http://www.dnai.org/d/index.html

DNA Applications is a fantastic new release from DNA Interactive -- the series of Web-based educational features from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Users are invited to "investigate techniques of forensic analysis and use them to solve a historical puzzle. Find out how DNA science may be applied to healthcare, and delve into the mysteries of our species' past." The Web site contains four modules: Human Identification, Recovering the Romanovs, Genes and Medicine, and Human Origins. Recovering the Romanovs is particularly engaging, starting with a history of the Romanov family and ending with an artfully paced tutorial on how DNA science helped solve a historical mystery. Altogether, DNA Applications deserves a careful perusal -- a good site to bookmark and revisit. [RS]

http://internt.nhm.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wildwin/2003/

This Web site from London's Natural History Museum presents the winners of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition 2003, a competition that "aims to be the world's most respected forum for wildlife photographic art, showcasing the very best images of nature and inspiring new generations of photographers to produce visionary and expressive interpretations of nature." All winning photos in both the adult and junior divisions are available, each with a short essay and technical information provided by the photographer. [RS]

http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0311/feature4/index.html

The November 2003 issue of National Geographic Magazine features the wildlife of Cuba: "an island nation so rich with endemic species that biologists can hardly keep count." Visitors to this Web site will find special Web-only extras for this piece, including additional photos, video footage from the field, field notes from author/photographer Steve Winter, and a great 7-minute multimedia presentation titled Sights & Sounds. The Web site also includes an online forum for discussing what will happen to Cuba's wildlife once the U.S. embargo is lifted and tourism increases. [RS]

http://www.undoit.org/

Global Warming: Undo It is a national campaign developed by Environmental Defense "to ramp up the fight against global warming, the most critical environmental issue we face." The Web site contains a multimedia tutorial of sorts, where users can learn more about global warming and lifestyle changes they can make cut down on their carbon dioxide production. The site also includes a multimedia gallery, with video clips of the campaign's television commercials, an interview with Environmental Defense president Fred Drupp and another with Senator John McCain, and more. Users may also choose to sign an e-petition to help get the McCain-Lieberman bipartisan Climate Stewardship Act passed in Congress. [RS]

http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/exhibitions/johnday/index.html

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew recently opened an exhibit featuring the work of artist John Day, who "painted hundreds of exquisite watercolours of the newly discovered orchids that were entrancing Victorian society." Visitors to the virtual exhibit available in this Web site can view dozens of these watercolors in four online galleries: Tropical America, Tropical Asia, Europe and Afro-Madagascar, and John Day's Orchids. Informative descriptions accompany each image, which touch on natural history, Victorian history, and John Day himself. The Web site also offers a series of short essays on orchid collecting history and conservation. [RS]

http://www.dmnh.org/mars/index.html

According to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (DMNS) "we Earthlings have always been fascinated with the Red Planet, and we've wondered -- in science fiction, in classrooms, in living rooms, and in laboratories -- if anything lives there." We can also wonder about it online with this interesting DMNS Web site. Informative essays and for fun, multimedia features, explore the water-life connection as well as the search for evidence of water and life on the Mars. There's also a section on Mars basics, including a QuickTime movie of Mars created from the Hubble Space Telescope photographs. Related links and other resources are also provided. [RS]

http://www.missouriplants.com/

This straightforward guide to the flora of Missouri comes courtesy of Missourian Dan Tenaglia. The site offers photos and descriptions of the flowering and non-flowering plants of the region. Tenaglia's easy-to-use key requires users to identify flower color and leaf characteristics only (for the most part); results are thumbnail photos that lead to summary information and additional images. The site also includes some nice photos of insects and other arthropods interacting with plants -- these images may be downloaded as desktop wallpaper. Not from Missouri? Many of the 700+ species in this Web site are common in other parts of the U.S. as well. [RS]

http://www.noaa.gov/turtles.html

This is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's turtle site -- a detailed information resource on sea turtles and related NOAA projects. Readers will find information on turtle protection and conservation efforts, tracking research, sea turtle viewing guidelines and, of course, basic information about sea turtle species. The site also provides a couple of related news articles, as well as links to photo galleries from NOAA and the National Marine Sanctuaries. [RS]