Podcast Summary: More or Less – "Has a company really discovered a million new species?"

Host: Tom Coles
Guests: Dr. Oliver Vince (Basecamp Research), Rob Finn (European Bioinformatics Institute)
Date: February 28, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of More or Less, hosted by Tom Coles, investigates a headline-grabbing claim: that a company, Basecamp Research, has discovered over a million new species. Listener Vivian prompted the show to examine whether this number stands up to scrutiny. Through interviews with Dr. Oliver Vince (Basecamp Research) and Rob Finn (European Bioinformatics Institute), Tom dissects what this claim actually means, how such discoveries are made, and what counts as a "species" in this context.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Claim: A Million New Species

• Dr. Oliver Vince of Basecamp Research claims they have discovered “over a million new species” through global partnerships and biological exploration.
  • Quote (01:49):
    Dr. Oliver Vince: “Far more than 99% of life on Earth is completely unknown... We’ve built partnerships in 28 countries, 150 different locations... So far, we’ve discovered over a million new species.”

2. Is This What We Imagine as "Species Discovery"?

• Host Tom Coles questions if these are the traditional new species — plants, animals, etc.
• Rob Finn clarifies (03:00):
  • The “species” discovered are not large organisms, but microbes — specifically bacteria, which are invisible to the naked eye.

3. The Sheer Scale of Microbial Diversity

• There’s an astronomical number of bacteria on Earth:
  • Quote (03:39):
    Rob Finn: “It’s estimated there’s about a trillion different [bacterial] species, which is the same number as there are stars in the Milky Way.”

4. How Were These Species “Discovered”?

• It’s not by growing bacteria in labs, but via DNA sequencing from environmental samples (soil, water, etc.) (04:37–06:27).
  • Steps include:
    • Collecting samples (e.g. liters of seawater, mud)
    • Filtering out microbes
    • Breaking open cells to get a “DNA soup”
    • Sequencing DNA en masse
    • Using computers to reassemble genome fragments like a “giant jigsaw puzzle”
  • Quote (05:56):
    Rob Finn: “You literally whizz it up... you are essentially putting it in a blitzer, but in a gentle way.”

5. Defining a Species in Microbial Terms

• Traditional species definitions (breeding, appearance) don’t apply to bacteria (07:07).
• Scientists use DNA similarity: two bacteria are usually considered separate species if their genomes are <95% identical (08:14).
  • Quote (08:14):
    Rob Finn: “If they are greater than 95% identical, that’s the rule of thumb, then we would consider them to be the same species.”

6. Is the "Million Species" Claim Credible?

• Rob Finn confirms the number is plausible based on methods and environments sampled (08:54).
  • Quote (08:54):
    Rob Finn: “It is exactly that, right ballpark. I might have done it differently, but it's there or thereabouts.”

7. The Abstract Nature of This Discovery

• The new species “exist” only as DNA sequences; no one has seen or grown them (09:08–09:30).
• The method destroys the original samples — you find new species by destroying them.
  • Memorable moment (09:37):
    Tom Coles: “So they’re technically finding new species only by destroying them, which seems, how can I put it, suboptimal.”
• However, Rob Finn sees value for medicine and AI research, as the resulting DNA data can be analyzed for new drugs or scientific purposes.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Rob Finn (03:39): “There are a lot of bacteria out there... about a trillion different species, which is the same number of stars as there are in the Milky Way.”
• Rob Finn (05:34): “You whizz it up. You literally whizz it up... but in a gentle way.”
• Rob Finn (08:14): “If they are greater than 95% identical, that’s the rule of thumb, then we’d consider them to be the same species.”
• Rob Finn (08:54): “It is exactly that, right ballpark. I might have done it differently, but it’s there or thereabouts.”
• Tom Coles (09:37): “So they’re technically finding new species only by destroying them, which seems, how can I put it, suboptimal.”
• Rob Finn (09:48): “I think there’ll be some interesting discoveries, no doubt, and it’s a great dataset for them to exploit and for us to investigate collectively as scientists.”

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:49] – Dr. Oliver Vince makes the million species discovery claim
• [03:00] – Explanation: “new species” means new bacteria, not animals/plants
• [03:39] – The vastness of microbial diversity
• [04:37–06:27] – How DNA sequencing reveals new species from environmental samples
• [07:07–08:37] – How species status is determined by DNA similarity in microbes
• [08:54] – Independent verification of the plausibility of the 1 million count
• [09:08–09:48] – The philosophical takeaway: the “species” are digital, not organismal

Tone & Takeaways

The episode maintains a curious and gently skeptical tone. Tom Coles and his expert guest demystify the headline, showing that “new species” doesn't mean colorful new animals but rather unseen bacteria known only as strings of data. The million-species claim is technically feasible within this context, but it reflects how scientific definitions and discovery methods shift with technology. Ultimately, while those species won’t be named in field guides or seen with the naked eye, the DNA data could lead to meaningful discoveries in medicine and science.