http://home.hawaii.rr.com/tropicalfruit/

This website showcasing Tropical Fruits was created by Marilyn Rittenhouse Harris a tropical fruit aficionado, cookbook author, and longtime resident of Hawaii. Her website provides interesting information about common and uncommon tropical fruits including cooking tips and recipes. Harris' site offers links to more in-depth information on a variety of issues concerning tropical fruit, as well as links to information about Hawaii. [NL]

http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/news/rocks_0104.html

This webpage reports on a study led by Dr. William Schlesinger of Duke University on the ability of microscopic Mojave Desert plants to photosynthesize through translucent quartz pebbles. In addition to an ability to photosynthesize, these plants are able to pull nitrogen from the air, and endure both cold and extreme heat. The scientific study team said that the plants "could offer a model for how plants first colonized land" when the environmental conditions on Earth were harsher. [NL]

http://nai.arc.nasa.gov/astrotech/solarindex.cfm

NASA's Habitable Worlds website encourages visitors to "search the solar system for signs of life," by selecting a "World to Explore." This creatively designed website smartly displays our solar system's colorful planets or worlds amidst the dark background of space. In order to gain in-depth information specific to each planet, users simply click on the world of their choosing. Each planet page provides beautiful images and information about habitability, moons, and more. [NL]

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/bse/en/

The discovery of a cow carrying BSE in the United States has reenergized the public's interest in such topics. This site, an offshoot of the WHO site devoted to diseases, offers a good overview of the disease and its similar nature to that of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease -- the form of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy that can affect humans. Also of note at this site is a exceptionally comprehensive resources section that offers links to publications, articles, and websites devoted to related topics and information. For a quick snapshot of the disease, check out the WHO fact sheet on BSE, located at the bottom of this main page. [JPM]

http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/children/schools.html

With sending your children off to school can come worries about bullies, crossing streets, competition, and stress -- not to mention health. As we learn more about the school environment, it appears that measles may not be the only malady facing school children. This site from the Minnesota Department of Health, offers a comprehensive look at the hazards children face in their environment. Included at the site are discussions of lead in school drinking water, pesticides in schools, air quality in schools, mold in schools, and much more. Each link to these subjects offers a non-technical, yet comprehensive description of the issue as well as an easily printable fact sheet in the pdf format. This site should be of interest to anyone wanting to understand the environmental health issues that children face. [JPM]