This volume contains the papers presented at the 8th International Conference onDiscoveryScience(DS2005)heldinSingapore,RepublicofSingapore,during the days from 8-11 of October 2005. The main objective of the Discovery Science (DS) conference series is to p- vide an open forum for intensive discussions and the exchange of new ideas and information among researchers working in the area of automating scienti?c d- covery or working on tools for supporting the human process of discovery in science. It has been a successful arrangement in the past to co-locate the DS conference with the International Conference on Algorithmic Learning Theory (ALT). This combination of ALT and DS allows for a comprehensive treatment ofthewholerange,fromtheoreticalinvestigationstopracticalapplications.C- tinuing in this tradition, DS 2005 was co-located with the 16th ALT conference (ALT2005).TheproceedingsofALT 2005werepublished asa twinvolume3734 of the LNCS series. TheInternationalSteeringCommitteeoftheDiscoveryScienceconference- ries providedimportantadviceon a number ofissues during the planning of D- coveryScience2005.ThemembersoftheSteeringCommiteeareHiroshiMotoda, (Osaka University), Alberto Apostolico (Purdue University), Setsuo Arikawa (Kyushu University), Achim Ho? mann (University of New South Wales), Klaus P. Jantke (DFKI and FIT Leipzig, Germany), Massimo Melucci (U- versityofPadua),Masahiko Sato(Kyoto University),Ayumi Shinohara(Tohoku University),EinoshinSuzuki(YokohamaNationalUniversity),andThomasZe- mann (Hokkaido University). We received 112 full paper submissions out of which 21 long papers (up to 15 pages), 7 regular papers (up to 9 pages), and 9 project reports (3 pages) were acceptedforpresentationandarepublished inthis volume.Eachsubmissionwas reviewed by at least two members of the Program Committee of international expertsinthe?eld.Theselectionwasmadeaftercarefulevaluationofeachpaper based on originality, technical quality, relevance to the ?eld of discovery science, and clarity.