December 27, 2004 -- International Visitors Office
Even researchers who tease out the genetic secrets of cancer cells or hatch
models of stellar evolution can find the rules for getting a U.S. visa
daunting and confusing. The security clampdown since the 11 September
terrorist attacks hasn't made things any easier. This new site from the
National Academies offers clear advice for foreigners planning to travel to
the United States.  Find out how early to apply (at least 3 months before
your anticipated arrival) and what to do if your visa application is
rejected or delayed. The site also offers advice for U.S. citizens and
foreign nationals living here who plan to travel outside the country, along
with tips for holding an international conference in the U.S.
http://www7.nationalacademies.org/visas

December 20, 2004 -- The James Lind Library
James Lind, an 18th century Scottish physician, is best known for
establishing that lemons and oranges were remedies for scurvy, then a major
killer of sailors and landlubbers alike. His systematic analysis of previous
writings about preventing and treating the scurvy was also a landmark in the
history of fair tests, studies that weigh all pertinent evidence and account
for chance and bias. This site, hosted by the Royal College of Physicians in
Edinburgh, U.K., traces the evolution of fair tests, which are becoming more
and more important in medicine. The site presents this history through a
collection of nearly 100 book excerpts, papers, and other documents that
discuss or apply the methods of fair tests. You can read key passages from
Lind's 1753 treatise, for instance, or follow a link to the full book. Many
of the selections also come with biographies, bibliographies, and
commentaries by experts. 
http://www.jameslindlibrary.org/

December 12, 2004 -- DinoData.Net
Curated by dinosaur enthusiast Fred Bervoets of Rotterdam, Netherlands, this
site contains facts and figures on the extinct reptiles. You can find
everything from the sites that yielded skeletons of Allosaurus to a list of
all known dinosaur specimens with preserved skin. You can browse the species
listing to uncover basic information such as size, diet, and fossil
localities for hundreds of kinds of dinosaurs. Or, you can search by broader
categories to learn which species hail from a particular country, formation,
or time period. Diagrams help you learn about dinosaur skeletal anatomy, and
backgrounders investigate paleontological controversies, such as whether the
creatures were warm-blooded and how they are related to birds. There is an
impressive gallery, with drawings and paintings from more than a dozen
artists, including Styracosaurus, a spiky Cretaceous herbivore. You'll also
find a list of species whose fossilized eggs have been discovered, a
database that records fossils and casts held by European museums, and pages
on the flying and swimming reptiles that coexisted with the dinosaurs. 
http://www.dinodata.net/

December 6, 2004 -- Long Term Ecological Research Network
Understanding an ecosystem and determining how it changes over time can take
decades. The National Science Foundation set up the Long Term Ecological
Research (LTER) program to help. This site offers scientists more than 2000
data sets from the project's 24 sites in the United States and Antarctica.
Locales range from tundra on Alaska's North Slope to kelp forests off the
California coast, to tall grass prairie in Kansas. The diversity in climate
and terrain matches the diversity of available data sets - everything from
the feeding habits of anole lizards in Puerto Rico to soil composition in
Colorado grassland. Most of the data collections are open, but some require
permission from the researcher. 
http://LTERnet.edu/

November 29, 2004 -- CAMEX-4 Hurricane Study
This site features photographs from space of historical and recent
hurricanes, many taken by satellites and astronauts. The recent hurricane
season is included. The more than 100 photos of storms and storm-chasing
scientists date back to 1968 and include some of the most destructive
hurricanes of the period, such as 1992's Andrew, which blasted South
Florida. To see movies of some of these storms, click on the video gallery
of tropical storms, hurricanes, and typhoons. 
http://www1.msfc.nasa.gov/newsroom/camex/camphotos.html

November 22, 2004 -- Andreas Vesalius De Humani Corporis Fabrica
De Humani Corporis Fabrica  (On the Fabric of the Human Body) by 16th
century Flemish anatomist Andreas Vesalius is sometimes cited as the most
influential medical work ever. A friendly English translation of the
classic's first volume is found at this. Fabrica's other six volumes will
eventually be posted, producing the first complete translation of the work's
two editions from Latin into English. Vesalius (1514-1564) helped modernize
medicine and anatomy by insisting on meticulous dissection of human
cadavers. He made detailed observations, and the woodcuts in the book set
the standard for future medical illustrations. The illustrations on the site
have enhanced the original illustrations to sharpen details. Annotations
have also been added. Essays by Garrison and other experts put Vesalius and
his work into historical context and dissect the book's themes. 
http://vesalius.northwestern.edu/
 

