Scientists Plan "Encyclopedia Of Life"

(CBS/AP)  In a whale-sized project, the world's scientists plan to compile everything they know about all of Earth's 1.8 million known species and put it all on one Web site, open to everyone.

The effort, called the Encyclopedia of Life, will include species descriptions, pictures, maps, videos, sound, sightings by amateurs, and links to entire genomes and scientific journal papers. Its first pages of information will be shown Wednesday in Washington where the massive effort is being announced by some of the world's leading institutions. The project will take about 10 years to finish.

"It's an interactive zoo," said James Edwards, who will be the encyclopedia's executive director. Edwards currently helps run a global biodiversity information system.

The encyclopedia is written by scientists, but anyone can submit material for consideration, CBS News science and technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg reports.

The $50 million project is funded by nonprofit groups like the MacArthur Foundation. With additional money, extinct species and fossils could be added, Sieberg adds.

If the new encyclopedia progresses as planned, it should fill about 300 million pages, which, if lined up end-to-end, would be more than 52,000 miles long — able to stretch twice around the world at the equator.

Two foundations have given $12.5 million to pay for the first 2½ years of the massive effort, but it will be free and accessible to everyone.

The pages can be adjusted so that they provide useful information for both a schoolchild and a research biologist alike, with an emphasis on encouraging "citizen-scientists" to add their sightings. While amateurs can contribute in clearly marked side pages, the key detail and science parts of the encyclopedia will be compiled and reviewed by experts.

"It could be a very big leap in the way we do science," said Cristian Samper, acting secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, one of seven museums, universities and labs working to launch the encyclopedia. "This is a project that is so big, not even the Smithsonian could do it by itself. It is a global effort."

For more than a decade, scientists have tried to compile even just a list of all species on Earth, but failed. It's been too complicated, too expensive and too cumbersome.

This effort may succeed where the others have faltered because of new search-engine technology, the scientists said.

[rf35]

I agree that this amazing effort will need to make allowances for advances in technology. However, since its entry into the public sector, the Internet has not radically changed in what it can display. The biggest changes are in data transfer speeds which have opened the door to audio, video, and lately even HD content. Though such content was technically possible before, the up and download speeds were prohibative. I hope they plan on bringing this online in segments and not making us wait 10 years for the finished product!

[rf35]

I agree that this amazing effort will need to make allowances for advances in technology. However, since its entry into the public sector, the Internet has not radically changed in what it can display. The biggest changes are in data transfer speeds which have opened the door to audio, video, and lately even HD content. Though such content was technically possible before, the up and download speeds were prohibative. I hope they plan on bringing this online in segments and not making us wait 10 years for the finished product!

[jairod]

I applaud this effort. It is my hope that scientists from other disciplines add to this body of knowledge. This effort is worthy of universal support and the other philanthropic minded (like Gates, etc) will see the universal applications and commit even a small portion of their fortunes to this effort. A second effort is to see that those in third world communities get access to the Net. The rewards world wide can but boost the level of human understanding by bringing all to a common ground.

[prolegomena]

I hope they make such a thing portable-- and deployable in a free standing way. As one of our number just noted, the Internet may change dramatically in a decade, as will our technology for corresponding with it.

If the data can be dynamically ported to a free standing memory environment, it may be available off whatever "net" comes around the corner... and be editable for the addition of new information. Should be cool.

[jairod]

I'm sure this will rankle some encyclopedia publishers, including web based publishers. I believe that this is what the true aim of the Net should be: the dissemination of general information. It is my hope that this will be emmulated by scientists of other disciplines. Imagine a complete and free encyclopedia free of political, religious, ethnic prejudices; open for investigation by curious minds; and, free.

[barbaraf4]

This is a wonderful idea! It is a reference for us to use now, and a reference for those who come after us.

[r9119111]

In what language or languages will it recognize?

[alphaa10-2009]

Glorious project! If only the scientific community can keep this vision in focus.

A single website complex is the ideal venue for spread of scientific information. As new findings arrive, new speculations are made, the website can change along with them-- and without felling whole forests to create acres of new library books.

Computerization also neatly solves the problem which multiplied the cost of scientific books-- to provide easily-rendered and edited text and graphics, with the option of video/animation.

Throughout history, human progress suffered a literal setback when libraries were pillaged and burned. Now, all that is required is a good archival and duplication system, with multiple "master copies" at different locations.

As the whole panopoly of life comes within reach of everybody with internet access, this could be a catalyst for enormous changes in educational and scientific circles.

[nothappyatall]

"...will take about 10 years to finish"

TEN YEARS? by then there might not even BE a web or internet as we know it.

[peacethinker-2009]

Very cool!