Understanding Undergrad Research

Working with undergraduates can be alternately rewarding, frustrating, and exhilarating. Like diamonds in the rough, student researchers can be gems if treated properly, and they can also be damaged if mishandled. The care and feeding of undergrads is therefore important both for improving each individual and for developing the next generation of scientists collectively. Assisting in this effort is the unusually detailed WebGURU site (Web Guide to Research for Undergraduates), which aims to educate students about research so as to get them to actively participate. Sections on research integrity, intellectual property, searching the scientific literature, and communicating results are comprehensive and essential for any researcher to understand. Almost everyone working with young scientists will find many good reasons to recommend WebGURU.

@ www.webguru.neu.edu/index.php

Pro-Microbials

Is there a more efficient complex system than microbes? With genome sizes 0.1% that of their multicellular cousins, combined with the ability to reproduce rapidly, these tiny living packets occupy a niche that ranges from being the banes of human health to the boons of the biotech industry. Given their minimal nutrient requirements and ability to survive extreme environments, it's no surprise that they're also a major interest in our search for life on nearby planets. Helping to educate teachers and students about the many habitats of the home planet's microbes is Microbial Life–Educational Resources, a labor of love from the Woods Hole Marine Biology Laboratory and Montana State University. Here visitors will discover resources for teaching at all educational levels and an outstanding array of accompanying figures.

@ serc.carleton.edu/microbelife

Collaborative Intelligence

The next time you hear someone say that scientists lack a sense of community, point them to Proteopedia. With over 50,000 pages built on the backs of its contributors, Proteopedia can truly be described as a community effort. Set in the familiar format of Wikipedia and with much the same design, Proteopedia delivers technical information specially aimed at molecular biology researchers. Most pages contain a rotating 3-D image of the relevant protein and an abundance of data about it, ranging from general overviews to structural information to hyperlinks to outside information and more. There's a lot to like at this informative collection of Web pages.

@ www.proteopedia.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Multireedia

Take a collection of outstanding underwater videos in beautiful settings, package them for the Web, and you'll have a hard time going wrong. An outstanding artistic and educational resource that will probably do more for promoting the preservation of reefs than anything short of a personal trip down below, ReefVid is the product of the efforts of Dr. Peter Mumby at the University of Exeter. It is that rare site that uses the full power of visuals in delivering its message: Watch the redband parrotfish (among dozens of other organisms) swimming in water so clear as to be invisible and you, too, will feel the call of the deep and recognize the need to preserve these amazing habitats.

@ www.reefvid.org

Teaching in Code

Today's parents expect that their children in high school biology will acquire a deeper knowledge of genetic information than the average college student of their own generation. Unfortunately, the teachers of this era mostly came from the educational system of a generation ago. Recognizing the need to bring both teachers and students up to speed, DNAi is a Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory production (funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute) that focuses on making the many aspects of the genetic code fun and interesting. Lessons cover a broad range of topics—how to manipulate DNA, the wealth of information contained in a genome, applications of genetic knowledge, and the history of how our knowledge was developed. A free registration gives you full access to information.

@ www.dnai.org