Panama will build a "biobank" to tap medical and agricultural potential

According to the South American overseas Chinese daily, Panama's "knowledge city" (Ciudad Del saber) is a gathering area of academic institutions, technology companies and non-governmental organizations, which is invested by the government and managed by a foundation with the same name In the near future, knowledge city will also establish a "biobank" for medical and agricultural research According to reports, the "biobank" will be used to store about 500 strains of bacteria, 1000 kinds of microbial extracts, and 20 kinds of compounds They will be classified for antiparasitic and microbiological testing to find ways to prevent Chagas disease, malaria, leishmaniasis and cancer, and to further test their ability to fight crop pathogens A Panamanian biological collection research project funded by us scientific research institutions ended in 2014, and all the remaining samples will be included in the "biological bank" to be established Through this biosphere, the Ministry of environment of Panama will accurately grasp the medical and agricultural potential of various biological resources, so as to better implement relevant standards in the application of biotechnology, such as the contracting contents of the Nagoya protocol on access to genetic resources and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilization From April 6 to 8, Panamanian experts in related fields at home and abroad will hold a seminar around the "biobank" project, aiming to establish a fungus protection strategy and prepare a fungus list together with the staff of the Ministry of environment In addition, the project will also study pollinating insects On April 6, a number of experts will guide the residents on the Bank of the R í o Indio River in donoso district on topics such as the care of meliponini and honey production According to people concerned, "biobank" project cost more than 500000 US dollars, funded by water resources, protected areas and Wildlife Trust Fund.