MSRI: Streaming Video - Fall 2002
The Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI) maintains an impressive archive of streaming video lectures and presentations. This site contains all of the videos from various workshops and special topics held in fall 2002. Of particular interest is the "Introductory Workshop in Quantum Computation." It consists of fifteen lectures, each with complete textual slides provided in addition to the roughly hour-long presentations. Quantum computation is a science that is still in its infancy, an
Online Maps and Data
From the California Geological Survey, the Online Maps and Data site contains information focused on natural hazards. Topics include minerals, earthquakes, and landslide and erosion hazards. The site also includes the General Location Guide for Ultramafic Rocks in California. The site also has links to a publications page and a new interactive mapping program called the Seismic Hazards Mapping Web page.
West Nile Virus
The first Web site (1) is one of the latest entertaining feature stories from the Why Files, which covers mosquitoes and the diseases they carry, including the West Nile Virus. Part of the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases provides fact sheets and articles about the virus in this straightforward Web site (2), while a similar Web site (3) from the Centers for Disease Control offers more information about the disease, prevention measures, and
Biodiversity and Conservation Research
The Center for Biodiversity and Conservation (CBC) at the American Museum of Natural History aims to "integrate scientific research, education, and outreach so that people, themselves major catalysts in the rapid loss of biodiversity, will become participants in its conservation." The CBC currently conducts biodiversity conservation research in the Bahamas, Bolivia, Madagascar, Vietnam, and in metropolitan New York. Click on What We Do for brief descriptions of each research project. The project
The Grapes of Staph: Biology Tutorials
These online Biology Tutorials were created by Dr. Gary E. Kaiser, a Professor of Biological Science at The Community College of Baltimore County. The Tutorials are part of Kaiser's larger Microbiology Website, entitled The Grapes of Staph (reported on in the November 10, 1999, Scout Report for Science & Engineering). The Tutorials are organized into three sections under the headings of Eukaryotic Cell Structure, Metabolism, and Genetics. Tutorial titles include: Energy Conversions; Polypeptides
International Human Powered Vehicle Association
The International Human Powered Vehicle Association is an association of national associations and organizations who are "dedicated to promoting improvement, innovation and creativity in the use of human power, especially in the design and development of human-powered vehicles." The website provides updates on the world of human-powered vehicles, such as upcoming world championships and innovations in bicycle technology. The Source Guide includes links to directories with details on human-powere
Seafood Lover's Guide
The Audubon Society's Living Oceans program aims "to change the fundamental nature of how consumers and food service professionals select seafood," as the "buying power of consumers can create a market environment that encourages sustainable seafood and abundance in the seas." The online Seafood Lover's Guide works toward this goal by offering free information about the ecological sustainability of the way some of our favorite commercial fish and shellfish are managed. Visitors to the Web site c
Australian Antarctic Data Centre
The Australian Antarctic Division is part of the Australian Government's Department of the Environment and Heritage. Within the department's Web site is the Australian Antarctic Data Centre, which makes all scientific observations and results freely available. Data topics include weather, GIS and mapping, marine science, flora and fauna, and many other topics related to the southern continent.
