| − | Scientists at the [[Smithsonian Institution]] in [[Washington, DC]], the [[Field Museum]] in [[Chicago]], [[Harvard University]], the [[Natural History Museum]] in [[London]], [[England]], and the [[Royal Botanic Gardens]] in Kew, England, have launched a project to document every living species on the planet, including historic records held in archives. | + | Scientists at the [[Smithsonian Institution]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], the [[Field Museum]] in [[Chicago]], [[Harvard University]], the [[Natural History Museum]] in [[London]], [[England]], and the [[Royal Botanic Gardens]] in Kew, England, have launched a project to document every living species on the planet, including historic records held in archives. |
| | The project is scheduled to take ten years. Researchers plan to gather all the information that exists on the 1.8 million known species to build up an internet-based Encyclopedia of Life. This [[encyclopedia]], which will be the most comprehensive possible store of knowledge about the species that inhabit [[Earth]], will be freely available to everyone who can access the world wide web. Included in the descriptions will be all known information about habitats, behavior, [[gene|genetic]] make-up and populations. | | The project is scheduled to take ten years. Researchers plan to gather all the information that exists on the 1.8 million known species to build up an internet-based Encyclopedia of Life. This [[encyclopedia]], which will be the most comprehensive possible store of knowledge about the species that inhabit [[Earth]], will be freely available to everyone who can access the world wide web. Included in the descriptions will be all known information about habitats, behavior, [[gene|genetic]] make-up and populations. |