Not The Same Old.....
Check out the neat things listed here! Some of the items are serious and
some are a little "goofy". Enjoy them all. Send me your
contributions to
add to the list.
Internet Links
1. The Northwest Association for Biomedical Research has a great
section with lesson plans that illustrate how seamlessly ethics
can be tied to content issues in all disciplines in science. See
the web site to explore what they have to offer on a variety of
topics including genetically modified foods, organ
transplantation, use of animals in research, conservation of
energy and much more.
http://www.wabr.org/education/ethicscurriculumtopic.htm
2. YOU HAVE TO HEAR & SEE IT TO BELIEVE IT: DNA Activation
Music: The Next Evolution In Sound Healing. AHHH YES.... Is it
possible that music can effect your DNA? DNA music is becoming
very popular, you might think of it as molecular music.
So, what is DNA music? Music very much affects how you feel. What
makes this music different than ordinary music however is that
several characteristics of the music continually change, such as
the tone or pitch, the volume or intensity of the sound, and also
the pitches modulate or waver. These three elements in turn cause
the surface of your skin to vibrate in different ways. That is
the secret of DNA music.
The vibration on the skin has a very relaxing effect and this
relaxing effect is what impacts your DNA strands. The DNA strands
(adenine, cytosine, thymine, and guanine) begin to unwind or
unravel making the strands longer. When the DNA strands unwind,
they can replicate themselves more efficiently assuring that
replication is done accurately without mutation.
One of the most interesting comments we get from customers about
this DNA music is that people say it helps them to make positive
changes in their life.
http://www.visionarymusic.com/art_soundhealing.html
3. MORE DNA TOOLS
http://www.toolsforwellness.com/dna.html
4. DON'T ASK- JUST ENJOY
http://www.artic.edu/~pgena/DNAmus.html
5. NUTRIGENOMICS: Sciona provides personalized health and
nutrition
recommendations based on an individual�s diet, lifestyle and
unique genetic
profile. Before you head for McDonals, get your DNA tested to
find out what
your diet should be...
http://sciona.com/
6. GENETIC ENGINEERING NEWS: Celebrating its 25th Anniversary
Year, Genetic
Engineering News is the most widely read bioindustry publication
worldwide
and has long been acknowledged as the voice of the global
biotechnology
bioindustry. GEN covers all areas of biotechnology: our
international
purview includes all aspects of applied research through
commercialization.
Editorial content includes regulatory, strategic alliances and
collaborations, clinical trials, corporate profiles, in-depth
interviews
with leaders in industry, academia, and government, instructive
tutorials in
drug discovery and bioprocessing to enhance research results, and
products
that enable significant advances in bioscience R&D.
Make sure you check out the "ON THE WEB" section for
some really neat stuff!
http://www.genengnews.com/
7. DNA BINDING MOTIFS: What you get here is a lot more than what
you see at
first glance. On the opening page of the rather vanilla DNA-
Binding Motifs
page is a set of links to structures for the four major protein
motifs
involved in DNA binding (helix-turn-helix, helix-loop-helix, zinc
fingers,
and leucine zippers). Clicking on any of the links brings up
windows with
Java-based molecular structures. Each window provides users with
controls
for highlighting residues in protein or DNA, the ability to view
from any
angle, and the ability to rotate the assigned structure in space.
Wow! This
is very cool. I just found a great tool for teaching these
structures to my
winter-term biochemistry students
http://arapaho.nsuok.edu/~biology/Tutorials/DNAbinding.htm
8. LIVESCIENCE.COM: The wondrous things I read at a very early
age in
publications like Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, and
Scientific
American stoked my interest in science. The numerous mind-bending
facts and
mysteries I came across in these magazines always brought me back
for more.
A sense of the spectacular tinged with an aura of mystery is a
must in order
to interest kids in science. LiveScience.com has a good
understanding of
these principles, with an attractively designed opening page and
eye-
catching headlines, such as "Deadly Ecosystem � In Your
Pillow", "Insects'
Amazing Rubber Made in Lab", and "Mystery Ocean Glow
Confirmed in Satellite
Photos." LiveScience.com has a bit of something for
everyone, not just kids.