November 15, 2004 -- Oceans of Kansas Paleontology
Most of Kansas once lay beneath a huge inland sea. This site transports you
back 85 million years to explore the denizens of this ancient ocean. Curator
Mike Everhart, a paleontologist at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History
in Hays, Kansas, uses photos of fossils and artists' reconstructions to
bring alive the era's critters. Subpages take you to dusty digs and explain
what clues on fossils reveal about the animals' lives and deaths.
http://www.oceansofkansas.com/

November 8, 2004 -- Science and Development Network
This site is an information clearinghouse that explores the impact of
science and technology on developing countries such. The news section
contains latest updates, and editorials and opinion pieces explain recent
issues. There is information on topics such as the brain drain from
developing to developed countries, genetically modified crops, and climate
change. The site's offerings include a selection of free articles from
Science and Nature. 
http://www.scidev.net/

November 1, 2004 -- VN Illustrated Database of Mexican Biodiversity
Mexico's ecosystems range from mountain pine forests and searing deserts to
humid rainforests, and contain a tremendous biodiversity. The country ranks
second in number of mammal species, fourth in vascular plants, and first in
reptiles. This is an image-packed site. Species profiles introduce the
habits and habitats of more than 60 Mexican animals. Photo and sound
collections let you hear as well as see many of these creatures, while other
galleries transport you to some of the country's imperiled habitats. 
http://www.vivanatura.org

October 25, 2004 -- The WayStation
Each human disease gene have hundreds or thousands of alleles; molecular
biologists have identified more than 600 faulty versions of the gene that
causes cystic fibrosis, for example. This new database houses information on
these mutations, a collection they hope will become the central repository
for such data. Analyzing mutations can help reveal disease mechanisms, speed
diagnosis, and suggest novel or improved treatments. However, many newly
discovered genetic variants never appear in the literature, and no one has
attempted to gather them systematically. Geneticists, clinicians, and
scientists at diagnostic labs can now report unpublished mutations at this
site, hosted by the Human Genome Variation Society.
http://www.centralmutations.org/ 

October 18, 2004 -- BioSciEdNet
Need a snazzy animation of gene regulation in bacteria to liven up a
microbiology lecture? Looking for a lab on plant structure to replace the
one you've used for the last 17 years? Check out the offerings at
BiosciEdNet, which links to more than 1000 biological science teaching
resources for high school, college, and grad school classes. The library of
annotated links, sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement
of Science, Science's publisher, provides more than 150 lab exercises.
Another standout is the wealth of animations, images, and videos that can
help students visualize difficult concepts. Browsing or searching the
listings requires free registration, as do some of the linked sites. 
http://www.biosciednet.org/portal/

October 11, 2004 -- Reviled & Revered: Toads, Turtles, Snakes, Salamanders, & Other Creepers & Crawlers
Sent to us by Virginia Malone, this site provides information about reptiles and amphibians in five lessons. The site also includes resources.
http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/lesson_plans/herps/start.html

October 4, 2004 -- National Park Service Archaeology and Ethnography Program
This site provides useful reports, guidelines, how-tos, and other sources of
information. For example, the Professional Tools section allows you to check
up on laws and regulations that cover work at federal sites, including rules
for excavating battlefields and shipwrecks and for working with Native
American remains and artifacts. A set of online publications explains
everything from protecting sites through revegetation to using volunteers on
digs. You can also follow links to reach databases such as the National
Archeological Database, which lists nearly 240,000 reports--many of them
unpublished "gray literature"--on archaeological digs and surveys from
around the country. Reading the feature on managing cultural collections
might help you avoid disasters such as rodents setting up house inside
valuable artifacts. The site also holds a cache of government documents on
the controversial Kennewick Man. The 9000-year-old skeleton, discovered in
1996 in Washington, sparked a custody battle among scientists, Native
Americans, and local officials.
http://www.cr.nps.gov/aad/

