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 [...]

Prof. Dr. Valya Vassileva, Director of the Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics at BAS, is among the eight scientists and innovators from around the world selected to participate in the prestigious international Malmö Residency 2025 programme. Besides personal success, this is also a recognition of the high scientific level and international commitment of the Bulgarian academic community. Malmö Residency is an initiative of more than 70 institutions, universities, companies and public organisations in the Swedish city of Malmö. The programme is funded by the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth (Tillväxtverket), Malmö City and the Swedish Institute. It offers a one-month stay, full logistical support and collaboration opportunities for international experts working on current topics such as green transition, artificial intelligence and emerging [...]

The International Earth Day was celebrated today by scientists from the Geological Institute of BAS with a conference which was held in the "Prof. Marin Drinov" Hall of the Academy. The director of the institute, Assoc. Prof. Svetoslav Georgiev, opened the forum which was attended by representatives of the Bulgarian Chamber of Mining and Geology, the Ministry of Energy, the Embassy of Finland, scientists from the country and abroad. "Despite Bulgaria's traditions in mining and deposits development, our country is not on the map of European deposits of critical raw materials. Bulgaria is also not on the list of 47 priority strategic projects for the European Commission for the extraction of critical raw materials," Assoc. Prof. Svetoslav Georgiev said. According to him, the topic of [...]