Its tightly organized design (7 categories of information)
complementing a
scrolling list of headlines, helps the site succeed as a fun to
read news
source.
http://www.livescience.com
9. O=CHem DIRECTORY: No, that's not an equal sign in the title
of this
educational site. It's a symbol for a double bond between the O
and C. I'm
cheating a little bit on this selection, because it too is
located at the
University of South Maine and is referenced in the Welcome to the
Molecular
Level site above, but it's only a tiny ethical lapse in that
O=CHem
Directory stands on its own. With an opening page that organizes
all content
into 90 hyperlinked topic areas, O=CHem Directory compresses an
entire
course on organic chemistry into the confines of a single page.
How's that
for efficiency? Clicking on any of the links brings up well-
written,
detailed "chapters" of information. If you're looking
for a quick course on
organic chemistry, this is the place to go.
http://www.usm.maine.edu/~newton/Chy251_253/Topics.html
10. WELCOME TO THE MOOECULAR LEVEL: Subtitled "Tools for
Structural
Biology Education and Training", this site by Gale Rhodes at
the University
of South Maine has an educational mission that it performs very
well. Gail's
Graphics Manifesto sets the tone for the site, emphasizing that
if you're
not training biochemistry students in molecular graphics,
"You are failing
them in an important way." The site's numerous sections
dedicated to
molecular imaging/representation are well organized. They include
a tutorial
on Bioinformatics for Beginners, Tools for Learning and Teaching
Biochemistry, Essential Skills (excellent primer on basic
molecular biology
skills), and a Glossary of Terms. A lot of work went into this
and it pays
off handsomely
http://www.usm.maine.edu/~rhodes/
11. NASA VIRTUAL LAB: A colleague of mine has, in recent years,
become very
involved with NASA's biological sciences division, so I thought
it might be
an appropriate time to look into what they offer in this area. I
was not
disappointed. Thinking of NASA, one usually pictures high tech.
That is the
gist of NASA's Virtual Lab site. Aimed at education, the site is
designed
around an interesting idea�providing virtual access to a
scanning electron
microscope (SEM). By giving users tools for zooming, it gives the
"feel" of
an SEM and the educational materials provide movies of the real
thing in
action. This is a great idea and one that could be duplicated for
many other
scientific instruments. To get the full effect users download
software that,
because it uses Java, runs on Macs and various flavors of
Windows.
Definitely worth a look�see for scientific educators.
http://learn.arc.nasa.gov/vlab/features.html
12. THE GRAPES OF STAPH: When you find a site with a title like
The Grapes
of Staph, you know you're dealing with a fun designer. In this
case, it is
Dr. Gary E. Kaiser, who is at the Community College of Baltimore
County,
Catonsville Campus. Apparently the home site for a class he
teaches, The
Grapes of Staph provide an informative collection of notes,
illustrations,
pictures, and even animations relevant to his lectures. With
topics that
range from a review of general biology to an online lab manual,
apparently
for the lab portion of his course, the site scores major points
for
educational content and understandability. I would recommend the
site to
anyone wanting to learn more about microbiology, who had never
taken a
course. I'm sure Dr. Kaiser's students have benefited from his
efforts and
now GEN readers can as well.
http://student.ccbcmd.edu/~gkaiser/goshp.html
13. MY HERITAGE.COM: Ever try to figure out which celebrity you
resember?
Use this face recognition database to upload a pohoto of your
face and
discover your celebrity doppleganger.
http://myheritage.com
14. THIS ISN'T WHAT YOU THINK IT IS: BugMeNot: Every now and
then I find
a site, which has such a wide audience and addresses a broad
Internet-
related concern that I feel compelled to write about it, even
though it
doesn't directly deal with biotechnology. The issue I'm talking
about is the
need to register at sites. I've complained about this on numerous
occasions
because of the tendency of some sites to sell that information,
ultimately
generating spam to visitors. Yes, I realize there are other
reasons for
registration and other uses of the information, but spam is a
common
problem. One approach to combating the spam issue is taken by
BugMeNot.com,
which provides fake login information for many sites requiring
registration.
