Professional and academic scientific organizations have long had a strong web-based presence, and many of them have contributed mightily to online educational initiatives. The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) has done their part by creating this set of resources for undergraduate educators working in the fields of bioterrorism, microbiology, and related topics. One of the strongest sections...

This week's Topic In Depth is about antibiotic resistant bacteria. The first site is a recent news report from BBC news (1) that describes some recent research on resistant strains of two "of the world's most dangerous bacteria. Next is a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) page (2) with a brief background on antibiotic resistance and how to prevent it. A much more in-depth report is provided by...

Five journals with free (or recently extended) online trial periods were recently announced; online content includes full text, figures, and tables. The Society for General Microbiology offers free full access to the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology "until full text has been available for a few months"; PDF files are available since January 1997; abstracts are...

As part of the Institute of Marine & Coastal Sciences at Rutgers University, Dr. Costantino Vetriani's Deep Sea Microbiology Lab focuses on "the physiology, ecology and evolutionary relationships of deep-sea prokaryotes, with an emphasis on deep-sea hydrothermal vents and cold seeps"." The Microbiology Lab website includes a Publications section which lists book chapters and a number of...

This online database from the Crystallography Department at Birkbeck College, London "deals primarily with naturally occurring peptides, generally these have a fungal origin." The search function is easy to use; data can be queried by name, family, or residue motif. Another useful feature is the Peptaibol Picture Gallery, which includes images of several peptaibols.

Authored by University of Wisconsin bacteriology professor Kenneth Todar, this online textbook is geared towards college and advanced high school students studying general microbiology and medical bacteriology. The primary sections of the text include: Bacterial Relationships with Animals, Principles of Bacterial Pathogenesis, Bacterial Diseases of Humans, and General Bacteriology. Within these...