The open access (OA) Encyclopedia of Life (EOL), which announced its launch in May 2007, recently released its first OA content. The first 30,000 pages of the online encyclopedia were unveiled at the Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) Conference in Monterey, California.
Intended as a tool for scientists and policymakers and a resource for anyone interested in the living world, the EOL is being developed by a collaboration between scientists and the general public. By making it easy to compare and contrast information about life on earth, the compendium seeks to provide new insights into many of life's secrets. By aggregating for analysis information on earth's estimated 1.8 million known species, scientists say the EOL could help map vectors of human disease, reveal mysteries behind longevity, suggest substitute plant pollinators for a swelling list of places where honeybees no longer provide that service, and foster strategies to slow the spread of invasive species.
The EOL is projected as a foundational resource for helping to conserve the species already known and to identify millions of additional species that have not yet been described or named. At its core is the knowledge about the world's species that has been discovered by scientists over the last 250 years. By putting this information all together in one place, EOL hopes to accelerate our understanding of the world's remaining biodiversity.
In addition, the EOL will illuminate patterns in biodiversity, promising knowledge comparable in impact to that gained after the microscope's invention in the 1600s. The EOL 'macroscope' will have a catalytic effect on comparative biology, ecology and related fields. It will also be an online field guide, complete with links to DNA barcoding and other information of interest and use to everyone from professional scientists to birdwatchers and gardeners.
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