A Winner's Circle of Science WWW Sites

SELECTION PROCESS:

These sites were compiled by recommendations from librarians on the Biomedical and Life Sciences Division and Natural History Caucus listservs, searching a variety of reviewed WWW directories, and spending a great deal of time browsing the WWW. I am probably not the perfect person to select for this talk, for I really like search engines, and probably about 75% of my WWW searching is done using metasearch sites like Dogpile or search engine sites like AltaVista. The WWW has such a large variety of information available on the WWW today, and search engines have become pretty sophisticated, but they do not evaluate the information that is found. The following sites represent a sample of some of the interesting WWW projects that are out there, or sites that are really good at directing you to those sites.

Dogpile: http://www.dogpile.com

AltaVista: http://www.altavista.digital.com

BIOMEDICAL AND LIFE SCIENCES DIRECTORIES:

Virtual Library
http://vlib.stanford.edu/Overview2.html
The Virtual Library directories include a large number of subject specific directories that are developed by a great many people. Some of the virtual libraries are great, and some are okay, and some are good, but have not been updated in a year or more. The Biosciences list was last updated January 18, 1997, but the site still points to some really good subject directories that are very current. Of course, by the time I write this the Biosciences page might be updated.
        Biosciences: Virtual Library
        http://www.golgi.harvard.edu/biopages/all.html
        Biotechnology
        http://www.cato.com/biotech
        Botany
        http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/www-vl/
        Ecology, Biodiversity and the Environment
        http://conbio.rice.edu/v1
  Medicine and Health
        http://vlib.stanford.edu/Medicine.html

InfoMine: Biological, Agricultural and Medical Sciences
http://lib-www.ucr.edu /search/ucr_balsearch.html
Infomine is managed by Steve Mitchell from the University of California, Riverside. This is a very well organized directory that includes over 2200 resources and 500 databases. Information can be browsed by table of contents, subject, keyword, and title. Subject headings are based on the LC subject classification with some editing. Users can search the holdings by keyword, title, and subject. BioAgMed Reference directory is a well-organized list of valuable sites. The descriptions of the sites are primarily taken from the WWW pages and do not include evaluations of the strengths and weaknesses of the sites. The Ejournal listing is useful, but jealousy producing if you do not have a UC password.
        BioAgMed Reference
        http://lib-www.ucr.edu/infomine/reference/balref.html
 
SciCentral: Biological Sciences
http://www.scicentral.com/
SciCentral claims that is includes the most valuable scientific resources on the WWW. Sites are not described, but are organized by subject and specialty. Comprehensive directories, selected articles, conferences and educational materials break down the subject specialities. The selected article section is particularly interesting, for it provides links to current articles related to the field. There is a search component for the directory and the information is very current.
        Biological Sciences
        http://www.scicentral.com/B-02bios.html
        Health Sciences
        http://www.scicentral.com/H-02heal.html
 
Scout Report Signpost
http://www.signpost.org/signpost/
The Computer Sciences Department of the University Wisconsin-Madison is developing this site. The Scout Report Signpost contains 2135 WWW sites that can be browsed by LC subject heading, LC call number, or can be searched by title, author, language, LC subject heading, resource type, language, location, publisher, URL, or keyword. The listings contain detailed reviews of the content of each site. Scout Report has been active for over three years, so some of the reviews may be out of date, but the links are checked regularly. The biweekly Science and Technology report is a very easy way to keeping up to date with new sites.
        Medicine
        http://www.signpost.org/signpost/classes/r/index.html
        Science (Includes Natural History, Botany, Zoology, Human Anatomy,Physiology, and Microbiology)
        http://www.signpost.org/signpost/classes/q/index.html
        The Scout Report: Science and Engineering
        http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/sci-engr/index.html
  

Six Senses Seal of Approval
http://www.sixsenses.com/
Six Senses is an evaluated directory. All linked sites are evaluated for content, aesthetics, interactivity, innovation, freshness, and character. This is one of the several sites that provide in-depth evalutions of medical WWW sites. The evaluations are selected by a group of physicians, librarians, nurses, and medical administrators. Some sites include several reviews, and visitors to the site can post additional comments. A good directory for locating evaluate medical sites can be found at http://hiru.mcmaster.ca/ebm/rating/table_3.htm. 

