Publication
January 1, 2003
Future-proofing biological nomenclature
The original white paper behind the NamesforLife concept.
As biological data proliferates and interconnects, it depends increasingly on software infrastructure, and it becomes increasingly obvious that biological names do not meet the requirements of a good identifier, in strict computing terms. A good identifier should be unique and persistent. We believe that an implementation of the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) may provide the most robust and future-proof solution to this problem.
We are developing a model for assigning DOIs to prokaryotic taxa as a test case. The real power of this method lies in the ability of DOIs to become embedded in the information environment, providing a direct and persistent link to the full record of taxonomic and nomenclatural revision and ensuring consistency and accuracy throughout online scientific resources.
[permalink] Posted January 1, 2003.