Cell Biol Educ 1(3): 68-69 2002
DOI: 10.1187/cbe.02-07-0020
© 2002 American Society for Cell Biology
WWW.Cell Biology Education
Bob Blystone
Department of Biology, Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas 78212
Submitted May 24, 2002;
Revised July 15, 2002;
Accepted July 16, 2002
Cell Biology Education calls attention each quarter to several web
sites of educational interest to the cell biology community. The Journal does
not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the information at any of the listed
sites. If you want to comment on the selections or suggest future inclusions,
please send a message to
rblyston{at}trinity.edu.
The sites listed below were last accessed on May 16, 2002.
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THE WWW VIRTUAL LIBRARY: CELL BIOLOGY
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http://vlib.org/Science/CellBiology/
This ambitious site claims to be "A guide to cell biology on the
Web," and it is. The site is maintained by Gabriel Fenteany of the
Department of Chemistry at the University of Illinois at Chicago. It is part
of the larger Virtual Library project overseen by Gerard Manning and started
in 1993 by Tim Berners-Lee of the European Organization for Nuclear Research
(CERN).
The initial page is divided into three areas: subject pages, related
sections, and broad resources. Among the subject pages, General Cell Biology
begins the section with a wide variety of topics including links to discussion
groups such as Arabidopsis, Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila,
protista, and urodeles. Twelve specialty topics are listed, ranging from
angiogenesis to signal transduction. Under Angiogenesis, one of the links is
to continuous and discontinuous modeling of the angiogenic process. This site
would be helpful for introducing an interesting mathematical construct into a
developmental biology class. The Signal Transduction link is rich with ideas
to support teaching and giving students entrées for library research
projects.
The material included in the broad resource area of the home page is
striking. Some teachers of cell biology are far removed from current research
literature. This uniform resource locator (URL) provides direct links to 350
cell biology research labs from around the world. Student and teacher alike
could quickly identify who is doing what in cell biology by visiting this
section of the site. It is unusually rich with links to cytoskeleton, cell
motility, and motors research labs. The site is further enriched with
extensive lists of DNA and protein databases, protocols, vendors, and cell
biology journals. This metasite has something for everyone. Every cell biology
instructor should bookmark this URL.
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A WEB ATLAS OF CELLULAR STRUCTURES
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http://www.itg.uiuc.edu/technology/atlas/
High school biology teachers often ask college biology instructors where to
find some contemporary microscope images. This URL, located at the University
of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, has some extraordinary microscopy images of
CV1 monkey kidney cells. The site is specifically designed for educators who
are looking for such micrographs. The Imaging Technology Group (ITG) is a part
of the Beckman Institute, and its home page provides access to a wide variety
of digital-imaging subjects. In addition to the Web Atlas, there are Bugscope,
Chickscope, and Visualization. S. Konda, S. Rogers, and D. Weber not only have
put together an interesting collection of images but also provide descriptions
of how the materials were prepared and how the microscopes were used to
generate the images.
The page titled "Cellular Structures," obtained through the
Structures link of the Atlas, reveals six pictorial paths that may be
followed: nucleus and microtubules, actin and microtubules, nucleus and actin,
endoplasmic reticulum, the Golgi apparatus, and stages of mitosis. Each path
leads to multiple images of cells, some at 24-bit resolution. The
high-resolution pictures are large and a modem is inefficient at downloading
the files. The Microscopy link has several pages explaining the difference
between wide-field fluorescence microscopy and laser scanning confocal
microscopy. There is also a comparison of regular bright-field microscopy,
phase-contrast microscopy, and differential interference contrast microscopy.
The site can enrich any presentation of cell organelles and the microscopy
needed to produce the images.
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MUSEUMS ONLINE
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http://www.museumstuff.com/
Roy Hemmat initiated
MuseumStuff.com
in 1999. Its goal is "to help the public interact in meaningful ways
with museums in the digital age, and expand the potential for museums to serve
as educational instruments for the public." The home page provides three
topic areas: art, history, and science. Selecting "More Science"
provides a grouping of 36 subtopics, including biology, biotechnology,
cloning, and genetics. One of the better choices under Biology is
www.BioInteractive.org.
This link leads to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute virtual-reality
exhibit. The exhibit includes a section on interactive labs with excellent
demonstrations of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) of three blood
samples, a diagnostic cardiology lab, and an electrophysiology lab based on
the leech. These interactive exhibits are engaging and have exceptional
classroom potential. Currently
MuseumStuff.com
provides 539 links to science-based digital exhibits with about 90 specific to
biological topics. Many hours could be spent searching through the various
exhibits and databases. There are also links to museum shops, and a section
for professional societies and organizations is useful. The site has many
applications that extend beyond the museum orientation.
Corresponding author. E-mail address:
rblyston{at}trinity.edu.
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