Links to Scientic Information - many have helped

Science Links

There are many helpful and instructive web sites and blogs devoted to the study and teaching of biology and microbiology in general as well as plasmids and bacteriophages in particular.

A list of advanced resources √

Scientific Commons - http://en.scientificcommons.org/

“The major aim of the project is to develop the worlds largest communication medium for scientific knowledge products which is freely accessible to the public. A key challenge of the project is to support the rapidly growing number of movements and archives who admit the free distribution and access to scientific knowledge. These are the valuable sources for the ScientificCommons.org project. The ScientificCommons.org project makes it possible to access the largely distributed sources with their vast amount of scientific publications via just one common interface. ScientificCommons.org identifies authors from all archives and makes their social and professional relationships transparent and visible to anyone across disciplinary, institutional and technological boundaries. Currently ScientificCommons.org has indexed about 13 million scientific publications and successfully extracted 6 million authors’ names out of this data (January 2007).”

about Scientific Commons

National Institutes of Health: Insitutes, Centers & Offices - http://www.nih.gov/icd/

“The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research.

History : Office of Science Education : Training and Outreach : Curriculum Supllement Series

National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) - http://www.genome.gov/: “The National Human Genome Research Institute began as the National Center for Human Genome Research (NCHGR), which was established in 1989 to carry out the role of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the International Human Genome Project (HGP). The HGP was developed in collaboration with the United States Department of Energy and begun in 1990 to map the human genome. In 1993, NCHGR expanded its role on the NIH campus by establishing the Division of Intramural Research to apply genome technologies to the study of specific diseases. In 1996, the Center for Inherited Disease Research (CIDR) was also established (co-funded by eight NIH institutes and centers) to study the genetic components of complex disorders.”
Educational Resources : Understanding the Human Genome : Genetic Education Modules : Online Genetics Educational Resources
National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/: “Established in 1988 as a national resource for molecular biology information, NCBI creates public databases, conducts research in computational biology, develops software tools for analyzing genome data, and disseminates biomedical information - all for the better understanding of molecular processes affecting human health and disease.”
A Science Primer NCBI database projects: PubMed : Entrez : BLAST : OMIM
National Library of Medicine (NCBI) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/: “The National Library of Medicine (NLM), on the campus of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, is the world's largest medical library. The Library collects materials and provides information and research services in all areas of biomedicine and health care.”
Genetics Home Reference : Human Genome Resources : Training and Outreach

The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) - http://www.asm.org/

“The American Society for Microbiology is the oldest and largest single life science membership organization in the world. Membership has grown from 59 scientists in 1899 to more than 43,000 members today, with more than one third located outside the United States. The members represent 26 disciplines of microbiological specialization plus a division for microbiology educators.”

ASM sponsored resources: Microbe World : Small Things Considered - the Microbe Blog : MicrobeLibrary

The sites listed below are those we have have found most useful in introducing students to basic biological research concepts and practices.

If you know of resources that would be good additions to these lists please send the url to Dr. Eva Top etop [at] uidaho.edu

	Inner Life of the Cell: Biovisions at Harvard http://multimedia.mcb.harvard.edu/ Beautiful animation of the very complex cell parts and function—from a clip that has only music to clips with audio explaining what you are seeing. - Inner Life of the Cell animation conception and scientific content by Alain Viel and Robert A. Lue. Animation by John Liebler/XVIVO. Funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

	Unseen Life on Earth: An Introduction to Microbiology - Free sign up required for first-time users Annenberg Foundation video on-demand streaming only http://www.learner.org/resources/series121.html?pop=yes&vodid=845426&pid=1367# A video instructional series for college and high school classrooms and adult learners; 12 half-hour video programs and coordinated books. “Peer into the microbial world with this comprehensive microbiology series. This series helps students understand microbial functions and how microorganisms affect everything from medicine to environmental issues to global politics. Dynamic visuals – such as animations and scanning electron micrographs – and case studies including DNA testing and dramatic battles against dangerous viruses illustrate the work and effects of microorganisms. Students gain an enhanced appreciation of the field of microbiology as they meet scientists carrying on their investigations in the lab and in the field. Unseen Life on Earth is designed for general microbiology courses for majors and allied health students. It is also useful as a resource for life science courses in college and high school.” Three excellent ½ hour segments discussing the basics of cell morphology and horizontal gene transfer: videos 1, 2 and 5. – Produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting in association with Baker & Simon Associates and the American Society for Microbiology. 1999.

	Journey into DNA, PBS http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/genome/dna.html “This exploration allows you to travel to the tiny world of DNA. Beginning with the body and ending with the atoms that make up a single DNA base, you'll be able to zoom in to 15 different levels to see DNA's relationship to us as a whole.” - from NOVA's Cracking the Code of Life series - 2001. Teacher's Guide

	Learn Genetics: Tour of the Basics - Genetic Science Learning Center, University of Utah http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/units/basics/tour/ “Explores DNA, gene, chromosome, protein, heredity, and trait. Good visuals and teacher resources.” Continue your tour withThe Basics and Beyound, then explore the Teacher Resources

	BioNet - Biology 115, “Cells & Evolution of Life” Department of Biological Scinces, University of Idaho http://www.sci.uidaho.edu/bionet/biol115/index.htm “Eight sections from the Introduction, “What’s it All About?”, to “Species and their Formation”. 18 lessons with sound and slides. A good resource for teachers.” Be sure to view the Interactive Cell

	Microbe World http://www.microbeworld.org/ “Started in August 2004, Wapedia brings the contents of Wikipedia to mobile devices like mobile phones and PDAs. It offers the recent version of every article, which is done by using a combination of a proxy-like behavior and a local article database. This combination provides fast speed and up-to-date articles on the one hand, and a low load and low traffic for the Wikipedia servers on the other hand.” - wapedia resources: Meet the Microbes : Meet the Scientists : Resources for Teachers : Look & Listen

	Plasmids on Wapedia - for Wikipedia on mobile phones. http://wapedia.mobi/en/Plasmid “Started in August 2004, Wapedia brings the contents of Wikipedia to mobile devices like mobile phones and PDAs. It offers the recent version of every article, which is done by using a combination of a proxy-like behavior and a local article database. This combination provides fast speed and up-to-date articles on the one hand, and a low load and low traffic for the Wikipedia servers on the other hand.” - wapedia Practice, then give an assignment to research Plasmids via a cell phone.

	Regina's Biology Blog: Bacteriophage - on About.com: Biology http://biology.about.com/b/2008/06/13/bacteriophage-animations.htm “Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria, eventually reproducing within the cell, killing the cell, and dispersing into the environment after cell bursts (virulent viruses).”
	National Science Digital Library - from UCAR http://nsdl.org/ “The National Science Digital Library (NSDL) was created by the National Science Foundation to provide organized access to high quality resources and tools that support innovations in teaching and learning at all levels of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education.” resources: NSDL Search on Plasmid : NSDL Wiki : Search on Biology Lesson Plans

The Virtual Genome Project is funded by the National Science Foundation Microbial Genome Sequencing Program, Grant number: EF-0627988.
For more information contact: Dr. Eva Top, Professor of Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, I.D. 83844-3051 U.S.A.
email: etop [at] uidaho.edu