September 27, 2004 -- A Revolution in Progress - Human Genetics and Medical Research
This site explains how genetics is transforming medicine. Although aimed at
the general public, the National Institutes of Health site could also serve
as an introduction to the subject for high school bio students. Simple
overviews tackle basic inheritance, genetic engineering, gene therapy, the
human genome project, and other subjects. Case studies examine the discovery
of genes for diseases such as breast cancer and cystic fibrosis. The site
also delves into some of the sticky ethical problems raised by genetic
research, such as who will have access to gene therapy.
http://history.nih.gov/exhibits/genetics/

September 20, 2004 -- Thomson Guide to the Animal Kingdom for Students and Educators
Whether you're looking for video clips of wasp behavior, a tutorial on sea
urchin embryology, or a checklist of European leeches, you can find them at
this portal to thousands of zoology sites. Corralled by the nonprofit
organization BIOSIS, the sites range from specimen databases and
identification keys to individual labs and departments, such as the
wonderfully named Department of Parasitic Worms at the Zoological Institute
in St. Petersburg, Russia.
http://www.biosis.org/free_resources/classifn/classifn.html

September 13, 2004 -- South-central China and Tibet Biodiversity Hotspots
These two areas shelter more plant species than almost any place on Earth.
Between 1924 and 1927, the American botanist and explorer Joseph Rock
(1884-1962) trekked through the area and collected specimens of more than
20,000 plants and 1000 birds. This site from Harvard's Arnold Arboretum is a
portal to the university's trove of documents and photos about Rock's
expedition. You can track Rock's progress on his hand-drawn maps, browse a
selection of his letters, and read published papers by him and others
describing the specimens. A search feature lets you summon hundreds of
original black-and-white photos from the expedition that capture the area's
spectacular gorges and vegetation. A linked site describes recent Arboretum
expeditions to the plant-rich region, which is threatened by deforestation
and erosion.
http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/library/tibet/expeditions.html

September 6, 2004 -- Geographical Information System and Maps
Everything from the murder rate to plant productivity varies geographically. Researchers seeking such data for the United States, in fields from public health to geology, should steer to this guide from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. The collection of links tallies hundreds of maps and Geographical Information Systems data sets held by federal, state, and local agencies. Examples include regional birth and death statistics for Alaska, changes in land cover along the shores of the Great Lakes between 1996 and 2001, and an Environmental Protection Agency map of streams damaged or threatened by pollution in Washington state. Most of the data sets and maps are free and accessible online.
http://libinfo.uark.edu/GIS/us.asp

August 30, 2004 -- National Academy of Scientists Member Interviews
Entomologist May Berenbaum of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign,
admits that as a child she was terrified of insects. While astrophysicist
Richard McCray of the University of Colorado, Boulder, was working with
Soviet scientists during the Cold War, he had to face another kind of chilly
atmosphere: a Moscow winter in an empty, unheated office building. Those are
two personal highlights from this set of audio interviews with members of
the National Academy of Sciences. During the hour-long chats recorded last
year, eight academy scientists discuss their backgrounds, interests,
inspirations, and concerns.
http://www7.national-academies.org/interviews/

August 23, 2004 -- Directory of Open Access Journals
Plenty of online journals supply free content, and this site from Lund
University in Sweden makes it easier to find them. The site links to more
than 350 journals with free, full-text articles. You can browse titles in 15
categories, from agriculture to sociology. Scientific journals include Stem
Cells, Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society, and Conservation
Ecology.
http://www.doaj.org

August 16, 2004 -- Marine Algae
Consult this site if you wish to identify marine algae species from the west
coast of North America. The Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of
Coastal Oceans, a consortium of ocean scientists from four universities in
Oregon and California, sponsors the collection. More than 350 marine species
are described with information on habitat, abundance, distribution, and
discarded scientific synonyms. Besides a long list of references, the site
boasts nearly 1000 photos of algae. 
http://www.piscoweb.org/cgi-bin/qml/newalgaequery.qml

