Launching the 'Encyclopedia of Life' project

World scientists are expected to compile all information about all of the 1.8 million known species on the planet and launch an open website for everyone.

This effort, called the Encyclopedia of Life, will provide descriptions of species, drawings, maps, video, audio, information provided by amateurs and links to the entire genome. as well as scientific articles written about them.

The first pages of information will be on display today in Washington, where the massive project was announced by some of the world's leading research institutes. It will take 10 years to complete this project."It's an interactive zoo," said James Edwards, who will be the exclusive director of the Encyclopedia.

If the process of establishing the Encyclopedia was smooth, it would fill about 300 million pages of information, which, if put together, would be 83,000 kilometers long, and could extend twice as long as the earth equator.

The two organizations received $ 12.5 million for the first two and a half years of the project, although the site will be free for viewers. The information is moderated so that it is useful for both children and biological researchers, and encourages "scientists - citizens" to add their notes.

For more than a decade, scientists have tried to compile even just a list of all species on earth, but failed because it was too complicated, too expensive and too cumbersome. New efforts can be successful thanks to new search engines, scientists say.

Website will give information about all 1.8 million species known on the earth

T. An