Biosis Internet Resource Guide for Biology
http://www.york.biosis.org/zrdocs/zoolinfo/zoolinfo.htm
This directory has a bias toward systematic and taxonomic information.  The sites search engine does not just search for titles, but searches the full text of many of the documents. Updates are very current and rather substantive. The conference information is particularly valuable. Links are not always the most appropriate for an institution, but that is the nature of the WWW. The Biosis site also includes an index to organism names.
 
NetVet/Electronic Zoo
http://netvet.wustl.edu/
Aside from the California Academy of Sciences Page, this is probably the site that I visit most often.  It includes two huge directories of veterinary resources and animal resources developed by Ken Boschert a Veterinarian at the Washington University's Division of Comparative Medicine.  Dr. Boschert has maintained this site since 1993, and I have been using this site since 1993, for this is the resource that I would always use to demonstrate how to FTP.  NetVet breaks down information by career, education, specialties, organizations, directories, e-lists, publications, images, government and commerce.  Electronic Zoo has similar breakdowns, and both sites are searchable.  The sites listed are not described or evaluated, but every week, a new pick of the litter" is highlighted.
    

BIOMEDICAL AND LIFE SCIENCES RESOURCES:

Biomednet: The Internet Community for Biological and Medical Researchers
http://www.biomednet.com/
Biomednet includes a library of journal abstracts, databases, shopping mall to purchase books and materials, job listings, HMS Beagle with links to research news, and Biomedlink a reviewed and searchable directory. Biomedlink includes detailed reviews and is searchable by type, model organism, biological speciality, medical speciality, or keyword. Biomednet is a free site, but you have to register to gain access, and you have to ignore a large number of advertisements.

Human Genome Project
http://www.ornl.gov/TechResources/Human_Genome/home.html
Developed by the United States Department of Energy Human Genome Program.  This site contains a great deal of information about the Human Genome Project, appropriate for all levels of users.  The Site is initially divided by News, About This Project, Basic Information which includes very well organized links to related www pages, and Special Focus directory of information organized under the headings: Educators, Careers, Students and Support.  The WWW page is searchable and the information is kept very current.
 
MAYO Health Oasis
http://www.mayohealth.org/
Developed by the Mayo Clinic, this site is a very good place to locate consumer health and nutrition information.  Most of the articles are written by Mayo Clinic staff, so the content is well reviewed and supervised, which is a very important issue when it comes to medical information on the WWW.  The Newsstand contains articles written by Mayo Clinic Staff.  Ask Mayo is a site where people can post questions, or read FAQs.  The resource section includes a link the library of Mayo Clinic information sheets, as well as subject specific directories that include Mayo Clinic articles and links to related WWW sites.
 
National Institute of Health
http://www.nih.gov/
Information from NIH is well indexed, very comprehensive and many of their projects are extremely innovative.  The Main NIH page does not just provide information about the Institute, but provides a great deal of consumer health information, as well research information.  The main page is separated into several directories including Health, Grant Information and Scientific Resources.  The Health Information index identifies the specific NIH institutes and provides information about the various health topics and diseases that they address.  The NIH Consumer Health Information is a collection of the most requested NIH publications listed by Institute or subject keywords.  Scientific Information provides links to the research labs, as well as Library and Literature Resources.
                Health Information
                http://www.nih.gov/health/ 
                Health Finder
                http://www.healthfinder.gov

The WWW page of the National Library of Medicine provides links to NLM databases and electronic information sources, including two ways of searching Medline, via PubMed and Grateful Med.  The link to the National Network of Libraries of Medicine provides a good directory of internet discovery tools for health professionals.  The page for the National Center for Biotechnology Information includes many innovative resources.  Resources include: Entrez which provides access to molecular biology data and bibliographic citations, OMIM: Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man at catalog of human genes and genetic disorders, Taxonomy which displays genetic codes for over 32,000 species and a gene map of the human genome.  NLM's site includes a great deal of content, as well as very innovative ways of presenting that content, and is a site that will test the capability of the plug-ins assigned to your browser.
            National Library of Medicine
            http://www.nlm.nih.gov/
            National Center for Biotechnology Information
            http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
 