August 9, 2004 --  ARKive Project
The ARKive project, sponsored by the Wildscreen Trust in Bristol, U.K., has
been gathering, digitizing, and storing media of endangered species from
around the world. The site (where you can browse much of the collection) is
not just intended to document vanishing species and promote their
conservation, but to save media from being lost, discarded, or destroyed.
The ARKive staff stocked their multimedia ark with donations from natural
history filmmakers such as Discovery Channel and Oxford Scientific Films,
scientists, and wildlife photographers. The archive boasts roughly 5000
images, along with background on about 1100 species, such as habitat, diet,
and reproduction. Two subsites are aimed at teachers and children.
http://www.arkive.org

August 2, 2004  --  Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center
Those studying the soil's role in carbon cycling or processes in river flow
will find useful information in this archive of ecological and geochemical
data sets from Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. Nearly 700
databases hold measurements recorded by satellites, scientists, and computer
modeling. The site requires free registration before you can download data. 
http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/

July 26, 2004 -- Beetle Science
Beetles account for about 20% of all species, so large a fraction that the
English geneticist J. B. S. Haldane quipped that God must have "an
inordinate fondness" for them. This enjoyable introduction to the group from
Cornell University allows a close look at some of the ubiquitous insects.
The Virtual Beetles feature allows you to rotate and zoom in on a selection
of museum specimens. A gallery showcases more than a dozen intricate
drawings that reveal details of various species. You can also watch footage
of the destructive Asian long-horned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis), an
introduced pest whose tunneling larvae have ravaged hardwood trees in New
York, New Jersey, and Chicago.
http://explore.cornell.edu/scene.cfm?scene=Beetle%20Science

July 19, 2004 -- Wellcome Library of Medical History
This site is an annotated guide to more than 700 sites on medical history.
The catalog describes biographical sites on everyone from the 16th century
anatomist Andreas Vesalius to polio vaccine pioneer Albert Sabin. You can
read classic texts or read modern records, such as a collection of
interviews with researchers at the National Institutes of Health who
witnessed the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in the United States.
http://medhist.ac.uk/

July 12, 2004 -- Microbiology Information Portal
This collection of annotated links, tended by Al Chan of the Woods Hole
Marine Biological Laboratory in Massachusetts, organizes the microbe sites
into 16 handy categories including a wealth of sites on microbial ecology,
specific groups, diseases, and practical uses. Also useful for students are
links to more than 300 articles on everything from a brain parasite that
makes rats less afraid of cats to the use of genetically altered bacteria to
thwart tooth decay. The site also features links to more than 180
microbiology journals and a host of jobs sites and professional societies.
http://www.microbes.info/
 

July 4, 2004 -- All Catfish Species Inventory
Catfish range in size from 2-centimeter parasites to 5-meters and
330-kilograms. Over time, some have jettisoned their eyes; others have
evolved the ability to waddle across land on their forefins. For taxonomic
data on this diverse group, try this site, whose goal is to describe nearly
all of the world's undiscovered species of catfish within the next 5 years.
The site, hosted by the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, lists
the number of species and genera for 37 families of catfishes. You can track
down scientists working on each group and find field projects around the
world. Links connect to an atlas of catfish skeletal anatomy and to pages on
particular families. There's also a bibliography and a Listserv, along with
links to catfish news stories. The site will expand to include
identification keys, digital photos of type specimens, and distribution
maps.
http://clade.acnatsci.org/allcatfish/

June 28, 2004 -- Flora of the Hawaiian and Marquesas Islands
You'll find a trove of taxonomic data on unique species at Flora of the
Hawaiian Islands created by botanist Warren Wagner of the Smithsonian
Institution and colleagues. The growing site now holds information on more
than 800 genera of flowering plants and ferns. Find information on species
distribution, conservation status, and the date and location for the first
specimens collected. A parallel site covers Flora of the Marquesas Islands,
another hot spot for plant diversity.
http://rathbun.si.edu/botany/pacificislandbiodiversity/hawaiianflora/index.htm
http://rathbun.si.edu/botany/pacificislandbiodiversity/marquesasflora/index.htm

 June 21, 2004 -- Cleared Leaf Collection
Unlike dead men, fossil leaves do tell tales. By analyzing their size and
shape, paleobotanists can gauge past climates, and evidence of nibbling can
reveal the dining habits of ancient herbivores. This site from the
University of California Museum of Paleontology in Berkeley can help
identify fossil leaves, a key step in inferring climate patterns or diet.
The collection contains modern leaves bleached to remove pigment and then
stained, which highlights the pattern of veins and other distinctive
characteristics. So far, the site holds images of nearly 400 cleared leaves,
with another 1700 coming by midsummer.
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/collections/plants/clearedleaf.html

