The 37th session of the International Co-ordinating Council (MAB-ICC) of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme was held in Hangzhou, China, from 26 to 28 September 2025. Bulgaria, which is a full member of this highest governing body of the Programme, was represented by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ina Aneva - Scientific Secretary of the Biodiversity, Bioresources and Ecology Division, elected by the UNESCO General Conference for a four-year term. The Hangzhou session brought together representatives from countries around the world to chart the future of the Man and the Biosphere Programme, discuss strategic priorities and consider proposals for new biosphere reserves. During the sessions, Assoc. Prof. Aneva took part and expressed Bulgaria's position on issues of the agenda. She welcomed the digitalization of MAB processes [...]

  The excavations of the palaeontological team of the National Museum of Natural History (NMNHS-BAS) in the Late Miocene Azmaka trove (Chirpan region), led by Prof. Nikolai Spassov, have aroused particular international interest in connection with the discovery of a hominid femur bone (a fossil member of the human family) dated 7.2 million years ago. After the publication in 2012 of a hominid tooth found in the same trove, this is the second find discovered by the team. The femur, presumably attributed to the hominid Graecopithecus described by a mandible found during World War II near Athens, has important implications for palaeoanthropology. It provides an opportunity to study the mode of locomotion of this latest European pre-human hominid. The now completed study (in print) shows [...]

  Part of the expedition team (from left to right): Assoc. Prof. Docho Dochev, Asst. Prof. Vladimir Nikolov, Prof. Marlena Yaneva and Georgi Sevov. Photo: Latinka Hristova The eighth palaeontological expedition of the National Museum of Natural History at BAS to the locality of dinosaurs and other vertebrates of Late Cretaceous age near the town of Tran which took place from 28 July to 5 August finished with new dinosaur finds. The leader of the expedition, Assoc. Prof. Latinka Hristova from NMNHS-BAS, found an almost completely preserved dinosaur rib; the length of the fossil bone is about 50 centimeters. Prof. Marlena Yaneva ("Strashimir Dimitrov" Geological Institute - BAS), Assoc. Prof. Docho Dochev (Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski"), Asst. Prof. Vladimir Nikolov (NMNHS-BAS), students [...]

At the Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics of BAS, the first of its kind for Bulgaria Practical Training Course on Nanopore Barcoding and Genome Analysis was held. The training took place in the period 7-9 July and was aimed at undergraduate students, PhD students and young scientists. The aim of the training was to build scientific capacity in the field of DNA barcoding and nanopore sequencing and their application to the study of biodiversity. The event was organised by the Bulgarian DNA barcoding unit (Bulgarian Barcode of Life - BgBOL) with the support of the European project initiative Biodiversity Genomics Europe (BGE). Six expert lecturers from Greece (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki), Poland (Lodz University) and Bulgaria (National Museum of Natural History, BAS) participated in [...]