Captology: Computers as Persuasive Technologies
"The Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab creates insight into how computing products -- from websites to mobile phone software -- can be designed to change what people believe and what they do." This unusual field of study is called captology, and the subject is explored in detail on the lab's homepage. The Key Concepts section provides a brief overview of captology and links to another page with nine topic papers published by researchers at the lab. In a series of examples demonstrating how comp
GenePath: An Intelligent Assistant to the Discovery of Genetic Pathways
The Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia present an improved, second version of GenePath, a "web-enabled intelligent assistant for the analysis of genetic data and for discovery of genetic networks." GenePath automates the complex process of determining gene interrelationships and users may download existing projects or start new ones from scratch. The website also provides a very detailed, nicely-designed guide to running GenePath, available as a sep
Chinese Space Program
China will soon make history by sending the first Chinese man to space. Scheduled for sometime in 2003, it will be the first step toward China's highly ambitious plans for space exploration.The China National Space Administration Web site (1) has a detailed description of the country's space policy. Aerospace China, a journal published online by the administration, has information on space development plans and other issues. The history of China's space program is recounted by the online Encyclo
Idaho State University: Biology Resources for Active Learning
The Department of Biological Sciences at Idaho State University offers this website as part of a project "to enhance teacher preparation in the sciences by emphasizing inquiry and experimental approaches to science teaching." The site offers one or two lesson plans (mostly at the high school level) for the following subjects: the cell; molecular basis of heredity; biological evolution; interdependence of organisms; matter, energy, and organization of living systems; and behavior of organisms. Mo
Better Bone Implants
This Web site come from Science@NASA, an online source for news and information about NASA-funded research, and describes the work of researchers at the Center for Commercial Applications of Combustion in Space, who are developing artificial bones for long-lasting, pain-free hip and knee replacements. These ceramic bones are touted as "so much like the real thing that they could actually meld with living bone."
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 CBD for Botanists
One of the two conventions signed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) seeks to "conserve biological diversity, use biological resources sustainably -- to ensure that we do not use up our resources faster than they can recover, and share the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources fairly and equitably." This site, a link off of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew main site, provides the complete CBD for Botanists. Offered in several pd
Panda Central
Panda Central, "the exclusive Web home of Shi Shi, Bai Yun, and youngster Hua Mei," is provided by the San Diego Zoo. Visitors may view real time footage of pandas at the zoo with Panda Cam, have their questions answered at the Panda Facts page, or read up on each panda with Panda Profiles. And of course, no one should miss the features devoted to panda Hua Mei, who seems to have spent nearly every minute of her life in front of a camera since her birth at the San Diego Zoo in 1999. Visitors can
NPR: Titanic Baby
This Web site contains an audio file of a story broadcast on National Public Radio earlier this month. The broadcast relates the poignant story of a four-year effort to identify the exhumed body of a 13-month-old child who died in the Titanic disaster. A metal medallion buried with the body serendipitously preserved a bit of the wrist bone, from which forensic scientists could extract mitochondrial DNA and eventually find the child's living relatives.
Net-Weather
Net-Weather presents a host of meteorological information for the UK at this website. Users can find out seasonal, monthly, 10-day, and additional relevant weather forecasts. The Charts and Data link offers live satellite images, links to numerous forecast models, and data on sea temperatures and anomalies. For people who like winter and snow, the website offers interesting stories about famous British winters as well as snow reports. The Net-Weather Forum is a great place to discuss any weather
Daily Lesson Plan: Brain Brands
Why do those holiday cookies and candies -- placed conveniently at child height at the cash register -- get you drooling and entice you to fill your cart with unintended purchases? It might be neuromarketing at work. In this thought-provoking activity, created by Georgia Scurletis and Briget Anderson and offered through the _New York Times_ LearningNetwork, students (grades 6 - 12) are challenged to think about how branding and marketing may influence their taste more than their taste buds thems
Museum of the Future
This Web site, operated by the Ars Electronica Center in Austria, provides an online tour of a fascinating museum. It can be a little confusing to navigate at first, but it is certainly worth visiting. The main attraction is the Guide through the Museum of the Future. After clicking this link, it is important to note the language selector that chooses between German and English. Six different sections of the museum can be explored by the icons on the right, and each section has several different
Ocean Report Guide for Educators
The Ocean Report is a series of radio segments produced for SeaWeb that highlight a range of news and issues relating to the ocean. The Ocean Report Guide for Educators offers a comprehensive educational Web site based on these short radio pieces. Compiled by SeaWeb and KIDSNET, this Web site (designed for grades 4-8) is divided into three modules: Precious, Threatened Oceans; Teeming with Life: Amazing Ocean Creatures; and Protecting Our Seas: How You Can Help. Each section contains in-depth ba
Metal Storm
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is exploring a unique application of biometrics technologies: a handgun that can recognize its owner and only fire when being held by that person. This innovation could make it impossible for a criminal to steal an officer's firearm and use it against other people. Metal Storm, the company that is working with the NIJ to develop the gun, has presentations and technology descriptions on its home page.
From Jungle to Lab: The Study of Life's Complexity
San Francisco's Exploratorium showcases the work of researchers at the Natural History Museum in London and Las Cuevas Biological Station in Belize, who are investigating the nature and diversity of life. From Jungle to Lab is part of the Exploratorium's Origin Project, created to explain how scientists explore "the beginnings of the universe, of matter, of the earth, and of life itself." This well-designed Web site contains loads of multimedia features, such as a slide show of Las Cuevas (inclu
Predictions 2005
Gartner, Inc., which provides research and analysis on the global IT industry for clients worldwide, offers annual predictions for the year ahead in the areas of technology, application, and industry. This section of the website highlights the firm's 2005 predictions for technology. Some of the technologies addressed in this issue include open source software, public network infrastructure, and mobile and wireless technologies. The full document must be purchased, but visitors may browse through
An Atlas of Cyberspaces
"CyberGeography is the study of the spatial nature of computer communications networks, particularly the Internet, the World-Wide Web and other electronic 'places' that exist behind our computer screens, popularly referred to as cyberspace." The Atlas of Cyberspaces highlights many efforts from around the world to visualize this type of information. Some of the features have links to download software tools, like an experimental browser that portrays Web sites as three dimensional buildings (the
The Thylacine Museum: A Natural History of the Thylacinidae
This Web site is offered through C. Campbell's Natural Worlds, a "completely nonprofit, education online series which exists as a means of providing detailed information on a variety of topics within the natural history field." The Thylacine Museum, not surprisingly, is devoted to the now extinct thylacine (also known as the Tasmanian tiger). The site includes "information covering virtually all aspects of this very unique Australian marsupial." Users can browse dozens of pages of detailed artic
Drought Resources and Information
The Drought Resources and Information Web site is maintained by the Utah State University Extension Water Resource Issues Team, which was created to "address information needs related to water conservation and quality in agriculture and urban settings." The site provides information on several subjects including landscape irrigation, agricultural water uses, home water conservation, drought and weather monitoring, and more.
University of Strathclyde: The Z-Transform
This site offers a no-nonsense introduction to the Z-Transform, which "is used to take discrete time domain signals into a complex-variable frequency domain." It is divided into two main sections; the first derives the Z-Transform and considers its properties, while the second describes its applications for solving various types of mathematical problems. The material is mostly text and equations, but there are some graphics and diagrams that depict important concepts. For practice, users can try
