Encyclopaedia of Life is Launched

If you haven't heard of it, the Encyclopedia of Life is the one to watch! This is the project to that aims to categorize every single living organism on the planet all 1.8 million known organisms, and make this information available free to every single person on the planet with access to the Internet.

I'm excited about this project because for the first time ever, a catalogue is being put together that doesn't require specialist access to private databases, and is being written specifically to appeal to scientists and non-scientists alike. This means the children of the future will be able to access the data for school projects or homework; parents will be able to interest their children in biology, biodiversity and man's impact on other organisms.

Government officials will be able to compare species distribution and growth cycles against their observations, thus allowing proper planning at local level. Scientists with Internet access, and how many of them don't have this nowadays, will be able to research organisms, upload new data including images, and in time, directly access DNA markers for all species.

Think of the impact a resource like this will have on human society. No more searching through book after book for the information you need. No more waiting for books to arrive in the mail, no more out of date information simply because it's the only book on your bookshelf. I'm particularly excited about how this will impact on scientist and school children in developing countries. Many of books in their libraries, even in research institutes, are 40 or 50 years old, but with the EOL, they'll have access to information that is as current as anyone in the developed world, and with access to DNA markers as well.

Intended as a tool for scientists and policymakers and a fascinating resource for anyone interested in the living world, the EOL is being developed by a unique collaboration between scientists and the general public.

By making it easy to compare and contrast information about life on Earth, the resulting compendium has the potential to provide new insights into many of life’s secrets.