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Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you needed important biological, genetic or other life sciences information quickly? Sure, you can Google the topic but it takes time to wade through all of the search results until you find the right one!

Carol Brown from Onlineuniversities.com sent me a list of the “100 Best Reference Sites for Science Students.” The list contains information for chemistry, environmental science and even geology.  I extracted the life sciences websites from the list and posted them below.  

1. Biology Online: On this site you can post questions in a forum, look things up in a bio dictionary, and read all kinds of informative articles and tutorials.
2. Everything Bio: Check out this resource to find a glossary, textbooks, images and a range of other online biology tools.
3. Life Science Dictionary: Try out this dictionary to look up life science terms and identify their meanings.
4. Molecular Biology Glossary: Students of molecular biology will appreciate this valuable research tool.
5. National Biological Information Infrastructure: Want to know and read about the research being done in the life sciences? Check out this site.
6. Biology Reference: You can look up loads of helpful biology terms in this online encyclopedia.
7. Biology Nation: From finding the best biology grad programs for looking up biology terminology, this site is a one-stop resource.
8. Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology: Search through this online dictionary to refresh your memory on the parts of the cell.
9. BioScience: With a dictionary, encyclopedia, links, software, and custom search tools, you’ll find more reference material than you could ever need on this site.
10. All Experts: Biology: Have a biology question you just can’t seem to find the 
11. Amino Acids Repository: Use this site as a reference on amino acid properties alone and in proteins.
12. Table of Standard Genetic Code: This site is a great reference when trying to remember which part of DNA goes where.
13. Talking Glossary of Genetic Terms: Don’t know how to say a particular term? No worries, this glossary will tell you and more.
14. Human Genome Acronym List: Don’t have a clue what the ASHG is? This site can help you look it up.
15. Genetics Resources on the Web: Search through this site for the best genetics resources the web has to offer.
16. National Human Genome Research Institute: This site offers a number of helpful educational resources for students young and old.
17. Genetics Virtual Library: Search by organism or topic to find the genetic information you need to do your homework.
18. Genetics Home Reference: Those studying genetic disorders will appreciate this quick online reference for conditions.
19. GeneTests: Even if you’re not in medicine, you’ll be able to find interesting and compelling information on this site.
20. Gene Cards: You’ll find a collection of concise information on just about every gene out there on this site.

While I can’t vouch for the quality of the  list, it looks to be pretty informative.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Studying!!!!!!

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Salmonella enteriditis, an organism dear to my heart (luckily not my posterior small intestine) is a common cause of food poisoning. As some of you may know, I did my PhD thesis work on Salmonella gastroenteritis (aka food poisoning) and I like to think that I am something of an expert on the topic. 

Typically, Salmonella food poisoning outbreaks are localized and rarely reach epidemic proportions. However, there have recently been two major nationwide Salmonella outbreaks in the US —one in 2007 and now in early 2009.

The current outbreak has afflicted 388 people in 42 states and may be caused by the same strain (Saint Paul) that was responsible for the 2007 outbreak. Ultimately, the 2007 outbreak was linked to contaminated tomatoes. The jury is still out on the cause of the most recent outbreak. Needless to say, CDC scientists are scurrying to quickly identify the source of the current outbreak because it took the agency over 5 months to conclusively identify the culprit in the 2007 epidemic. Not surprisingly, many grocery stores and restaurants suffered financially because of the outbreak.

Many of you may be wondering why Salmonella food poisoning is becoming such a problem in the US. I don’t believe that the strains responsible for the most recent outbreaks are more virulent than the ones that have traditionally caused more localized outbreaks. Instead, the reliance of food manufacturers and grocery store chains on one or two major food distributors (rather than multiple suppliers) is likely responsible for the severity and breadth of these nationwide outbreaks. This suggests that regulatory agencies ought to more closely scrutinize the microbiological quality of the operations of the major distributors. I believe that those efforts would greatly reduce the likelihood of future major outbreaks of food poisoning.

Until next time.

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (avoid raw vegetables, undercooked poultry and raw eggs)
 

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