World's Doomsday Vaults: Unveiling Secrets of Humanity's Last Hope
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News1828-01-2026, 18:40

World's Doomsday Vaults: Unveiling Secrets of Humanity's Last Hope

  • The Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) in Sussex, Britain, a bomb-proof, multi-story underground vault, stores over 2.4 billion seeds from 190 countries.
  • It preserves copies of 40,150 different plant species, including the world's largest and smallest seeds, some extinct in the wild.
  • The vault maintains a frigid -20°C (-4°F) temperature, requiring special gear and limiting human presence to 10 minutes for seed preservation.
  • Known as 'doomsday repositories,' these vaults, like Svalbard Global Seed Vault, aim to safeguard biodiversity and food crops against global disasters.
  • The MSB has successfully aided reforestation efforts, with 80% of its distributed seeds germinating, preventing local extinctions.

Why It Matters: Doomsday vaults like the Millennium Seed Bank are crucial for preserving global biodiversity and food security.

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