BioMedNet: Research Update
http://update.bmn.com
Research Update is a new BioMedNet feature offering "short, easy-to-read commentary on the latest hot papers across the life sciences." Each article is available free of charge for one week, after which an access fee is required. A convenient and customizable email alert service should make it easy stay on top of the latest updates before the free one-week window expires. The commentaries, updated daily, are written by research scientists and offer views on the significance and potential impact of featured work in 29 life science subject areas. [RS]
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Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology
http://pewagbiotech.org/
The Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology offers "news and information on agricultural biotechnology and genetically modified food from an independent and objective source for the public, media and policymakers." Readers should find it a timely and well-presented resource for keeping up with developments in biotechnology and the public debate it has generated. Content includes news reports, conference summaries, factsheets, and other materials intended to spur "discussion about this technology beyond conflict and toward a sustained process of constructive engagement about the regulation and use of this important tool." [RS]
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SERPIN: Southeastern Rare Plant Information Network
http://www.serpin.org/index1.html
The Southeastern Rare Plant Information Network (SERPIN) is a joint project of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia and Duke University Biological and Experimental Science Library. SERPIN "aims to make large and small museum and library collections more easily available to researchers, teachers, students, land managers, and the public in the Southeast and worldwide." The SERPIN database currently includes botanical data, literature, and many other resources for all state or federally listed plants found in Georgia, north and central Florida, and the Carolinas. [RS]
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Western Australian Museum: FaunaBase and WA FaunaList
http://203.30.234.168/
Researchers interested in Australia's vertebrate populations can take advantage of these databases from the Western Australian Museum. FaunaBase contains vertebrate specimen records from Western Australian Museum collections as well as those from the Queensland Museum and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. FaunaBase is organized by vertebrate class and provides collapsible taxonomic trees, excellent image galleries, and a number of search options. All features are free except for Area Search, which generates species lists for a selected area. WA FaunaList "provides a comprehensive phylogenetically arranged checklist of the scientific names for each vertebrate group (amphibians, birds, mammals, reptiles and fishes) recorded from Western Australia and the surrounding seas." Both databases are very nicely presented and quite easy to use. [RS]
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Biogeoinformatics of Hexacorallia
http://www.kgs.ukans.edu/Hexacoral/index.html
Hosted by the Kansas Geological Survey, this Web site contains a suite of databases and related tools for geospatial, taxonomic, and environmental data on hexacorals and related cnidarians. Created as part of the Census of Marine Life through the National Oceanographic Partnership Program, this incredibly comprehensive Web site is "a public information resource of data, interpretation, and methods related to the taxonomy, biogeography, and habitat characteristics or environmental correlates of the Hexacorallia and allied taxa." Available tools and databases are too numerous to list here, but each includes detailed information and instructions. Visitors to the site must register to use site features, but may also preview tools and databases as a guest. [RS]
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Human Plasma Membrane Receptome
http://receptome.stanford.edu/HPMR/
Cell receptor researchers have an excellent online resource in the Human Plasma Membrane Receptome (HPMR) database from the Aaron Hsueh lab, part of the Division of Reproductive Biology at Stanford University Medical Center. The database contains information for over 1000 individual cell receptors and offers a number of search options. For instance, users can navigate a concept map diagram organized by receptor function or browse a phylogenetic tree with receptor families organized by evolutionary relationship. The database provides detailed information for each receptor, including PubMed citations. [RS]
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The Field Museum: 19th Century Museum Specimens Help Plan Reintroduction of Endangered Tiger Beetle [tiff]
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/museum_info/press/press_goldstein.htm
This Web site offers a quick look at interesting work by Field Museum scientists regarding the reintroduction of a tiger beetle once commonly found along beaches from Massachusetts to the Chesapeake Bay. The researchers analyzed DNA sequences of tiger beetle museum specimens, with findings that have important implications for their reintroduction and management. The brief but engaging press release in this Web site includes a high-resolution downloadable image of tiger beetle specimens, although those with slower Internet connections may wish to pass on this rather hefty file. [RS]
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International Cancer Research Portfolio
http://www.cancerportfolio.org/
This Web site contains a database of cancer research funded by US and U. research organizations, including the US National Cancer Institute. The International Cancer Research Portfolio (ICRP) promises to put "cancer research at your fingertips" with a convenient, centralized database of information on grants awarded by ICRP partner organizations. The database may be searched by cancer type, area of research, or funding organization. ICRP is designed for "cancer researchers, cancer funding organizations, health care policy makers, health care professionals, cancer survivors, and advocates, as well as anyone with an interest in the most current cancer research."
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