Brian Romans
Science

The book of life

Check out this article about a project to build an online archive of the Earth’s species. “The Encyclopedia of Life will provide valuable biodiversity and conservation information to anyone, anywhere, at any time,” said Dr James Edwards, executive director of the $100m (£50m) project. It is said to take 10 years or more to complete. […]

Check out this article about a project to build an online archive of the Earth's species.

"The Encyclopedia of Life will provide valuable biodiversity and conservation information to anyone, anywhere, at any time," said Dr James Edwards, executive director of the $100m (£50m) project.

It is said to take 10 years or more to complete. Ideally, this will be a fantastic resource for both researchers and the general public.

The vast database will initially concentrate on animals, plants and fungi with microbes to follow. Fossil species may eventually be added.

That's really cool! Especially with regards to this database as an educational tool, it will be nice for the general public to see both present and past species side-by-side.