The Consortium for the Barcode of Life are to "barcode" every species on Earth, recording details in their genetic make-up that can be used to tell one life form from another. Starting with fish and birds the team hopes to catalog every species on earth, an ambitious project that will take many years to complete. At the cost of about √Ǭ£1 per genetic test, many specimens for each species will now be analysed to obtain their barcode information. This data will then be put into a giant database which the Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) hopes can be used to link off to all the knowledge acquired by science on particular organisms. Dr Scott Miller, the chairman of the CBOL, said: "DNA barcoding will make a huge difference to our knowledge and understanding of the natural world. "The Barcode of Life initiative aims to complement existing taxonomic practice to build on it and expand its power and use." The segment of DNA to be used in the project is found in a gene known as cytochrome c oxidase I, or COI. This is involved in the metabolism of all creatures but is coded slightly differently in each one of them. In humans, for example, COI barcodes differ from one another by only one or two DNA "letters" out of 648; while we differ from chimpanzees at about 60 locations, and in gorillas by about 70. Although doubt has also been expressed that the COI approach will prove as reliable in distinguishing species as is claimed. Sources and further reading: BBC   Technology.