Credit:
Alex Holt/NIST
The National Marine Mammal Tissue Bank is a collection of more than 80,000 different marine mammal tissue samples, including seals, whales, sea otters and even polar bears. Researchers use these samples to study marine mammal health, the ocean itself and even human health.
The tissue bank, a collaboration between NIST and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is stored at Hollings Marine Lab in Charleston, South Carolina.
NIST scientists have recently updated the protocols for collecting samples, which include smaller sample sizes and storage containers. This maximizes existing storage capacity and increases the sustainability of the collection.
They also published a new, publicly available inventory of all tissue bank specimens.
Check out the inventory online.
