Modern Day Noah's Ark Dying

hype7 writes "The Sydney Morning Herald is running a story about the Monash Institute of Reproduction and Development's Gene Bank, which appears to be running out of funding. It seems a terrible shame, because the Bank has managed to accumulate thousands of Australian and foreign endangered species; a kind of modern day Noah's Ark. At the moment it's in limbo, using funds diverted from other projects to keep it in ER, but the prospects aren't looking good."

Comments

getting the priorities right.

[Alien54]

The Gene Bank, the only one of its type in Australia, has lost its technician and the laboratories used for the program face being taken over by a well-funded program on cattle breeding.

[shakes head] Sounds like the government there really has it's priorities straight.

I mean, wouldn't even a tenth of the money spent on "protecting" the morality of the Australian websurfing public be better served by setting a good example and protecting the future of the planet?

Depressing.

[ZaBu911]

This is the kind of thing that would lead to great things, if people continued support for it.

Would anyone please post information, if they know, pertaining to how we can donate to this museum? I think that many of us would like it.

"The community don't seem to care really deeply about biodiversity because they are not facing it every day. But it's a big concern among naturalists, conservationists and scientists. There's a decimation of these species."

The above quote was from the actual article. Their community doesn't care, for whatever reasons. Maybe they don't understand, maybe they don't know, maybe they're just shallow. But I think some of us may care.

We can use our computer skills to volunteer for them, maybe. Save them some money on hiring a designer for their web presence, making their databases more efficient, etc. This is what we're here for. Show the world that "hackers" do more good than harm.

Don't know what you've got till it's gone

[maggard]

If the Aussies can't fund their own program I'm sure any number of other nations or private institutions would be willing to receive the materials and maintain them.

Or no doubt some biotech company might be willing to do so in return for rights to the contents and any future derivatives thereof...

Of course these sorts of prospects usually spur native donors and the project is thus "rescued" but it is sad that things come to such a crisis, particularly when the Australian fauna (and flora) are unique in the world.

They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot spot
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot.

They took all the trees
And put them in a tree museum
And they charged all the people
A dollar and a half just to see 'em
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot.

...

- Joni Mitchell - Big Yellow Taxi