That's Life

Massive database of species goes online

Posted at 12:38 PM on 26 Feb 2008

An online Encyclopedia of Life that aims to eventually include every living organism on the planet has unveiled its first detailed pages. Read up on the 24 species that have entries complete with text, pictures, and video, or sift through 30,000 others with preliminary information. Those involved with the encyclopedia, which got its start from a 2003 paper written by famed biologist E.O. Wilson, hope it will help researchers assess climate change impacts, endangered species, and the spread of invasives, as well as simply raising awareness of biodiversity. If the project doesn't collapse under its own ambition, like similar endeavors that have gone before, compilers hope the remaining 1.77 million pages will be up by 2017. Of course, the work won't stop then: Scientists estimate that known organisms comprise only one-tenth of actual species on earth.

sources: Reuters, BBC News, The New York Times
straight to the database: Encyclopedia of Life

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	Read more about: biodiversity \| endangered species \| news \| wildlife \| all of these topics Tools: print \| email \| write to the editor \| subscribe \| RSS Share: digg \| hugg \| stumbleupon \| reddit \| newsvine \| fark \| facebook Bookmark: del.icio.us \| google \| yahoo That's Life Massive database of species goes online Posted at 12:38 PM on 26 Feb 2008 An online Encyclopedia of Life that aims to eventually include every living organism on the planet has unveiled its first detailed pages. Read up on the 24 species that have entries complete with text, pictures, and video, or sift through 30,000 others with preliminary information. Those involved with the encyclopedia, which got its start from a 2003 paper written by famed biologist E.O. Wilson, hope it will help researchers assess climate change impacts, endangered species, and the spread of invasives, as well as simply raising awareness of biodiversity. If the project doesn't collapse under its own ambition, like similar endeavors that have gone before, compilers hope the remaining 1.77 million pages will be up by 2017. Of course, the work won't stop then: Scientists estimate that known organisms comprise only one-tenth of actual species on earth. sources: Reuters, BBC News, The New York Times straight to the database: Encyclopedia of Life ADVERTISING POLICY < Previous \| Next > Comments: There are no comments. Be the first to post! You are not logged in. Thus, you cannot post a comment. If you have a Gristmill account, log in below. If you don't have a Gristmill account, well, by all means go make one! Meet you back here in five. Username: Password: Forgot your password? Enter your username and click: The comments of Grist users reflect the opinions of those individuals only, and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of Grist, its staff, its board members, their psychotherapists, or their aestheticians. Got it?	Also in Grist Take a Page Out of My Book What the leaders of the green movement are reading. Good Home Cooking A bean soup recipe, and how one author coped with a finicky family. Cover the Waterfront A list of green books you can actually read at the beach. The Saga of Fume Do bikers breathe in more pollutants than drivers? Umbra advises. The Week's Most Popular Viewed Commented Emailed 15 green books you can actually read at the beach An interview with author James Howard Kunstler How the organic movement can regain its relevance Ask Umbra on exerting yourself in traffic More than half of today's electricity, more than 16 percent of today's energy McCain just not that into Amtrak BLM reverses stance on solar-project moratorium Lester Brown unveils plan for 80 percent cuts by 2020 Only if you flagrantly cherry pick 15 green books you can actually read at the beach How the organic movement can regain its relevance 'Dell of solar' seeks to make it cheap and user-friendly to get rooftop PV Home Depot will collect CFLs for recycling Food Network star Alton Brown adds a pinch of sustainability to the pot From the Archives Dodd's Nod. Chris Dodd endorses Barack Obama for prez. The Damages Done. Exxon will try to convince Supreme Court it's paid enough for oil spill. That's Babar-ic! South Africa to resume elephant culling despite criticism. News Archives