For the first time, Bulgaria participated as a full member in the International Coordinating Council of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme which was held in Agadir, Morocco, from 1 to 5 July. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ina Aneva, Scientific Secretary of the Biodiversity, Bioresources and Ecology Division was elected as Bulgaria's representative and as such participated in the session, expressing national positions on various issues raised through reports of the MAB Secretariat (contributions to the Montreal Framework; progress on the Lima Action Plan; proposals for new biosphere reserves and various changes to those already listed, more active youth participation in the Programme). The session also discussed a proposal to change the name of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme due to discriminatory issues. [...]

On May 10, 2024, the President of BAS Prof. Julian Revalski, Member of the Academy, met with the Secretary of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - Mr. Abdallah Mokssit, Mr. Julian Popov and his team from the Ministry of Environment and Water, in connection with the upcoming IPCC Plenary Session which will bring to Sofia over 400 participants from 150 countries. The working meeting was attended by Prof. Denitsa Borisova (Scientific Secretary of the Climate Change, Hazards and Natural Resources Division) and Assoc. Prof. Ina Aneva (Scientific Secretary of Biodiversity, Bioresources and Ecology Division) who would actively contribute to the involvement of BAS scientists in the work of the IPCC.

Scientists and experts presented scientific data and concrete results from the application of new genomic techniques, the advantages and disadvantages of their use, the opportunities they provide for solving a range of problems in medicine and agriculture. Prof. Dr. Valya Vassileva, Director of IPPG - BAS, made the presentation "Plant genome editing: a step towards a more sustainable future" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95sZNDvqqLM&t=773s) which focused on the advances in genome editing technologies and the prospects for their application to achieve a more sustainable future. Dr. Dilyana Kirova (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSfYYR_V9YM) and Aleksander Atemin (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HIhNo5S7kI) from the "Acad. Roumen Tsanev" Institute of Molecular Biology presented to the audience the current topic "CRISPR/Cas9 in research and biomedicine", demonstrating the potential of innovative genome editing techniques for the treatment of genetic diseases, the [...]

New and interesting facts and patterns reflecting different aspects of the evolution and distribution of the оьввду deer are presented in two papers published in the prestigious scientific journals PNAS and Nature's Scientific Reports. The findings are the result of a complex methodology combining the application of genetic markers and palaeontological data. Leading palaeogeneticists, archaeozoologists and palaeontologists include Prof. Nikolai Spassov from the National Museum of Natural History at BAS (NMNHS-BAS) who is among the authors who formulated the concept of the study. The migration routes of the species after the last glaciations and in the interglacial periods have been studied. The role of man in the dispersal of the species is demonstrated as well as the importance of this deer for hunting, lifestyle and [...]

  On November 1, 2023 Assoc. Prof. Nikolay Simov, Assoc. Prof. Rostislav Bekchiev, Assoc. Prof. Mario Langourov from NMNHS-BAS and Assoc. Prof. Ivailo Dedov from IBER-BAS successfully returned to their native land after almost three weeks of joint work with Vietnamese colleagues from Hanoi Pedagogical University No2 Xuan Hoa, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Ho Chi Minh City. For the second time the scientists from BAS embarked on the study of the fauna in this part of Southeast Asia. The current expedition focused on the mountain ranges of northern Vietnam - the Tam Dao and Fansipan mountains, among others. After the first survey expedition of the Bulgarian team in 2018, in the current survey the scientists expanded the set of research techniques and methods used to [...]

An international conference on the occasion of the 95th anniversary of the Forest Research Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences took place in the period 19-21 October 2023 at Grand Hotel Astoria. The conference was held under the title "Forests Without Borders" and brought together leading scientists, researchers and international experts who shared the latest research, programmes and policies in the field of forestry, ecology and ecosystem services. The international forum created an opportunity for exchange of experience, fruitful discussions and future collaborations. Scientists from Austria, Serbia, North Macedonia, Greece, Türkiye, Germany, Croatia took part. Altogether 63 reports and 43 posters were presented at the conference. They covered the following thematic areas: Forestry and sustainable forest management; Forestry and forest genetic resources; Forest ecology [...]