An FPGA Implementation of the Linear Cryptanalysis
This advanced research paper addresses an application of field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) for a computationally intensive cryptographic task. Specifically, the method of linear cryptanalysis is used to break a Data Encryption Standard key (a former standard used by the US). Prior to this work, the technique was attempted on a network of nearly 20 computers, and the key was broken in about four days. Implementing the same technique with a $3500 FPGA hardware setup, the authors report a tota
Learning about Rainforests
K. Rubal provides this educational Web site she helped to create while a graduate student in instructional technology at California State University in Los Angeles. Designed for grades 4-8, this Web site offers students an introduction to tropical rainforests. The site includes a number of lessons organized by topic, rainforest facts, a good selection of narrated movie clips from related documentaries, useful links, and quizzes. Easy to use and filled with photos, this Web site would be a useful
The Child Care Nutrition Resource System
The Child Care Nutrition Resource System is developed by the University of Maryland's Department of Nutrition and Food Science and the USDA National Agricultural Library's Food and Nutrition Information Center. The Resource System is geared towards childcare providers who participate in USDA nutrition programs, but others interested in children's nutrition will find this website useful as well. Notably, the website serves as a portal to many helpful resources from a variety of different universi
Journey Into Amazonia
Journey Into Amazonia is a three-part wildlife series from PBS that "offers an enchanting look at rarely-seen creatures" in the region. This Web site offers educational materials "designed for upper elementary, middle, or high school students (grades 5-10) although extension suggestions may help you modify them for younger or older students." In addition to providing background information about the Amazon basin, this site contains lessons plans that incorporate "video clips from the Journey int
Association for Biology Laboratory Education
Established in 1979, the Association for Biology Laboratory Education (ABLE) promotes "information exchange among university and college educators actively concerned with teaching biology in a laboratory setting." The ABLE website contains information about grants, past and future annual conferences, and membership. ABLE also posts employment opportunities, and an extensive array of links organized into categories for General Biology, Online Journals, Biological Animations, Suppliers of Biologic
Unmasking Skin
This Web site is the online companion to Unmasking Skin, a feature article in the November 2000 issue of National Geographic Magazine, which offers an in-depth look at the body's largest organ. Visitors are invited to "go skin deep and beyond" with a photo gallery, a multimedia interview with the story's photographer, and related Web sites. The site also includes a portion of the feature article, a related Online Extra article, and a short piece about goosebumps. While not as comprehensive as th
Institute for Mathematics and Applications: Mathematics of Materials and Macromolecules: Multiple Sc
The Institute for Mathematics and Applications (IMA) developed this website to promote its conferences and workshops dealing with the applications of mathematics in the study of materials and molecules. Visitors can find information on a particular event's schedule, participants, and accommodations as well as abstracts. The events dealing with the physical sciences include workshops dealing with atomic motion, macroscopic models, and biophysics as well as a program about environmental and geophy
The State of the Nation's Ecosystems
This Web site is provided by the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment -- "a nonprofit institution dedicated to improving the scientific and economic foundation for environmental policy." The State of the Nation's Ecosystems is a comprehensive report prepared by "experts from businesses, environmental organizations, universities, and federal, state, and local government agencies," intended for "decision makers, opinion leaders, and informed citizens who seek an auth
VESTAC: Java Applets for Visualization of Statistical Concepts
This collection of over 30 Java applets is quite impressive, both in content and in presentation. Operated at a university in Belgium, Visualization of and Experimentation with Statistical Concepts (VESTAC) is the title of the project that developed these educational tools. The applets are very intricate, with many functions and graphical capabilities; they are therefore quite large and can take some time to download on a slow connection. The four main categories of material are basic concepts,
Urban Habitats
_Urban Habitats_, published by the Center for Urban Restoration Ecology (CURE), is "a peer-reviewed, fully indexed scientific journal written and edited for a wide audience of researchers, restoration ecologists, park and preserve managers, government officials, and naturalists." The premier issue of this e-journal (focused on urban flora worldwide) is available online, and researchers are encouraged to submit articles and multimedia resources for future issues (detailed submission guidelines pr
The Messier Catalog
The Students for the Exploration and Development of Space of the University of Arizona maintains The Messier Catalog Web site. Named after the French astronomer who first discovered the objects, the catalog describes and features what are considered to be some of the most beautiful nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies in the sky. Visitors can read about Messier and about each individual object in the actual catalog, which includes a picture, its distance, brightness, the history of its discovery
Dams
National Geographic's Dams Web site offers an interactive investigation into the good and bad impacts of dam construction. Visitors choose to view a river system before, during, or after a dam is built. Then at each time interval they can click on various sections of the river and read a short description of what is happening there. For example, after the dam is built, the reservoir that is created upstream causes several hydrological problems such as loss of water from evaporation. Although the
