An international consortium of scientists is proposing what is arguably the most ambitious project in the history of biology: sequencing the DNA of all known eukaryotic species on Earth. 

An international consortium of scientists is proposing the most ambitious project in the history of biology: sequencing the DNA of all known eukaryotic species on Earth.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is partnering in the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP), biology's version of the moonshot, an effort that will yield millions of powerful new solutions to agriculture's challenges.

A global consortium of scientists is proposing a hugely ambitious project to sequence the genomes of all known complex life on Earth.

Blockchain technology can do more than underpin crypto-currencies—it could help save the Amazon rainforest by stopping so called “biopirates” from plundering its biological riches. If it works, more money could be made by preserving the rainforest than cutting it down.

We can unlock a wealth of secrets by sequencing every species on Earth, says Alice Klein

How a giant Amazonian frog could help save millions of lives

The history of conservation is a story of many victories in a losing war. Having served on the boards of global conservation organizations for more than 30 years, I know very well the sweat, tears and even blood shed by those who dedicate their lives to saving species. Their efforts have led to major achievements, but they have been only partly successful.

The Earth Bank of Codes wants to collect the genetic sequence of the natural world–and let countries make money from the scientific breakthroughs that would result, rather than selling their natural resources.

El peruano Juan Carlos Castilla-Rubio, presidente de Spacetime Ventures, es parte de un proyecto cuyo propósito es permitir que los nuevos bioinnovadores del mundo tengan acceso a los códigos de vida, el código genético, de todas las especies del planeta.

From smarter electric grids to automated monitoring of at-risk environments, there are many areas where technology could have exponential effects on sustainability.

The stress on the earth’s natural systems caused by human activity has considerably worsened in the 25 years since the 1992 Rio Earth Summit in Brazil. As a result of the “great acceleration”1 in human economic activity since the mid-20th century, research from many earth system scientists’ suggests that life on land could be entering a period of unprecedented environmental systems change.

How to map the DNA of all known plants and animal species on Earth

What do ants have to do with self-driving cars? How might the giant monkey frog of the Amazon help to solve the problem of antimicrobial resistance? Juan Carlos Castilla-Rubio, Founder and Chairman of Space Time Ventures, explains why the Amazon basin holds the key to unlocking a bio-economic revolution potentially worth trillions of dollars – and explores the three challenges that must be overcome.

The World Economic Forum announced today an ambitious partnership to sequence the DNA of all life on Earth and create an inclusive bio-economy, as part of its Fourth Industrial Revolution for the Earth Initiative.

Quanto tempo leva para sequenciar o DNA de 9 mil famílias de eucariotas? O que significa reunir informações genéticas de aproximadamente 1,5 milhão de espécies vivas do planeta? Cientistas de diversas instituições do mundo inteiro estão se reunindo com o plano de realizar esse mapeamento genético em até 10 anos, ao custo de 4 bilhões de dólares, por meio do projeto internacional Earth Biogenome Project (EBP).

Autonomous vehicles controlled by software based on swarming ants, and blood pressure drugs informed by snake venom, are just two examples presented by Juan Carlos Castilla-Rubio, Chairman of Space Time Ventures in Brazil, of how nature in the Amazon has inspired technology.

The nature of environmental and natural resource security has changed dramatically since the 1990s. Over the last two decades, the global economy, geared towards exploiting natural resources to serve an exponentially growing population of consumers, has far exceeded the carrying capacity of the planet. The depth of the transformation has been so profound that it has pushed Earth into a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene. Indeed, scientists have identified planetary boundaries that it would be unwise to transgress, and we seem to be in the process of crossing many of them right now.