June 14, 2004 -- The Devonian Ocean Simulator
Vertebrate evolution boomed during the Devonian period some 400 million to
350 million years ago. Bony fishes diversified, sharks branched out, and the
first amphibians--husky creatures the size of a small alligator--galumphed
onto land. This site lets you zoom through seas teeming with trilobites,
mollusks, and a multitude of fishes, from jawless bottom-huggers to
Dunkleosteus, a 6-meter predator with a bear-trap mouth. Click on the
creatures swimming by to summon information about their identity, size, and
habits. The animation is a prototype museum exhibit created by Christian
Darkin, a London-based artist and writer.
http://www.geocities.com/christiandarki/fish.htm

June 7, 2004 -- Environmental Science Simulators
Many ecological processes unfold over large areas and long time periods,
which makes them difficult to study and a challenge for students to
visualize. To see ecology in action, try this collection of more than 20
teaching simulations created by programmer Ginger Booth and ecologists Os
Schmitz and Dave Skelly of Yale University. The modules explore classic
problems such as the interlocked fluctuations of predator and prey
populations, as well as more complicated ecosystem dynamics, such as the
effects of climate and moose browsing on a forest. Another set of
simulations probes human impact on the environment. For example, students
can play town council members who must save the species inhabiting a
chaparral ecosystem in fast-growing Southern California. The creators
request a small donation from teachers who assign the simulations.
http://www.gingerbooth.com/courseware

May 31, 2004 -- Molecular Medicine in Action
With gene therapy in the headlines, you or your students might be looking
for a simple explanation of this promising but troubled technique. Although
created for high school students, this collection of animations from the
Indiana University School of Medicine is also suitable for lower-division
college classes. The shorts walk students through the steps in gene therapy,
such as loading refurbished genes into a virus and delivering them to their
targets in the body. Above, a virus snuggles up to a cell before injecting a
curative gene. Another clip explains a protocol for using a mouse retrovirus
to treat Fanconi anemia, an inherited deficiency of blood cells. Students
can also explore the workhorses of the molecular biology lab, such as
electrophoresis, PCR, and flow cytometry, which researchers use to measure
and sort cells.
http://www.iupui.edu/~wellsctr/MMIA/htm/animations.htm

May 24, 2004 -- Curiosities of Biological Nomenclature
What do the Roman emperor Caligula, cartoonist Gary Larson, and tennis
player Boris Becker have in common? All have species named for them. This
site, created by biologist Mark Isaak, unravels the etymology of hundreds of
clever, silly, and weird scientific handles. For example, the creature that
carries Larson's name is a louse, Strigiphilus garylarsoni, that nestles
among an owl's feathers. There are trilobites that commemorate Mick Jagger,
Paul McCartney, and all four members of the punk band the Ramones:
Mackenziurus johnnyi, M. joeyi, M. deedeei, and M. ceejayi. Groan-inspiring
puns like Phthiria relativitae (a fly whose name sounds like "theory of
relativity") and Ytu brutus (a beetle) suggest that some taxonomists might
be drinking out of the specimen bottles. Sometimes a scientific name even
reveals juicy personal details. The British adventurer and ornithologist
Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen bestowed some variant of "Theresa" on more
than a dozen species or subspecies of birds to honor "a close 'confidante'
33 years younger than himself," Isaak notes. 
http://home.earthlink.net/~misaak/taxonomy.html

May 17, 2004 -- Environmental Defense Scorecard
When the Bush Administration proposed relaxing clean-air rules for power
plants, nine Northeastern states filed suit, charging that the changes would
exacerbate asthma and other respiratory diseases. The link between human
illness and pollution remains a battleground. Researchers probing the
connection can find county-by-county and state-by-state breakdowns of
emissions at this site. The site, created by Environmental Defense, reflects
the advocacy group's green agenda, but it's also a rich vein of raw
information. Its databases merge figures from the Environmental Protection
Agency, the Department of Agriculture, state regulatory agencies, and other
sources. Reports for each state provide data in eight categories, including
lead exposure, levels of harmful air pollutants, release of toxic chemicals
from industries, watershed health, and animal waste. County reports detail
annual releases of toxic chemicals by individual plants and the location of
Superfund sites. The site also profiles health effects and uses of more than
6900 hazardous chemicals, from antimony to zirconium.
http://www.scorecard.org/

