Coral Reef Information System: Discover NOAA's Data
Part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coral Reef Information System (CoRIS), this Web site is "designed to be a single point of access to NOAA coral reef information and data products, especially those derived from NOAA's Coral Reef Initiative Program." With Discover NOAA's Data, users can access information by a text search of metadata records, or by a spatial search using an Arc IMS application. The two approaches share many of the same data sets. With the text search,
The Allergy Authority
The Allergy Authority, created in collaboration with Healthology.com and funded by an educational grant from Schering-Plough (the makers of Claritin), offers "information necessary to make informed decisions about the control of allergy symptoms." The Web site describes the different types of allergies, how allergies develop, the difference between chronic and seasonal allergies, the side effects of allergy medications, and more. The site's main sections -- The Basics of Allergies, Seasonal or C
America's Backyard: Exploring Your Public Lands
America's Backyard: Exploring Your Public Lands is the featured topic of National Geographic's Geography Action! -- an "annual conservation and awareness program designed to educate and excite people about our natural, cultural, and historic treasures." This Web site offers a number of public land-related educational activities, many of the which apply directly to the life sciences. Activities are available for grades K-12, and cover such topics as the role of forests in our daily lives, conserv
The Accidental Scientist: Cooking
Another great Web site from the Exploratorium in San Francisco (last mentioned in the August 16, 2002 NSDL MET Report), The Accidental Scientist: Cooking is the first in a series of "Web-based projects focusing on the science behind everyday life." Offering a mind-boggling array of food-related information and activities, foodies and science-lovers alike should find this Web site extremely engaging. Life science-related material includes an exploration of taste and smell; the biological properti
Operation Migration
Operation Migration, a nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to teaching safe migratory routes to endangered and threatened birds, was co-founded by William Lishman -- the pilot who pioneered the use of ultralight aircraft to lead birds in flight. Operation Migration is part of a consortium created to safeguard the endangered Whooping crane against extinction. Visitors to this Web site can track the progress of seven ultralight-led Whooping cranes now making their way from Wisconsin to F
Lamington National Park
To see the "dangerously venomous" Common Death Adder or hear the low growl of the Giant Barred River Frog, take a trip to the Lamington National Park website. Here you will find a treasure trove of great information about the wide variety of plants, animals, and insects found at the park. Laminton, a huge park (20,000 hectares) is located in Queensland and carries the distinction of a World Heritage Area. The website, offered by the Green Mountains Natural History Association and the University
The Color of Water
Provided by WebExhibits.org, the Why is Water Blue? (1) Web site starts off this Topic in Depth. Visitors will learn the factors that affect the colors we see, what color water actually is, and the basic physics and chemistry behind the phenomenon. This site is hard to beat for its clear explanations as well as its interesting photographs and illustrations. The second site, entitled the Common Water Quality Complaints Color Guide (2), gives possible sources of nineteen color variations in water.
