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For further information, contact the MBL Communications Office at (508) 289-7423 or e-mail us at comm@mbl.edu
Embargo: 10 a.m. EST / 3 p.m. GMT, Tues. Feb. 26
Contacts: Terry Collins, +1-416-538-8712 or +1-416-878-8712, terrycollins@rogers.com
Diana Kenney, Marine Biological Laboratory, +1-508-289-7139; dkenney@mbl.edu
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Other Quotes from Leaders of the EOL
“EOL is a good example of the way the World Wide Web can be used innovatively to assemble diverse kinds of information in an easy-to-use, ever-growing compendium. It can accommodate almost any kind of information about species and, unlike a published book, can be updated instantly,” says Jim Edwards, Executive Director of the EOL.
“The launch of the Encyclopedia of Life will have a profound and creative effect in science,” says E.O. Wilson, Professor Emeritus of Harvard University. “It aims not only to summarize all that we know of Earth’s life forms, but also to accelerate the discovery of the vast array that remain unknown. This great effort promises to lay out new directions for research in every branch of biology.”
"The Encyclopedia of Life can raise our sights and expand our view of life on Earth," says Jonathan F. Fanton, president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. "Just as a microscope reveals and helps us better understand the small and particular, the EOL will allow us to discern patterns previously unseen, illuminating relationships, identifying gaps in our knowledge, and suggesting opportunities for new avenues of inquiry. What was once viewed by many as ‘wishful thinking’ is now entirely possible and underway.”
“While it will take 10 years to assemble at least basal information on all 1.8 million known species, the EOL will be a functional, organized, highly valuable resource in three to five years,” says James Hanken, director of Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology, who also chairs the EOL Steering Committee. “The cooperation between the many world-leading biodiversity and technology institutions partnered in this project is both unprecedented and exciting.”
“At its launch last May, we said the EOL can be done,” says Jesse Ausubel, of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. “The remarkable progress made in the few months since has fostered confidence it will be done. The EOL canvas now has a million sketch lines and we have painted a small corner in full color. We look forward to public reviews that will shape the final product.”
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