May 10, 2004  -- The Barren Lands
On 1 January 1894, J. B. Tyrrell and his brother rode a dogsled into the
frontier town of West Selkirk in Manitoba, Canada. The two had traveled more
than 5000 kilometers by canoe, sled, and on foot as part of the first survey
party to cross the "Barren Lands," the huge unexplored area west of Hudson's
Bay. Despite hardships that included dysentery, near starvation, and vicious
cold, Tyrrell returned to the Barren Lands for a second season of exploring.
At this site from the University of Toronto Libraries , you can follow the
progress of this famous Canadian geologist's expeditions to the northland.
Interactive maps and day-by-day chronologies link to some 5000 photos,
letters, original maps, diary entries, press clippings, and other documents.
Above, for example, the explorers have befriended a young moose along the
Athabasca River in Alberta. Tyrrell's teams helped fill in maps of the
region, brought back a trove of geological specimens, and gathered valuable
anthropological data, such as the first photographs of the Caribou Inuit.
The site includes a biography of Tyrrell, who is also known for discovering
rich dinosaur deposits.
http://digital.library.utoronto.ca/Tyrrell

May 3, 2004 -- Periodical Cicada Page
The 17-year cicadas, Magicicada septendecim, are set to swarm during the
spring and summer of 2004. From New York to Georgia to Illinois, the
red-eyed insects will soon be clambering out of their underground lairs, and
they'll be setting the air buzzing with their love songs. Find out more
about periodical cicadas' odd existence at this site hosted by the
University of Michigan. Range maps and a calendar show when and where these
outbursts will occur. The cohort that emerges this spring, known as Brood X,
is the largest and most widespread of the 17-year varieties. You can also
listen to cicada courtship by downloading recordings.
http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu:16080/fauna/michigan_cicadas/Periodical/
Cicada Central
The creators of this page also contributed to this site sponsored by the
University of Connecticut. The site features an illustrated guide to New
Zealand cicadas and accounts of select North American species. 
http://collections2.eeb.uconn.edu/collections/cicadacentral/

April 26, 2004 -- e-Skeletons Project 
A gorilla could never pass for human. However, primates are alike in many ways. To help students recognize the underlying similarities and differences among human beings, gorillas, and baboons, anthropologist John Kappelman of the University of Texas, Austin, created this site. Users can study digital photos of the skull and other bones from multiple angles and highlight anatomical details. For example, color-coding pinpoints the different bones in the skull. The student can click to delineate muscle attachments, processes, tooth cusps, and other skeletal landmarks, or to see the points where one bone articulates with another. Another feature lets you juxtapose bones from different species. Chimpanzee and orangutan skeletons will be added to the site soon.
http://www.eskeletons.org
 

April 19, 2004  -- Invasive Species
Some alien species are aquatic animals that hitchhiked in the cargo holds of
ships. Others are plants intentionally introduced by people who wanted
prettier gardens. This federal Web site gathers information on invasive
species monitoring, prevention, and control from governments and other
sources. Visitors can read about a particular state's efforts, such as laws
on animal and plant importation and "hit lists" of troublesome alien
species. The site also profiles about 50 of the worst invasive species, such
as the brown tree snake, which has wiped most of Guam's native bird species
since World War II.
http://www.invasivespecies.gov
 

April 12, 2004 -- Virtual Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc
Spelunker Jean-Marie Chauvet and two companions squeezed into a previously
undiscovered cave in southern France, and to their amazement, they found
hundreds of paintings and engravings of woolly rhinoceroses, mammoths, and
lions striding side by side, as well as other vivid images. Radiocarbon
dating showed that some of the charcoal sketches on the walls were about
31,000 years old, 15,000 years older than the famous works at Lascaux. You
can see some of these early masterpieces at this site from France's Ministry
of Culture and Communication. A virtual tour through 500 meters of caverns
and passages lets you zoom in on some of the spectacular artwork. The site
also features backgrounders on the local geology and the artists' culture,
as well as details of new discoveries.
http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/chauvet/en/
 

