputy Director: Project Management
BBSA Job Opportunities: Director & Project Manager The Biodiversity Biobanks South Africa is a network of institutions that preserve, maintain and utilise South Africa’s vast biodiversity biobanking resources - and provide critical research infrastructure for ...
ISBER 2024: Bringing Together The World’s Best Biobankers
Bringing Together The World’s Best Biobankers: ISBER 2024 The Biodiversity Biobanks South Africa (BBSA) provides a coordinating structure across several of South Africa’s biodiversity biobanks. But some problems are too big for one organization - ...
Preserving Our Past, Protecting Our Future: Why We Need Biodiversity Biobanks
Preserving Our Past, Protecting Our Future: Why Biodiversity Biobanks Matter South Africa is one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth. Not only is the country blessed with exceptional species richness, with thousands of plants, ...
Biodiversity Biobanking Reading List: Latest News From SYNTHESYS+ Project
Biodiversity Biobanking Reading List: Latest News From SYNTHESYS+ Project The Biodiversity Biobanks South Africa (BBSA) provides a coordinating structure across several of South Africa’s biodiversity biobanks. But it’s not just about one (albeit megadiverse) country. ...
Biodiversity Biobanks: An Insurance Policy For The Future Of Nature
Biodiversity Biobanks: An Insurance Policy For The Future Of Nature In a world where climate change, habitat destruction, overexploitation and pollution are leading to increasing loss of biodiversity that is altering the capacity of the ...
Webinar Invite | What We Learned At The Global Genome Biodiversity Conference
Webinar Invite | What We Learned At The Global Genome Biodiversity Conference Some problems are too big to handle alone. Preserving and understanding biodiversity is one of those problems. That’s why the Biodiversity Biobanks South ...
Rekha Sathyan: What’s In Our Biodiversity Biobanks Anyway?
Rekha Sathyan: What's In Our Biodiversity Biobanks Anyway? Biobanks are essential to preserving South Africa’s vast biodiversity heritage. But to get the most out of them, we need to know what’s in them - and ...
UFS Yeast Culture Collection: Featuring Fantastic Yeast
UFS Yeast Culture Collection: Featuring Fantastic Yeast Contrary to what many of us may think, yeasts aren’t just found in breads and beers. These unicellular organisms are hundreds of millions of years old, found all ...
ARC National Small Grain Collection – Seeding A Secure Future
ARC National Small Grain Collection - Seeding A Secure Future Grains matter. They’re a food staple in almost every culture on Earth, responsible for almost half the calories we consume (directly and indirectly) for thousands ...
SANBI Biobank – Saving Species, Building Biodiversity
SANBI Wildlife Biobank – Saving Species, Building Biodiversity The wildlife biobank at the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) has been dedicated to the long-term collection, curation and archiving of biodiversity samples for more than ...
Meet The Member: Khathu Neshunzhi – Learning To Love The (Wild)Life
Meet The Member: Khathu Neshunzhi – Learning To Love The (Wild)Life When he was young, Khathutshelo Neshunzhi (just call him Khathu) was given two important bits of advice. First, don’t ever stop learning and growing ...
Watch | Biodiversity Biobanks Gap Analysis & Expansion Project
Watch | Biodiversity Biobanks Gap Analysis & Expansion Project South Africa is one of 17 megadiverse countries globally, with not only exceptional species richness, but also exceptional levels of uniqueness (endemism), as well as biome ...
SANBI Wild Plant Seedbank – A Time Capsule Of Plants Past
SANBI Wild Plant Seedbank – A Time Capsule Of Plants Past Plant species worldwide are under threat of becoming extinct as a result of habitat loss, invasive alien plants, over-collection and more - and South ...
Women of the BBSA: The Backbone of Biodiversity Biobanking
Women of the BBSA: The Backbone of Biodiversity Biobanking On 9 August 1956, four brave women - Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa, Sophie Williams and Lilian Ngoyi - led over 20 000 women of all races ...
Meet The Member: Gretha Snyman – The GOAT of Goat Biobanking
Meet The Member: Gretha Snyman - The GOAT of Goat Biobanking Gretha Snyman always knew she wanted to work with animals. Her guidance counselor told her she could breed them (as a farmer), kill them ...
Invite | Global Genome Biodiversity Network 2023 Conference – October 2023
Invite | Global Genome Biodiversity Network 2023 Conference - October 2023 The Global Genome Biodiversity Network 2023 conference expects to gather academic institutions and representatives of the private and public sectors from around the world, ...
Why Taxonomy Matters: A Rose, By Any Other Name
A Rose, By Any Other Name: Why Taxonomy Matters South Africa is known for its big game and other wildlife which attracts millions of tourists every year, boosting the economy and creating hundreds of thousands ...
Meet The Biobank: Grootfontein Biobank – Breeding Better Sheep (And Goats)
Meet The Biobank: Grootfontein Biobank – Breeding Better Sheep (And Goats) Most biobanks are staffed entirely by humans (for obvious reasons). But while the human team at Grootfontein Biobank for Sheep and Goats, does most ...
Information Session | Animal Disease Control Act – Section 20 Permits & Registration
Information Session | Animal Disease Control Act - Section 20 Permits & Registration South Africa is - as we all know - one of the world’s most biodiverse regions. The 1984 Animal Diseases Act helps ...
Shared Wealth & Environmental Health: How Biobanking Benefits South Africa
Shared Wealth & Environmental Health: How Biobanking Benefits South Africa It’s no secret that South Africa - like many other developing (and developed) nations - has its problems. Some of the big ones include poverty, ...
