Development of an Evolutionary Timescale Database

物种分化的时间是进化的一个基本问题。 地球上的一些物种相隔数十亿年，而另一些物种仅在数千年前就分化了。 了解分歧时间对于研究生物学的变化率至关重要。 发散时间是从化石记录和分子钟中获得的，其中时间是通过DNA和蛋白质的规律变化来测量的。 目前正在设计和开发一个利用化石和分子数据的物种分化时间生物数据库，以便为科学家提供这方面的信息。 该数据库将以网络为基础，提供不同分类学水平的分子时间，以及多基因时间分布的统计数据。 这些信息的便捷获取将加速从分子生物学到地球化学和天体生物学等不同科学领域的研究。

The time of divergence of species is a fundamental question of evolution. Some species on Earth are separated by billions of years whereas others diverged only thousands of years ago. Understanding the divergences times is critical for looking at rates of change across biology. Divergence times are obtained from the fossil record and molecular clocks, where time is measured by regular changes in DNA and proteins. A biological database of species divergence times, using fossil and molecular data, is being designed and developed to provide scientists with this information. The database will be web-based and provide molecular times at different taxonomic levels, with statistics of multigene time distribution. The ready access to this information will accelerate research in diverse fields of science ranging from molecular biology to geochemistry and astrobiology.