Russia's President Vladimir Putin speaks during the Presidential Council on Science and Education at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, December 8, 2014. Putin said on Monday that Russia should make a leap in developing its fundamental sci
IN PHOTO: Russia's President Vladimir Putin speaks during the Presidential Council on Science and Education at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, December 8, 2014. Putin said on Monday that Russia should make a leap in developing its fundamental science after Western powers limited the country's access to modern technology as part of sanctions over Moscow's actions in Ukraine. Reuters/Dmitry Lovetsky/Pool

Moscow State University (MSU) has received a grant of one billion rubles or AU$237.77 million from the government, making it as Russia's most expensive grant in aid of an ambitious scientific project. The university plans to build a 166 square mile facility which will house the project and has been dubbed as "Noah's Ark". The project that borrows its concept from the famous biblical story aims to freeze and store cells which could reproduce in the future, making it as the world's first DNA databank.

According to Gizmodo, the project is technically not the first of its kind in the world since the National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. holds the widest array of bio-repository in the world. The institution owns more than 4.2 million of samples and is looking into expanding to 5 million vials. Apparently, Russia plans to beat the current standing of the said institution once the project commences in 2018.

Victor Sadivnichy, MSU's rector said that the project will involve the creation of a depository which would serve as a databank that will store every living thing on the planet. He also adds that the project will include not only the living but also disappearing and even distinct organisms. Aside from the depository, Sadivnichy said that it will contain information systems and Russia's big scientific take to re-create an actual Noah's Ark will make them the first in world history.

Based on Daily Mail's report, there are other projects that also look into preserving DNA's of living creatures. Like the San Diego Zoo which is among the list of the so-called "frozen zoos". The act of freezing sperm, DNA and other animal matter in liquid nitrogen started in 1976. As of today, the zoo keeps around 8,400 samples derived from over 800 species.

On the other hand, Britain's Frozen Ark Project is a collaborative work of biological societies, zoos, museums and other research facilities. According to the institution's website, biologists with the help of preserved viable cells might be able to "reverse the dangerous loss of genetic variation that can cause infertility and early death in breeding programmes". The Frozen Ark Project maintains around 28,604 frozen DNA samples and it is important to note that more than 7,000 of the samples are from the list of endangered species. The crucial list includes the Spiny Lobster, the Channel Islands Fox, the Bonefish, the Indiana Bat and Cat's Paw Coral.

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