Visualizing the Tree of Life

Abstract

Responding to the need evident in many fields to know "what is out there", the National Science Foundation is funding the Tree of Life initiative, where biologists from across the country are identifying the holes in our understanding of how various organisms are related to each other, and doing the research to close these holes. The results will be the best understanding of the Tree of Life to date, and like any taxpayer-funded initiative, it has the obligation to share these results with scientists and the interested public - teachers, amateur naturalists, the curious.