Bermuda Biological Station for Research

Located on the north shore of Ferry Reach, and visible from Kindley Field Road, the Bermuda Biological Station for Research (BBSR) (17 Biological Ln., tel. 441/297-1880, fax 441/297-8143, www.bbsr.edu, free tour 10 a.m. Wed. only) was established in 1903 in Flatts. Scientists from Harvard and New York Universities, together with the Bermuda Natural History Society, decided Bermuda was a fitting place to set up a marine research facility, due to its balmy climate, biodiverse reefs, and relatively easy access to ocean depths of 12,000 feet. The BBSR has been at its present location since 1932, after an endowment and facilities provided by the government and the Rockefeller Foundation. Today, it is a world-renowned nonprofit center for pioneering marine science and regularly hosts visiting scientists and student interns who join local counterparts in projects ranging from global warming studies to research on possible medical applications of sealife.

The station also runs a popular year-round Elderhostel program for senior travelers, who get an inside look at “Science in Bermuda Shorts” going on around the station and island.

The Wednesday tour gives visitors a look inside the station’s many laboratories, where they can meet international scientists who have achieved breakthrough discoveries here, in fields such as pharmaceutical research and climate studies.

The atmosphere at BBSR these days is akin to a college campus; in effect, the facility acts as one. Undergraduate and graduate internships, distance-learning programs, and initiatives like the JASON Project are all carried out here, along with summer courses and workshops. Notably, the station is one of two centers for studies on the impact of the ocean on climate change, and in 1998 it established the International Center for Ocean and Human Health. Under that program, scientists are involved in a range of leading-edge research, including studying marine uses in pharmaceuticals and what the genetic makeup of corals and sea urchins can tell us about curing cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, and learning more about the human aging process. The Risk Prediction Initiative, a partnership with the global reinsurance industry, is also based here.