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Dubai to Open UAE's First Robotic Biobank in 2023

Al Jalila Foundation, a member of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives
Al Jalila Foundation, a member of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives
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Dubai to Open UAE's First Robotic Biobank in 2023

Al Jalila Foundation, a member of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives
Al Jalila Foundation, a member of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives

Al Jalila Foundation, a member of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, announced that it will establish the UAE’s first robotic biobank, in partnership with the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU) and the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported Thursday.

The collaboration is set to advance medical research in the areas of genetic disorders, cancer and other chronic diseases and pandemics, it said.

Set to open in 2023 with a capacity to manage seven million specimens, the biobank will be one of the world’s largest in terms of sample capacity. The facility will be located at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Medical Research Institute, part of Al Jalila Foundation, in Dubai Healthcare City.

Chairperson of Al Jalila Foundation Board of Trustees Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said, "Access to genetic and imaging data through biobanks is driving forward pioneering approaches to analysis that would have been impossible just a few years ago.”
“The launch of the UAE’s first robotic biobank reflects Dubai’s commitment to strengthening the capabilities of the healthcare sector and advancing efforts to improve people’s health. The biobank will serve as a major contributor to the advancement of modern medicine and will enable scientific discoveries that will help enhance the health and wellbeing of the community."

Due to the vital role biobanks play in progressing research and advancing medical discovery, the biobank will become an indispensable resource for the new Hamdan Bin Rashid Cancer Charity Hospital and other healthcare facilities in the UAE to conduct research and offer effective treatment.

A biobank is a place to store all types of human biological samples, such as blood, tissue, cells, or body fluids. It also stores data related to the samples as well as other biomolecular resources that can be used in health research. Biobanks have become an important resource in medical research, supporting many types of contemporary research like genomics and personalized medicine, and the development of diagnostics and therapeutics.

Dr. Raja Easa Al Gurg, Chairperson of Al Jalila Foundation Board of Directors and Member of the Board of Trustees, said, "Biobanking is a game-changer for healthcare and will revolutionize medical research, leading to better outcomes for patient treatment. The biobank will provide an opportunity for people in the community and researchers to work together to build a better, healthier future for generations to come. Scientific progress will shape the nation’s economy by influencing our knowledge about human health, disease, therapeutics, personalized medicine, and more."

Al Jalila Foundation is investing AED17 million to build a state-of-the-art facility and will manage seven million human biological materials. An automated, robotic, Artificial Intelligence based system will ensure biological samples are secured in cryogenic storage (below 80 degree Celsius) maintaining proper sample integrity and retrieval.

Dr. Abdulkareem Sultan Al Olama, CEO of Al Jalila Foundation, said, "Biorepositories are places where you can store patient samples and really serve as a hub of collaboration between scientists for doing either population health studies, or looking at cohorts of patients who have specific diseases, and trying to find better therapeutics and diagnostics to treat patients and save lives."

Patient confidentiality will be a priority in line with UAE’s laws and regulations. The biological and medical data will be used by scientists for research to make new discoveries about common and life-threatening diseases such as cancer, heart disease and stroke in order to improve public health.

Deputy Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority Professor Alawi Alsheikh-Ali said the establishment of the robotic biobank is a reflection of Dubai’s vision for advancing healthcare.

“I am confident the planned biobank will bring significant value to the healthcare system in Dubai and the region. It is a clear example of how the integration of care with discovery, supported by advancement, can set the foundation for better outcomes for our current and future patients,” he added.

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Gabon Forest Cave Reveals Clues About Prehistoric Central Africa

Archaeology students actively participate in archaeological excavations within a marked square inside Youmbidi Cave in Lastourville, on June 27, 2025. (Photo by Nao Mukadi / AFP)
Archaeology students actively participate in archaeological excavations within a marked square inside Youmbidi Cave in Lastourville, on June 27, 2025. (Photo by Nao Mukadi / AFP)
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Gabon Forest Cave Reveals Clues About Prehistoric Central Africa

Archaeology students actively participate in archaeological excavations within a marked square inside Youmbidi Cave in Lastourville, on June 27, 2025. (Photo by Nao Mukadi / AFP)
Archaeology students actively participate in archaeological excavations within a marked square inside Youmbidi Cave in Lastourville, on June 27, 2025. (Photo by Nao Mukadi / AFP)

In Gabon's sprawling forest, archaeologists dig for ancient clues that could unlock the secrets of how prehistoric humans lived and interacted in the changing landscape of central Africa.

Two billion years ago, the eastern Gabonese region of Lastourville was covered by a vast ocean.

But that has long given way to dense forest and dolomite cliffs dotted with caves, within which scientists have unearthed traces of human life dating back to 25,000 years BC.

Off the beaten track even for archaeologists, the Youmbidi rock shelter, a cavern typical of those chosen by prehistoric humans to set up their homes, is the focus for French geoarchaeologist Richard Oslisly's team, AFP reported.

Among their finds: a stone tool which could have been used for cutting or making fibers dating to before 10,000 BC.

An arrowhead has also been unearthed, as has a collection of dolomite, quartz and jasper shards, cut up to 10,000 years ago by the cave's inhabitants.

"The vast majority of research in Africa has taken place in open landscapes such as the Sahara, Sahel or Egypt," said Oslisly, who has spent 45 years working in central Africa.

"They said to me 'there's nothing in the forest' (but) I took up the challenge of finding out what was happening there," he added.

"We realize there is a very close relationship between man and nature in these forests, where people have lived for a very long time," Oslisly said.

The Youmbidi cave -- where scientists have recorded 12,000 years of continuous human habitation -- is an enticing spot for the archeologists.

"We don't know at all how these people lived, what their way of life was, what their names were, what their languages were," said Geoffroy de Saulieu from France's IRD Research Institute for Development.

"Our research will help us to know a little more," he added.

After a month of digging and careful sorting of every stone, charcoal remnant, bone and other treasure buried below the cave, the team has elements to help decipher the past.
De Saulieu said it was like a jigsaw puzzle.

"You have to... gather the smallest clues, place them end to end to gradually reconstruct a whole universe that has disappeared and which is, nevertheless, at the origin of the way of life in central Africa today," said the expert, currently attached to the National Agency of National Parks of Gabon.

One of the oldest bits of pottery found in central Africa, which dated to more than 6,500 years ago, is among this year's finds.

Human-looking teeth that could allow DNA to be extracted in what would prove a significant leap in research have also excited archaeologists.

And, like all the artifacts, a bead likely made between 3,300 and 4,900 years ago from a snail shell also offers precious insight as a "very humble but beautiful witness" of the epoch in question.

Dispelling stereotypical images of prehistoric Man, it suggests people had "real customs, a real civilization and art of living," de Saulieu said.

The pottery "shows that these societies weren't immobile, they had launched themselves into technical innovations", he added.

The discoveries fan his fascination for the richness of "the social life which existed in the region's forests".

Glimpses into an ancient lost world can also be useful for tackling present-day challenges, the experts said.

During the Holocene period which dates back the past 12,000 years, "central Africa has experienced very significant changes in climate, hydrology and vegetation," said paleoclimatologist Yannick Garcin, also from the IRD and involved in the Youmbidi dig.

The hope is that the cave will unlock an understanding of "the resilience of human populations in the past and how they were able to adapt to climate changes that could have been drastic", he said.

Central Africa for that reason "deserves major development in terms of research", Oslisly argued.

Understanding what happened in prehistoric times can help scientists today react to modern-day issues, he added.

"Good studies on the relationship between Man and the environment in the past will allow us to react better to the environmental changes that are ahead of us," he said.