The Trees of Life

Here are two extraordinary resources to illustrate, show and help people understand the richness of life and how all beings are interconnected, in time, space and even in their genes.

The most spectacular: One Zoom

The interactive One Zoom tree of life includes 2,235,473 species, 105,463 of which are illustrated with images, all on a zoomable fractal that fits on a single page. Each end represents a different species, and the branches go back to their common ancestors.

Starting with humans allows us to situate ourselves in the big tree... somewhere on the periphery, like the solar system in the galaxy. Whether you indicate "Hedgehog", "Oak" or "Spider", not two or three species but hundreds will appear on the tree. Stunning.

For each species, one click brings up very detailed information, including the species' status, where it lives, its taxonomy and even its genetic code. Phew! All in English, French or Swedish.

The settings offer several search and presentation options. Personally, I prefer the "polytomy" mode, like a delicate flower stalk, but all modes are aesthetically pleasing and practical.

The most scientific: Open Tree of Life

To successfully classify millions of living species in a coherent way, you need to get everyone to agree. The Open Tree of Life (OToL) classification includes many "candidates", classes that are not consensual, poorly documented or incomplete. Of course, of the 2 to 3 million species currently inventoried, it is estimated that there are still between 3 and 100 million that we don't know. That's a lot of genomes to decode. The tree has not finished branching out, as we add around 10,000 new species every year.

Research on OToL is done by taxon, in Latin. For non-biologists, you can always use the "Taxonomy browser" from NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) or use well-known names such as "Homo".

These two formidable tools not only enable researchers and the public to inform themselves and collaborate, but also to estimate the scope of the research work still to be done. Artificial Intelligence is beginning to be put to use, and will speed up the precise classification of all this life. Above all, decoding genomes will give us a picture of the evolution of life and the evolution of its diversity.

The DNA of 100 million species, hundreds of billions of specific individuals, ends up representing a biological memory that is so immense and continues to evolve, it's pointless to try and digitize it. However, understanding its principles and tracing its family portrait is now well within our grasp.