April 5, 2004  -- Muscle Physiology Lab
Students can study muscle structure and function with this tutorial at the
University of California, San Diego. The 23 chapters start by explaining the
interaction between the overlapping proteins myosin and actin. Students can
then explore topics such as muscle metabolism, how nerve signals spark
contraction, and the physics of joint movement. The site also links to
animations that show how the liaison between muscle proteins leads to
movement.
http://muscle.ucsd.edu/musintro/jump.shtml

March 29, 2004 -- Science.gov
This site makes it easier to find scientific information that's scattered
across the U.S. government's numerous Web sites. Aimed at everyone from
children to professional scientists, the portal provides access to the
holdings of 10 science agencies, from NASA to the Environmental Protection
Agency and the Department of Energy. Instead of flooding the site with all
its resources, each agency contributed its most authoritative reports, Web
sites, fact sheets, and databases. Whether you're looking for results from
trials of dietary supplements, distribution maps for North American
dragonflies, or a chemical dictionary, you'll find them here.
http://www.science.gov

March 22, 2004 -- Wormatlas
The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has no eyes or heart and only 959 cells.
Its simplicity has allowed scientists to work out its anatomy in greater
detail than for any other animal. Explore the architecture of normal worms
at the Web site Wormatlas, created by nematode scientists at Yeshiva and
Columbia universities. The site's anatomical handbook features art and will
the worm's organ systems. For a closer look inside the animal, fire up the
Wormviewer, which can show cross sections from different parts of the worm's
body. An illustrated section describes the origin, location, and function of
the worm's neurons. There's also a guide to identifying cell types, as well
as how-to's on lab techniques such as staining internal structures and
preparing worms for viewing under the electron microscope.
http://www.wormatlas.org

March 15, 2004 -- ReefBase
Reefs teem with eye-catching inhabitants, and this site is a data storehouse
sponsored by the World Fish Center in Penang, Malaysia that teems with
information on reef biodiversity and conservation. The growing site includes
data on coral in more than 90 countries. You can read a brief description of
each country's reefs and find out their conditions. The site examines
human-caused and natural environmental changes that jeopardize coral, such
as bleaching, over-fishing, cyclones, and pollution. Learn what steps
countries are taking to preserve their reefs, such as limiting fishing or
designating protected areas, and how well they're working. You can browse
through an image gallery or a bibliography featuring 13,000 articles. Use
the site's new mapping feature to chart the extent and severity of coral
bleaching or to pinpoint reefs blighted by disease.
http://www.reefbase.org

March 08, 2004  -- Smallpox.gov
As a precaution against a possible bio-terrorism attack, the government
plans to inoculate up to 11 million soldiers and emergency workers against
smallpox. This new federal Web site offers timely guidance to the public and
to health care workers, who not only must decide whether to take the shot
themselves, but must be able to spot the symptoms of infection if an attack
does occur. The site features a wealth of information, including archived
Webcasts and primers on diagnosis, guidelines for selecting vaccine
recipients, and a textbook chapter on the history of smallpox vaccination.
http://www.smallpox.gov

March 01, 2004 -- World Microorganism Data Center
If you're looking for an ampoule of algae or need a sample of slime molds
for a study on cell locomotion you can search this site of more than 450
culture collections that are willing to share microbes, viruses, fungi,
plant and animal cell lines, and other samples. Hosted by the World Data
Center for Microorganisms in Mishima, Japan, the directory summarizes each
site's holdings and conditions for use. For example, some provide samples
for free, while others require payment or a culture in trade. 
http://wdcm.nig.ac.jp

February 23, 2004 -- Action Bioscience
This site features peer-reviewed articles by scientists, and position papers
from environmental groups. E. O. Wilson discusses the crisis of declining
biodiversity, and paleontologist Donald Johanson elucidates the evidence
that humans evolved in Africa. One section gives students the chance to
analyze clashing views on the safety and value of transgenic crops. About
half the articles and papers include lesson plans with activities. The site
comes from BioScience Productions, a nonprofit based in Nokomis, Florida
that promotes science education. 
http://www.actionbioscience.org