OncoLink: University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center
http://www.oncolink.upenn.edu
Developed by the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center as a multimedia oncology information resource.  Users of the site include patients, students and medical professionals.  The main page links to Cancer News, Editor's Choice of top cancer sites, Journal and Newsletters, which contains a nice directory about Internet source reliability issues, and  disease specific information. The disease specific sections include clinical trials and cutting edge research; FAQ's developed by Oncolink staff, and links to outside sites. The links are particularly well thought out and well organized, for they include links to specific documents within WWW pages. Like the Mayo Clinic site, this is a site that is very aware of the importance of providing content and evaluation when presenting in a WWW environment.
  

The Biology Project: An Online Interactive Resource for Learning Biology
http://www.biology.arizona.edu
Biology Project includes problem sets, activities, WWW resources for college and high school biology courses.  This site is developed by the University of Arizona, and is tested out on their students every year. Information is broken down by biochemistry, cell biology, chemicals and human health, developmental biology, human biology, Mendelian genetics, immunology and molecular biology.  The site is very valuable once you know where things are located, but it would really help to have a contents page, or if the site was searchable.
 
World Lecture Hall
http://www.utexas.edu/world/lecture/
World Lecture Hall is produced by Academic Computing and Instructional Services Department at the University of Texas.  This directory provides links to www pages developed to deliver course materials.  It is not limited to biomedical and life sciences resources, but these sites can be located under anatomy, biochemistry, biotechnology, biology and botany, biomedical engineering, microbiology, medicine, neuroscience, veterinary medicine and zoology.
 
  

AWARD OR RANKED SITES:
Argus Clearinghouse
http://www.clearinghouse.net/
 
DaVinci Press: Web Spinning Top 25 Sites of 1997
http://www.davincipress.com/webspinningtop251997.html
 
Dr. Matrix Award
http://www.nr.infi.net/~drmatrix/award2.htm
 
GII Awards
http://www.gii.com/top3.html
 
Lycos: Top 5% Science
http://point.lycos.com/topics/Science_Overall.html
 
Magellan Internet Guide
http://www.mckinley.com
 
New Scientist: Hot Spots
http://www.keysites.com/keysites/hotspots/hotspots.html
 
Science Friday Hot Spots
http://www.sciencefriday.com/pages/misc/hotlinks.html
 
Science Hobbyist 
http://www.eskimo.com/~billb/amateur/coolsci.html
 
Scientific American: Editor's Selections From the Web
http://www.sciam.com/bookmarks/editselect.html
 
TopTenLinks.com
http://www.toptenlinks.com/
    

Medweb Biomedical Internet Resources
http://www.emory.edu/WHSCL/medweb.html
 
MMRL: Multimedia Medical Reference Library
http://www.med-library.com/medlibrary/
 
Physician's Choice
http://www.mdchoice.com/

Public Health Resources on the Internet
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/PUBL/internet.html
 
Selected Internet Resources in Biomedicine: Cushing/Whitney Medical Library, Yale University
http://info.med.yale.edu/library/sir/
 
The Six Senses Review: A Healthcare and Medical Web Site Review Program
http://www.sixsenses.com/
 

Neurosciences on the Internet
http://www.neuroguide.com/
 
Medscape: The Online Resource for Better Patient Care
http://www.medscape.com
 
ReutersHealth
http://www.reutershealth.com
 
Virtual Hospital: University of Iowa
http://vh.org/
  

Wildlife Web
http://www.selu.com/~bio/wildlife/
  

Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Math and Science Education
http://www.enc.org
 
The Internet Pathology Laboratory for Medical Education
http://medlib.med.utah.edu/WebPath/webpath.html
 
MIT: Biology Hypertextbook
http://esg-www.mit.edu:8001/esgbio/