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Tech to help uncover new speciesBy Julie Clothier for CNN  The computer software allows the identification of plant and animal species at the click of a mouse. RELATED
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YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSLONDON, England (CNN) -- A group of London-based scientists hope computer software they are creating will help uncover previously unknown plant and animal species. Professor Norman MacLeod, keeper of paleontology at the city's Natural History Museum, is among those creating a database of every known species, covering all known animal and plant life on Earth. The system, called Digital Automated Identification System (Daisy), will eventually give anyone in the world the ability to identify species almost instantly, MacLeod told CNN. "Only a handful of experts are currently able to identify species in any given group of organisms accurately, and even these experts disagree with each other over aspects of these identifications and can make mistakes," he said. MacLeod believed scientists had identified only a "fraction" of plant and animal life. "I think we have identified all the birds and all the mammals but there are lots of smaller species out there yet to be identified. "This technology will not replace basic human expertise, but it will give access to that expertise to people in remote locations, where the identifications are often needed most." MacLeod said the program could have a profound implication on medicine, industry and research. The same pattern-recognition principles behind the software could eventually help identify cancer cells, he said "If we can identify species more quickly and accurately then we can use this information to focus more on addressing the larger issues of evolution and biodiversity." Previously, if, for example, a botanist discovered what was believed to be a new species of orchid, they would need to take the specimen to an expert, which could often mean transporting it to the other side of the world. By using Daisy, the botanist would be able to confirm the type of species with the click of a mouse. The software program works by combining artificial intelligence and computer vision technologies, which will load computers with virtual collections of identified specimens. Using this information, the computer will then be able to distinguish different species from one another. Daisy identifies species by sampling electronic images, digitized sounds or digital representations of DNA sequences. For example, a user could simply photograph a specimen with a mobile phone camera out in the field, upload it to a computer which has the Daisy software on it, and the identification could be made in seconds. MacLeod said the program would also be able to recognize fossilized specimens, which meant it would be able to play a major role in helping scientists piece together the history of life's past as well as its present and future. Until now, the only way of determining identifications has been for specialists to compare unknown specimens with the 70 million identified specimens in the museum's collection. As well as being prone to human error, that resource is unavailable to most people around the world, he said. MacLeod presented his vision for the automated identification of biological groups in a conference at the Natural History Museum Friday. 
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