February 16, 2004 -- NeoDat 
The New World tropics teem with fish species, from piranhas and huge catfish to the dainty emperor tetra. This site contains a wealth of information on the systematics and biogeography of Neotropical fish species. You can review collection records from 24 museums and map the locality data, scan the bibliography to find original species descriptions, or follow links to nine online classic books and monographs on New World fish species and many sites on tropical biology.
http://www.neodat.org

February 9, 2004 -- BioMEDIA Associates
Would you like for your students to view the spiny surface of a sea star, or
plunge into the world of ciliated protists? At this site, biology comes
alive through photography. 
Geared toward teaching middle and high school students about the natural
world, it consists of a series of photo galleries. Students learn as they
study the images, and factoids roll out from under each photo as the cursor
moves. Each gallery is supplemented with interactive essays that explain how
each animal adapts to its environment.  Although the site focuses on the
microscopic world, a new photo essay on the evolution of eyes teaches about
the many different ways to produce sight. To keep students coming back, a
mystery organism-of-the-month contest promises the first five successful
entrants a free CD-ROM or video of their choice from BioMEDIA's educational
series.
http://www.ebiomedia.com/

February 2, 2004 -- Martindale's Calculators Online Center
Web calculators are not just for finding out how many drachmas equal $1 or
what time it is in Ulan Bator, Mongolia. At this site you can do just about
anything from calculating the estimated running speed of an extinct
brontosaurus to figuring out the expected due date of your pregnant Nigerian
dwarf goat. With over 16,495 calculators indexed on this site, look no
further to remind yourself how to convert grams to moles or degrees
Fahrenheit to degrees Celsius. The site is organized alphabetically by
topic, with annotations discussing each calculator's pros and cons. You can
also explore how several different calendars can be used to look up today's
date in the ancient Mayan timekeeping system, or translate your name into
Egyptian hieroglyphics.
http://www.martindalecenter.com/Calculators.html

January 26, 2004  -- Profiles in Science
This site uses pages from lab notebooks, letters, audiotapes, diary entries,
period photographs, and other documents to tell the stories of the 20th
century's top biomedical researchers. The latest addition to this evolving
site from the U.S. National Library of Medicine is physiologist Donald
Fredrickson (1924-2002), former director of the National Institutes of
Health, who refined our understanding of the foul-ups in fat metabolism that
can spawn heart disease. He joins eight other profiled scientists, including
Oswald Avery, whose clever experiments with bacteria confirmed that DNA is
the genetic material; and Barbara McClintock, who showed that genes jump
from place to place on chromosomes. 
http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/

January 19, 2004 -- Ocean Biogeographic Information System
This site is a confluence of ocean information and data on marine species
that can be as widely scattered and difficult to locate as giant squid. OBIS
simplifies the search by allowing you to sift through 12 marine databases
for collection records. You can select information from storehouses such as
CephBase (which focuses on squid and their kin), FishBase, and FishNet and
from collections on crustaceans, coral, and plankton. The site's creators
plan to link to more databases and to incorporate environmental
measurements. The project is part of the international Census of Marine
Life, whose goal is to compile a complete catalog of marine species, their
distribution, and their abundance. 
http://www.iobis.org/

January 12, 2004 --- Developmental Physiology 
Questions such as the origin of the heartbeat and the effect of temperature on muscle growth, developmental physiology is where embryology meets molecular biology and biochemistry. Many developmental physiology resources are located at this site created by Warren Burggren of the University of North Texas in Denton.
http://www.biol.unt.edu/developmentalphysiology

January 5, 2004 --- AGBIOS
This site is one way to keep abreast of which transgenic crops (from rice
and corn to papaya and tobacco) have received approval for human or animal
consumption or for release in more than twenty-four countries worldwide.
Agbios is an independent company in Merrickville, Ontario, Canada, that
provides information from a crop database that allows the user to search by
criteria such as species, traits (for example, male sterility or delayed
ripening), and regulatory status. The site also includes risk-assessment
training modules, based on a real-world case of insecticide-producing maize,
to help readers understand the product-approval process. There's also a
bibliographic database with more than 1400 papers about bio-safety and
genetically modified organisms.
http://www.agbios.com/main.php