While I don't necessarily condone fighting one evil (misuse of
registration)
with another (deception), I confess that I did try it just to see
if it
worked. Sure enough, I could log in to a site with the fake info
provided.
Is this ethical and a fair way to fight spam? I won't touch that
one. You
decide.
http://www.bugmenot.com/index.php
15. GRAPH PAD QUICK CALCS: I don't know about you, but I'm not
very
strong on statistical analysis. I say that with a bit of a red
face, because
there is no really good excuse for a scientist to be deficient in
this
department. That said, I look for help in this area. One can go
out and buy
expensive products to do extraordinary whiz-bang statistics,
moderately
priced packages (including some by this site provider), and
freebies, such
as are found here. I'm a freebie kind of guy, so I checked out
GraphPad's
QuickCalcs. What I found satisfied my basic needs, which included
analysis
of categorical and continuous data, simple statistical
distributions, random
number calculations, and some calculations for chemical and
radiochemical
analysis. Would these replace a commercial package? No, but
cleverly, they
may cause visitors to check out the offerings of the site's
provider.
http://www.graphpad.com/quickcalcs/
16. POETRY IN SCIENCE: Integrating poetry in science class...
This web site has dozens of nature and science-related poems on
topics
ranging from microbes to eternal winds to honey bees to many
flowers.
Thanks to the American Physiological Society for send this to me.
http://www.firstscience.com/site/poems.asp
17. LOTTO: More from the American Physiological Society. Fool
your eyes
The lottolab is not an experimental gambling site - it is the web
site
for neuroscientist R. Beau Lotto. Go to to the web site to check
out some cool optical illusions and learn more about his lab's
work on
human (and bee) perception.
http://www.lottolab.org
18. GENES, GENETICS AND DNA: FYI-for those of you who just love
the
Discovery Video "Genes, Genetics, and DNA," Forwarded
to me by the media
specialist @ WM: Video is available through United Streaming,
which means
you can download specific clips and play them on your classroom
TVs.
http://www.unitedstreaming.com
19. STRANGE SCIENCE: THE ROCKY ROAD TO PALEONTOLOGY & BIOLOGY.
The title of
this site is somewhat unfortunate. The scientist in me read the
title as one
of those scientific titillation sites, where weird goings on that
"defied
scientific understanding" held court. That fortunately,
could not be further
from the truth. The subtitle of the site, "The Rocky Road to
Modern
Paleontology and Biology," gives a hint to the true
territory covered. In
reality, the beat of Strange Science is not so strange, after
all, but
rather an accounting of how scientific knowledge taken for
granted today
came to be. As noted in Strange Science, Einstein overturned a
good deal of
Newtonian physics, but without Newton, there never would have
been Einstein.
Instead of being a frivolous bunch of puff with little interest
to the
average Joe or Jane Scientist, Strange Science is almost a must
read for
anyone who wants to truly understand scientific insight. A
superbly done
site with a great perspective of history.
http://www.genengnews.com/
http://strangescience.net/
20. HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS DATABASE: remember hearing the old
saying, "what you
don't know can't hurt you," when I was growing up. OK, I
wasn't surrounded
by very many educated people then. In a world where hazardous
chemicals
abound and bioterrorists supposedly lurk, there is no refuge in
ignorance.
That said, the most hazardous materials you'll probably come in
contact with
on an average day are things you willingly bring into your house.
Yep, we're
talking household chemicals, and the best place to learn about
them is this
very informative site. The Household Products Database stores
information in
records that looks like a rap sheet. On it, visitors can learn of
everything
from the manufacturer of ferret ear wash (yes, that is, indeed, a
strange
household) to the toll-free number of Chlorox. This is a gold
mine of
information tightly organized and very much to the point. A
superb
collection. http://www.genengnews.com/
http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/index.htm
21. NATURE ONLINE: No, this is not a review of the Nature
Publishing Group
website, but rather a surprisingly informative site from
Britain's Natural
History Museum. Like other natural history sites, Nature Online
has some of
the low�level information collections aimed at non�scientists,
but are very
well done. Better yet, there is a lot of material here for
scientists to
enjoy too. My favorite was the Protist Video page, where one can
(gulp) view
over 1500 videos of Protists. OK, these aren't the Rockettes in
action, but
I am amazed at the number of easily downloadable high quality
videos of
these little creatures doing their thing there are. Definitely
worth a look�
see, for scientists and non�scientists alike.
http://www.genengnews.com/
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/
22. THE VEGA SCIENCE TRUST- Freeview Video on the Web: As stated
on the
opening page of this site, "Vega is a not for profit
organization, which
broadcasts science programs for free over the internet."