Rewind, Repair, Replay: Three R's to Dependability
One of the most important features in current software applications is the undo command, which allows users to revert to previous states in their documents. A relatively unexplored concept involves system undo, a method of restoring settings in a system that were accidentally changed by the operator. This research paper discusses "a model of undo that matches the needs of human error recovery and retroactive repair." The authors begin by explaining the growing importance of such a mechanism and
Self-Healing Minefield
The self-healing antitank minefield is an innovative system developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). It employs intelligent, mobile mines that can rearrange themselves to repair any breaches in the field. This forces the enemy to destroy a much greater percentage of the total mines, rather than simply clearing a narrow path. The project's Web site has considerable material on the mines' operation, including a very illustrative multimedia demonstration. There are also b
Chronic Wasting Disease: The Disease and its Management in Wisconsin
The discovery of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Wisconsin's deer population earlier this year received national attention in the news, but basic information about CWD is harder to find. This Web site from the University of Wisconsin (UW) provides a reliable resource for CWD news and information, and is a product of a UW panel of experts assembled to independently assess the state's effort for control of the disease. The site includes comprehensive information on the biology of the disease and
A Butterfly's Life
Teachers in the market for lesson plans about butterflies can find hundreds of pages of Web-based material, but those looking for something simple and straightforward might be interested in this Web site, a joint project of Lotus School, Hult Museum, and the Wildlife Prairie Park in Illinois. Well-organized pages of text and images offer descriptions of butterfly migration, life cycle, habitat, food web, body parts, and gender. The site also provides research questions and steps that "outline a
Great Lakes BeachCast
The Great Lakes Information Network developed this website to "broadcast critical information about beach closings and educational content on human health concerns." The website provides the latest news on erosion control projects, contamination and cleanup efforts, beach testing efforts, and other environmental news. Users can explore monitoring data and maps by location. The website also contains the proceedings from the Great Lakes Beach Conferences from 2001 and 2002 and the US EPA's Beach P
Jantar Mantar: The Astronomical Observatories of Jai Singh II
This website, created by the Cornell University Professor of Art, Barry Perlus, presents the five astronomical observatories in west central India. After reading a short introduction to the observatories, users can explore interactive panoramas of the observatories, built in the 18th century, using QuickTime. The website also offers still images and animations of the Samrat Yantra. Visitors can learn about the latest design plans and additions to the website. The website features downloads of ar
Skarns and Skarn Deposits
This Washington State University website offers a host of information and links to outside sites related to skarns and skarn deposits. Students can discover the historical usage, mineralogy, evolution, geochemistry, petrogenesis, and additional facts of skarns. The explanations contain links to educational figures and additional information to help students learn about basic geologic processes. Researchers can find over 600 references to skarn-related publications. Individuals can submit their s
The Schoolyard Solar System
"The Schoolyard Solar System was developed to demonstrate the solar system to scale; to show the relationship between units of thousands, millions, and billions; and to accomplish these goals with student involvement that will re-enforce the lessons." Students and educators can find images of the Sun and the nine planets in our solar system. The website presents bulk, orbital, and observational parameters as well as additional facts for the objects. By printing out the materials and following th
EPA: RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) Online
The RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) "online database is designed to enable users to locate documents, including publications and other outreach materials, that cover a wide range of RCRA issues and topics." Users have three search options: Topics, Full Text, or Advanced searches. For those having trouble finding needed materials, the website offers a handy two-page reference guide. The What's New link offers information on the latest system changes and lists of the most recent or u
ExploreMath.com
As part of the ExploreLearning organization, ExploreMath offers an outstanding collection of interactive activities for students in "elementary algebra through pre-calculus." The online multimedia applications are easy to use and demonstrate almost 40 concepts across twelve general categories. One activity, for example, explains some fundamentals of probability by randomly throwing darts and showing how many hit the target. Instructions and topic overviews are given for each activity. Some addit
MGNet
MGNet "is a repository for information related to multigrid, multilevel, multiscale, aggregation, defect correction, and domain decomposition methods." In short, the material offered on the site is mainly used to solve partial differential equations. There are many resources given on MGNet, including tutorials, a preprint archive, and information on upcoming conferences. Quite a few software packages can be downloaded from the site; however, they require a specific decompression utility. MGNet a
PicSNP: A Catalog of Non-Synonymous SNP
Maintained by Hangil Chang at the University of Tokyo, PicSNP "is a catalog of non-synonymous Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) in the human genome." Recently updated, the database allows users to select SNPs by gene name, function of affected genes, biological process relevant to affected genes, or cellular component that contain affected genes. The site does not include much instruction on how to use the database, meaning it is most suitable for users who are familiar with the subject.
Bush Cites Need to Develop Affordable Hydrogen-Powered Fuel Cells
In his State of the Union Address on January 28, 2003, President Bush made a case for further fuel cell development. Current efforts in this area have not determined how to efficiently produce or extract hydrogen for the cells. In hopes of solving this problem, Bush proposed a $1.2 billion FreedomFUEL initiative. The first site discusses the initiative and its potential to create a nearly pollution-free method of electricity generation.