Meet The Member: Riana Jacobs Venter – Finding the Fun in Fungi
Meet The Member: Riana Jacobs Venter - Finding the Fun in Fungi Fungi aren’t quite as famous as plants or animals. But they’re every bit as important - and every bit as interesting. Just ask ...
Meet The Biobank: ARC National Collection of Fungi – Much More Than Mushrooms
Meet The Biobank: ARC National Collection of Fungi - More Than Mushrooms The Agricultural Research Council (ARC) has several biobanks that form part of the core biobank system of the Biodiversity Biobanks South Africa (BBSA), ...
South Africa Is Famous For Its Biodiversity: Biobanks Can Help Keep It That Way
South Africa is famous for its biodiversity: we need a network to preserve and manage it Michelle Hamer, South African National Biodiversity Institute South Africa has created a network of facilities to store hundreds of ...
Meet The Member: Mpho Mohlakoana – A Plant For Every Ailment
Meet The Member: Mpho Mohlakoana - A Plant For Every Ailment There’s a story botanist Mpho Mohlakoana likes to tell - a story that encapsulates her passion for plants, and explains why she’s dedicated years ...
Webinar Invite | Biodiversity Biobanks Gap Analysis & Expansion
Webinar Invite | Biodiversity Biobanks Gap Analysis & Expansion Project South Africa is considered as one of the 17 megadiverse countries globally, with not only exceptional species richness, but also exceptional levels of uniqueness (endemism), ...
Biobanking & the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Lean, Green & Clean
Saving The World Through Biobanking: BBSA & the Sustainable Development Goals The UN Sustainable Development Goals are an urgent call for countries to come together in a global partnership to improve health and education, reduce ...
SANBI Indigenous Plant DNA Biobank: Saving Our Genetic Heritage
Meet The Biobank: SANBI Indigenous Plant DNA Biobank: Saving Our Genetic Heritage South Africa is a known biodiversity hotspot, boasting over 20 000 indigenous plants of all shapes and sizes and high levels of endemism. ...
SANParks Veterinary Wildlife Services – A Walk On The Wild Side
Meet The Biobank: SANParks Veterinary Wildlife Services - A Walk On The Wild Side There are many unique and interesting biobanks in the Biodiversity Biobanks South Africa (BBSA) network. But few of them are quite ...
Meet The Member: Leana Freese – Collect First, Find Out Later
Meet The Member: Leana Freese - Collect First, Find Out Later Leana Rossouw Freese was born in Pretoria, the youngest of four siblings. She developed an interest in animals early on, and went on to ...
Meet The Biobanks: SAIAB – The Place Of Fishes (And More)
Meet The Biobanks: SAIAB - The Place Of Fishes (And More) More than seventy percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water. It’s where life began - and even now, where most of life’s ...
OPEN CALL: Nominations for 2023 GBIF Graduate Researchers Award
OPEN CALL: Nominations for 2023 GBIF Graduate Researchers Award The call is now open for the GBIF 2023 Graduate Researchers Award (previously the Young Researchers Award). The award fosters innovative research and discovery in biodiversity ...
BBSA Launch: Celebrating Knowledge That Makes A Difference
BBSA Launch: Celebrating Knowledge That Makes A Difference South Africa’s biodiversity biobanks can be found on university campuses, in dedicated research facilities and even at national parks, handling live cultures of bacteria and single-celled organisms, ...
Women of Biobanking: Science Heroines Who Changed The World
Women of Biobanking: Science Heroines Who Changed The World When it comes to solving our biggest challenges, it takes a (global) village. But throughout history, women in science have been isolated and ignored. Fortunately, that’s ...
We Want You | Service Provider for Website Hosting & Maintenance
We Want You | Opportunity: Service Provider for Hosting and Maintenance of Websites The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) seeks to appoint a service provider to provide hosting and technical maintenance for existing websites ...
Biodiversity Biobanks South Africa Unites Experts In Search For Solutions
Biodiversity Biobanks South Africa Launch Unites Experts In Search For Solutions The official launch of the Biodiversity Biobanks South Africa on 1 March 2023 will celebrate the network of institutions that preserve, maintain and utilise ...
Further Together: BBSA Joins Global Genome Biodiversity Network
Further Together: BBSA Joins Global Genome Biodiversity Network Some problems are too big for one country to tackle alone. But as a new member of the Global Genome Biodiversity Network (GGBN), the Biodiversity Biobanks South ...
Invasive Fungi Hub At ARC-PHP: Coming Together To Protect SA’s Food Security
Invasive Fungi Hub At ARC-PHP: Coming Together To Protect SA’s Food Security Worldwide, invasive species are recognized as a threat to biosecurity and food security. According to one global estimate, the cost of invasive species ...
Five Things You Always Wanted To Know About Biobanks (But Were Too Afraid To Ask)
Five Things You Always Wanted To Know About Biobanks (But Were Too Afraid To Ask) Biosciences and health sciences are advancing quickly, with new technologies and techniques invented every day. Molecular level investigations are being ...
Call for Applications: Postdoctoral Scholarship for Research on Biodiversity Biobanks In SA
Call for Applications: Postdoctoral Scholarship for Research on Biodiversity Biobanks In SA The Biodiversity Biobanks South Africa (BBSA), which is funded by the Department of Science & Innovation as part of the South African Research ...
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What are biodiversity biobanks?
Biodiversity biobanks are repositories of biologically relevant resources, including reproductive tissues such as seeds, eggs and sperm, other tissues including blood, DNA extracts, microbial cultures (active and dormant), and environmental samples containing biological communities….
