Dark energy is one of the biggest puzzles in science and we're now a step closer to understanding it 
Synthetic human embryos let researchers study early development while sidestepping ethical and logistical hurdles 
Why now is the time to address humanity’s impact on the moon 
Black hole, neutron star or something new? We discovered an object that defies explanation 
How do airplanes fly? An aerospace engineer explains the physics of flight 
If life exists on Jupiter’s moon Europa, scientists might soon be able to detect it 
Customizing mRNA is easy, and that's what makes it the next frontier for personalized medicine − a molecular biologist explains 
Could a telescope ever see the beginning of time? An astronomer explains 
The mystery of consciousness shows there may be a limit to what science alone can achieve 
Archeoastronomy uses the rare times and places of previous total solar eclipses to help us measure history 
The brightest object in the universe is a black hole that eats a star a day 
Genetic diseases: How scientists are working to make DNA repair (almost) a piece of cake 
Alpha, beta, theta: what are brain states and brain waves? And can we control them? 
Eggs from men, sperm from women: how stem cell science may change how we reproduce 
Norway’s Svalbard Global Seed Vault or the Doomsday vault, as it is more commonly known, is home to countless species of plants and crops. The facility is meant to house and protect these seeds so that in the event of a nuclear war or a natural calamity that leads to the apocalypse, there is a chance to regrow the food that was lost. Recently, 50,000 new seed samples that were collected from all over the world were placed in the vault for safekeeping.
There are other seed deposits all over, but the one in Norway is the most significant and is the best protected. This is meant to ensure that if all the other seed deposits were lost, the underground facility that is buried under permafrost for better preservation will get the job done, Phys.org reports.
Aside from the fact that there are now more seeds that will be preserved, many of the seeds sent are also a result of reconstitution. These are seeds that will be perfect for planting in dry, hot regions, which may make them necessary for when the world gets a little too hot for more delicate samples.
As the head of the International Center for Agricultural Research, Aly Abousabaa said on Thursday, what they were able to achieve with the reconstituted seeds that they then stored puts them one step closer to being able to "find solutions to pressing regional and global challenges." The researchers who reconstituted the seeds even had to borrow them from other seed banks.
The vault itself is the brainchild of Cary Fowler, which sees the vault as something of a safety deposit box, Futurism reports. While it can certainly function as a means of populating the world with plants and other botanical organisms in the case of a major catastrophe, plants species die off all the time. The vault can help out with bringing them back as well.
