How Close Are We to a Complete Tree of Life?

preview_player
Показать описание
Nearly 90% of all life on Earth is unaccounted for, but how close are we to discovering all life on Earth before it disappears?

The Earth is filled with millions of incredible life forms, and discovering who they are, where they are located, and what makes them tick is key if we want to reveal clues about our evolutionary past and access our future potential.

By knowing as much as possible about the life around us, we will be able to unlock the secrets of medicine, engineering, design, economics, sustainability, and stewardship that will define the future of our species.

But we need to act fast if we want to identify and catalog as many species as possible because we are living in a biodiversity crisis, meaning species are going extinct before we can even realize they exist, or know their potential value.

In this episode of How Close Are We, we introduce you to a variety of biodiversity researchers working hard to accelerate the discovery of different species, develop digital conservation tools, and maintain one of the world’s largest biological collections through “cryopreservation.”

Right now, we only know of about 10% of the biodiversity that we have on Earth, which means we have about 90% to go.

Find out more about the story behind the field research, catalogers, and cryogenic labs that are working to understand, register, and preserve life on Earth on this episode of How Close Are We.

#Biodiversity #Earth #Species #Science #Seeker #HowCloseAreWe

Read more:

Smithsonian Scientists Dry and Store Live Ovarian Tissues Above Freezing Temperatures for the First Time
Scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) have preserved complex ovarian tissues in domestic cats above freezing temperatures by dehydrating them with the help of microwaves. Over the past five years, scientists have been able to successfully dehydrate single cells, such as sperm cells or germinal vesicles (oocytes’ nuclei), but this is the first time it has been done in ovarian tissues, which contain thousands of different cells with various functions, including eggs at the early developmental stage. The findings were published today, Dec. 4, in PLOS ONE and could provide better options for fertility preservation of human cancer patients or endangered wildlife.

Map of Life
Putting biodiversity on the map

Scientists discovered 71 new species this year. Here are some of their favorites
"Despite decades of tirelessly scouring some of the most familiar and remote places on Earth, biodiversity scientists estimate that more than 90% of nature's species remain unknown," said Academy Chief of Science Shannon Bennett. "A rich diversity of plants and animals is what allows life on our planet to thrive: The interconnectedness of all living systems provides collective resilience in the face of our climate crisis. Each newly discovered species serves as an important reminder of the critical role we play in better understanding and preserving these precious ecosystems."
____________________
How close are we to solving some of humanity's biggest challenges? We go in search of experts, dive into the facts and comb through the research to find out just how close we are to changing the world.

Seeker explains every aspect of our world through a lens of science, inspiring a new generation of curious minds who want to know how today’s discoveries in science, math, engineering and technology are impacting our lives, and shaping our future. Our stories parse meaning from the noise in a world of rapidly changing information.
____________________

Рекомендации по теме
Комментарии
Автор

Well it will definitely become easier as we continue to make a lot of em extinct.

amithibsh
Автор

Seeker has genuinely become one of my favourite channels. Kudos to them

harpreetsinghtoor
Автор

How close are we to destroying all life on Earth?

orionlazarus
Автор

Space: Only understood by math vs seen. Mostly hypothesis overall. Oceans: 95% undiscovered. Animals: 90% undiscovered. Consciousness: a varied term widely experimented in fringe study. Things we know via everyday life: Kindness is healing. Forgiveness takes strength. Empathy is a skill that takes effort. Over all: Be loving. It's the only "certainty" our species really knows as fact.

jbghumanjr
Автор

"getting specimens" is hunting with extra steps.

decayingSineWave
Автор

It made me smile to see how much fun Olivia was having in the lab. I think there are many species in untainted parts of the world that we may never discover at all, which adds to the mystery and beauty of Earth. I volunteer for the Taxonomist Army!

nathanrocks
Автор

It's great to see scientists discovering unknown parts of our planet. Hope they get enough funding.

And it's great that you guys from Seeker visits labs and stuff - it can make videos more interesting. Maybe they make us viewers pretend that we're there as well, I dunno.

TehDanny
Автор

_Superb info... Keep making such informative videos seekers_
*_I'm great fan of you, the way you explain, the way that you implements enchanting graphics, the way you provide English captions and much more..._*

googledev
Автор

I work for Seeker. Every day I wake up to the possibility that one day I will discover that we are simply just another division of BuzzFeed

davidsonnow
Автор

Wow.. those were some beautiful images of amazing creatures! That one bio-luminescent "jellyfish?" looked like it was straight out of Avatar!

THE-X-Force
Автор

I would love if you guys made a "How Close Are We to Exploring the Entire Ocean", great video!

ImAnarchy
Автор

Seeker is my new favorite. When there is a new video, I am as happy as a baby.

timetodestination
Автор

omg make a whole video on the fish that walks i’m so intrigued

hayleybug
Автор

I like how this series that ask 'How?' and always ends up not answering the question and summarizing with 'We're doing things sooo... Soonish hopefully'

dominiquov
Автор

Loved the traveling and interactions. More of these :)
And Olivia you are a great host, love your enthusiasm!!

timaeby
Автор

Just imagine all the species we haven't discovered yet, life is so divers and resilient.

outsideworld
Автор

Hi seeker another exciting video..
Really learned about how species discovered and conserved..
Thanks for the video...🙏👍😊

naveenrajeee
Автор

I love seeing Olivia in the lab - I hope some of the cool b-roll footage was from there too!

NotesByNiba
Автор

very deep analysis, liked it very much! ♥

darkenergy
Автор

I like space...but this is awesome too

camplays