Non-Coders

As molecular knowledge has increased, our appreciation of the roles of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) in cellular processes has expanded as well. Outside of the transfer RNAs (tRNAs) and ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), ncRNAs used to be looked upon as the junk bonds of the nucleic acid world. Ooh la la, what a difference a few years and a bit of research makes! The discovery of regulatory roles played by the microRNAs (miRNAs), for example, has focused attention on these oligonucleotides and made everyone narrow their use of the word “junk.” At the ncRNA site, researchers will find an enormous array of tools and information. Start with powerful filters to extract desired sequences from the database's 21,000+ entries. Then analyze the results for secondary structure, conserved sequence elements, or tRNA/miRNA similarity, and suddenly you're a player in the ncRNA world.

@ www.ncrna.org

Educational Outreach

Surely, one of the boldest efforts at expanding online education has to be that undertaken by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Their OpenCourseWare (OCW) initiative, a 100% free, searchable/downloadable archive of materials for over 1500 MIT courses, has become the gold standard by which other university's offerings are compared. Giving something away for free is a sure way to get attention, but the site's statistics reveal that the interest isn't just casual. Over 40% of educators report adopting OCS content to improve their own teaching. Thirty-eight percent of students use the material to learn about the subjects outside of their own classes. As for the classes, they span everything from Biological Engineering to Aeronautics and Astronautics. With over a 95% approval rating, MIT's OCW initiative is truly an educational wonder of the Web.

@ ocw.mit.edu/index.html

Cloning Diversity

Just as Mark Twain noted about the weather, virtually everyone talks about the importance of maintaining diversity in food crops, but hardly anyone does anything about it. Thankfully, the folks at the National Clonal Germplasm Repository (NCGR) in Corvallis, OR, translate words into actions. A national center for plant genetic resources of temperate fruit, nut, and agronomic crops, the NCGR houses global collections of important temperate crops, including hazelnuts, strawberries, pears, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, and more. With a stated aim of preserving diverse living germplasm “for all people for all time,” the NCGR is a source of reassurance in a world of shrinking diversity.

@ www.ars.usda.gov/main/site_main.htm?modecode=53-58-15-00

Histologically Yours

Histology, the anatomical, microscopic study of the structure of tissues, is a science providing “up close and personal” perspectives of life systems. Learning to recognize tissues under the microscope is only a part of the challenge for budding histologists. To walk the walk you have to learn to talk the talk, so descriptions of the technical terms and biochemistry underlying the structures is essential for learning. At the University of Ottawa site, students of the subject will find an abundance of clearly written content complementing image sets that span the wide variety of animal tissues.

@ courseweb.edteched.uottawa.ca/Medicine-histology/Default_En.htm

H5iNfections

Anyone who has been following the H5N1 flu virus story is undoubtedly aware of the disease popping up in bird populations around the world and knows of the relatively rare, but important, human infections. It doesn't take an expert to recognize the danger of H5N1. Described by a World Health Organization (WHO) spokeswoman in 2006 as “a greater challenge to the world than any infectious disease,” including HIV, bird flu is the real deal. Over 200 million poultry have died or been culled since 2004, according to this informative site that provides “a digital archive of all suspected and laboratory confirmed human cases reported by the media.” If you enjoy being scared about your diet, read the section about the numerous smugglings of chicken parts from infected regions of Asia into the U.S. for use in the food industry.

@ focosi.immunesig.org/pathovirusesH5N1.html