Hooray. This gets
major points in my ranking scheme. Programs include face-to-face
interviews
with prominent scientists on topics of their expertise, including
Max Perutz
(hemoglobin), Fred Sanger (genetic engineering), Richard Ernst
(NMR), and
George Gray (liquid crystals). It also includes interviews with
Nobel prize-
winning scientists. The video format used is Real Video and the
quality of
the production is superb. An important and informative set of
videos.
http://www.genengnews.com/
http://www.vega.org.uk/
23. UNDERSTANDING GENETICS: It's interesting what you get when
you scratch
the surface of a site and look for what is hidden inside. The
main body of
this "techie," science-based site had, as its main
heading, a banner for
Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie when I visited it.
Deep in the
bowels of the site was located the Understanding Genetics
component I
describe here. The relationship between the two is unclear and
unimportant
for our purposes. Understanding Genetics is an education-based
site aimed at
general audiences to inform them about basic principles of
genetics.
Features include basic background information ("what is a
gene?", "how do
genes work?", "when genes go bad") and a popular
column entitled "Ask a
Geneticist". There's a lot to like here, particularly for
scientists
thinking about how to teach genetics to undergrads.
http://www.genengnews.com/
http://www.thetech.org/exhibits/online/ugenetics/
24. PROFILES IN SCIENCE: I have a strong interest in history. I
have covered
numerous historical sites, so I was surprised not to have
previously noted
this interesting one from the National Library of Medicine.
Titled Profiles
in Science, the site "celebrates twentieth-century leaders
in biomedical
research and public health" by making collections of
prominent scientists
and physicians available for general access. The set includes
giants like
Linus Pauling, Francis Crick, Barbara McClintock, and Albert
Szent-Gyorgi,
among others. At least one contemporary medical personality, Dr.
C. Everett
Koop, is also included. The collections are excellent resources
of general
information and provide links to more extensive sites, devoted
solely to
some of these people. A great place for science history buffs
http://www.genengnews.com/
http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/
25. BIOCHEMISTRY OF METABOLISM: illustrates the far-reaching
matter covered
here. The subject is organized into two main metabolic topics,
Molecular
Biochemistry I and II, and other material is divided into
Cellular
Biochemistry, Review (basic concepts of protein structure), and
Enzyme
Kinetics http://www.genengnews.com/
http://www.rpi.edu/dept/bcbp/molbiochem/MBWeb/mb1/MB1index.html
26. CAL'S PLANT OF THE WEEK: Currently, in its most impressive
363rd week,
Cal�s Plant of the Week is the botanical stop that has been
around almost as
long as Best of the Web. One reason for the success of Cal�s
Plant of the
Week is the gorgeous pictures they have on the site. Visitors can
view all
of the plants of the week via a search engine, species, name,
common name,
or family name. In addition to the pictures, the site gives a
short
botanical profile of each of the selections. An informative site
that is
easy to look at, Cal�s Plant of the Week is a no-brainer to
recommend.
http://www.genengnews.com/
http://www.plantoftheweek.org/
27. INSIDE PLANTS LIVE: Blogs are getting better at disguising
themselves,
which isn�t all bad. When I went to Inside Plants Live, I
scanned through
the abundant information at the site and found it most
informative to read.
