Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences received a grant from the Ministry of Higher Education and Science of the Russian Federation to update its instrument facilities in 2023. The funds will be used to purchase equipment for elemental analysis, molecular-genetic, biomedical studies and other research areas.

Over 600 people have visited the Museum of Applied Environmental Research at KarRC RAS since its opening in the fall 2022. In the new year, the Museum plans to widen its audience, augment the exhibition, and begin to use new formats.

A new laboratory, for greenhouse gas monitoring, has been established at the Karelian Research Centre RAS. It will be part of the Department for Multidisciplinary Research (DMR). Laboratory staff will work to estimate the carbon balance in natural and drained peatland ecosystems of Karelia.

Karelian Research Center RAS has signed agreements on cooperation with scientific and educational organizations of the Republic of Belarus. Scientists will cooperate in the fields of economics, humanities and natural sciences. Special focus is on the study of mire and forest ecosystems and development of biotechnology in agriculture. Signing of the documents took place during the visit of KarRC RAS delegation to Minsk.

How do birds navigate as they travel tens of thousands of kilometers during migrations? What serves them as a map and compass? Some questions remain open, but scientists have already learned a lot about the navigation and orientation systems of birds. Nikita Chernetsov, RAS Corresponding Academician, Director of the Zoological Institute RAS (St. Petersburg), shared the details of how these mechanisms work at KarRC RAS Learned Council session on December 20.