After I clicked on the About the Site link, I discovered I�d
been actually
enjoying a blog, of all things. While one might quibble with
exactly what is
and is not a blog, I think what matters is what the site
considers itself
and more importantly, the value of its content. On the latter
matter I can
give high marks. With monthly entries dating to 2004, articles
categorized
into over 20 topic areas, abundant pictures, and a lack of
attitude
generally linked to blogs, Inside Plants Live is one of my most
pleasant
finds of the year. While it is low on the science end of things,
it is great
reading. http://www.genengnews.com/
http://www.insideplantslive.org/
28. DIGITAL BOOK INDEX: A few years ago, digital books were all
the rage.
There was talk that digital books would replace traditional
publishing, and
while they have made inroads in many places, the print publishing
industry
is still in pretty good shape. What has happened in the interim,
however,
has been enormous expansion of digital offerings and the
DigitalBookIndex is
a great place to stay on top of it. Access to the site requires
free
registration and you can opt out of receiving additional info.
After you�re
in, you can search the lists by author, title, keyword, subject,
or
publisher. Books are available in PDF, HTML, and a variety of
formats. There
are free versions (out of copyright) and books for sale through
the site.
Perhaps I�m a purist, but if I�m going to pay for a book, I
prefer to have
it in printed form. Still, an awesome set of titles and a very
well-
organized collection. http://www.genengnews.com/
http://www.digitalbookindex.com/
29. THE WAKSMAN STUDENT SCHOLARS PROGRAM(WSSP) is an effort at
Rutgers
University to work with high school teachers and help them to
introduce
principles of molecular biological research in their classrooms.
Toward this
end, the Website provides several useful resources. First, there
are various
useful tutorials, including sections on Morgan, Molecular
Genetics, and
BRITE tutorials (introductory lab exercises). Second, there
appears to be
exercises on DNA sequence analysis (closed access), sequence file
access,
numerous lecture notes, lab protocols (restricted access), and
more.
Participants in the program travel to Rutgers for a month in the
summer and
then take home their work to complete http://www.genengnews.com/
http://avery.rutgers.edu/WSSP/Tutorials/indexNew.html
30. ARXIV.ORG E-PRINT ARCHIVE: It took me a second to realize
that the X in
the title of this site is to represent a Greek chi, so this is an
archive
site. Oh�I get it now, but why not just spell the word
�archive�? We are,
after all, capable of reading. That�s a pretty petty gripe,
however,
considering what is available in the archive. Hosted by the
Cornell
University library, arXiv.org provides free access to over
350,000 �e-
prints� in physics, mathematics, computer science, and
quantitative biology.
What�s the catch, you wonder? I can�t seem to find one, save the
fact that
quantitative biology has the fewest number of headings. Under
quantitative
biology, topic areas include biomolecules, cell behavior,
genomics, and
others. Organization is rather higgledy piggledy�mostly focused
on dates.
The search engine too is formatted for dates, though one can
search by words
or authors. Papers can be viewed in several graphic formats,
including PDF.
http://www.genengnews.com/
http://arxiv.org/
31. COMMUNICATING AT AN UNKNOWN RATE: You want quirky? OK. Start
with the
title of this educational site. I�m not quite sure what it
means. It
certainly doesn�t describe (at least as I see it) the contents
of the site,
which are animations relevant to cell biology. Topic areas
include amino
acids/proteins, cell function overview, cell anatomy, cell
membranes,
chromosome structure, glycolysis, evolution, and more. Each of
these uses
animations to illustrate the various principles. The site scores
points for
its clever uses of an expanding calendar for showing the
universe, beginning
at 14 billion years ago to the present, but loses points for
inaccuracies
(the section entitled DNA makes RNA is misleading in places and
wrong in
other places�there are more than 64 tRNAs, for example, as well
as more than
two rRNAs). In places the videos are very informative, for
example,
translation, and in other places, like evolution, the motion just
seems to
get in the way. http://www.genengnews.com/
http://www.johnkyrk.com/
32. SLOAN SCIENCE CINEMATEQUE: Describing itself as the Museum of
the Moving
Image and as "a forum for short films, interviews, and
articles that enhance
the public understanding of science and technology," Sloan
Science
Cinemateque gets two thumbs up for the well-done streaming videos
available
at the site. I scoped out the first one�The Disappearance of
Andy Waxman�
just as a curiosity and found it totally captivating. 24 minutes
later, I�d
gained a fascinating perspective about the importance of short-
term memory
in a way that I never could have gotten from a textbook. The
quality of the
videos is excellent, though even on a cable modem, I did find
that things
ground to a halt occasionally. One of the more intriguing science-
related
sites I�ve ever seen. http://www.genengnews.com/
http://www.movingimage.us/science
33. LAB DAD'S LABORATORY: I decided to take a chance on this one,
however,
hosted by Stephen Fuller, who describes himself as a Lab Dad, and
he is a
science instructor in Kansas City. The reason I decided to write
about his
pages is that they are so well done. Organized in a lab notebook
format, the
experiments he describes range from biology to chemistry to
physical
science, earth sciences, and food sciences. The target audience
for the
experiments is described as approximately high school, but I
found several
of them that would be of interest to college students, as well.
This is a
great way to introduce new students to science and to help train
students
already interested in science. http://www.genengnews.com/
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hall/1410/
34. CASE STUDY TEACHING IN SCIENCE: Case studies from the
University of
Buffalo have been used for years to teach and holds great
promise as a
pedagogical technique for teaching science because it humanizes
illustrates
scientific methodology and makes science relevant. They develop
students�
skills in group learning, speaking, and critical thinking, and
since many of
the best cases are based on contemporary�and often
contentious�science
problems that students encounter in the news (such as human
cloning.
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/cases/case.html
35. Promega Biotech education stuff
http://www.promega.com/education/download/default.asp?src=rsrce_download
35. NIMGS FINDINGS ONLINE: Findings online: Here, you can find
stories on
hot science, like stem cells and computers in medicine. As a
result of some
of your tips, we�ve built in lots of new media: watch interviews
and movies,
like a video poking fun at life in the lab or a clip of embryonic
stem cells
growing in culture. Do online crossword puzzles and have your
students try a
bioinformatics experiment that can be done completely online.
We�ve also
posted animations and podcasts, and offer a really cool search
tool to
identify stories from all current and past issues on a range of
scientific
topics. And an image gallery, too. We hope that you will find the
new
Findings online informative and useful in your classroom and that
you will
spread the word to your colleagues
http://www.nigms.nih.gov/findings
Science Net Links: Providing a wealth of resources for K-12
science educators, Science NetLinks is your guide to meaningful
standards-based Internet experiences for students
http://sciencenetlinks.com/
From Jen Mockensturm: From the NATIONAL INSTTITUTE OF JUSTICE:
Mutlimedia Resources from DNA.gov Training
DNA.gov — administered by NIJ — offers free, self-paced online
courses that include videos and animations developed with funding
from NIJ. You are free and encouraged to use these as a resources
in your own classrooms or other work. We ask only that you
acknowledge DNA.gov and NIJ as the source.
The videos and animations below are arranged by the course in
which they appear. Find animations and videos from:
•Forensic DNA for Officers of the Court
•DNA: A Prosecutor's Practice Notebook
•Collecting DNA Evidence at Property Crime Scenes
•Laboratory Orientation and Testing of Body Fluids and Tissues
for Forensic Analysis
•DNA Amplification for Forensic Analysts
•Amplified DNA Product Separation for Forensic Analysts
•STR Data Analysis and Interpretation for Forensic Analysts
•Population Genetics and Statistics for the Forensic Analysts
•Communication Skills, Report Writing and Courtroom Testimony for
Forensic Analysts
•Advanced and Emerging DNA Technologies and Techniques
http://www.nij.gov/training/dna-multimedia.htm
Scitable is a free science library and personal learning tool
brought to you by Nature Publishing Group, the world's leading
publisher of science.
SCITABLE: Scitable currently concentrates on genetics and cell
biology, which include the topics of evolution, gene expression,
and the rich complexity of cellular processes shared by living
organisms. Scitable also offers resources for the budding
scientist, with advice about effective science communication and
career paths.
http://www.nature.com/scitable
LAB TUTORIALS: Information about the skills you need to know to
get started in a molecular biology laboratory.
http://labtutorials.org/