This publication that can be viewed either online or in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format is new from Information Systems for Biotechnology (ISB), part of the US Department of Agriculture's Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. ISB's goal is to provide "a balanced view of the potential benefits and concerns" of agricultural biotechnology. This 60-page guide is intended as a...

The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) has had a Web site for some time now, but the site has recently become more user-friendly with this new About section. About NCBI explains NCBI's role in facilitating research and education specific to the "fundamental molecular and genetic processes that control health and disease." An introduction to NCBI databases and maps helps...

The Bio-Link consortium of centers was established in 1998 with funds provided by the National Science Foundation. The motivating factor behind creating this consortium was "to improve and expand educational programs that prepare skilled technicians to work in the high-tech fields that drive the U.S. economy." Along with creating a series of bricks-and-mortar regional centers, they have also...

Self-described as "the most reliable and up-to-date information resource for those working in the life sciences and associated industries," Bio.com brings together in one Web site daily news, information, and research tools geared mostly toward biotechnology. The Web site provides "live panel discussions and one-on-one interviews with leading scientists representing the diversity of research in...

A Web site from Michigan State University (1) is a useful starting point for learning about biologically inspired technologies. In addition to briefly discussing the natural processes that are most commonly studied in the development of such technologies, there is a large collection of links to other research efforts and related material. The Ant Colony Optimization project (2) uses the behavior...

Bioremediation deals with "the use of living organisms to reduce or eliminate environmental hazards resulting from accumulations of toxic chemicals and other hazardous wastes." Created by GZA GeoEnvironmental, the BioRemediation Discussion Group encourages scientists, researchers, and others to share knowledge and ideas regarding bioremediation practices and technologies. Users may join the...

Dolly, the world's first animal to be cloned from an adult cell, was put down February 14, 2003, due to a tumor in the lung. Her death has drawn increased attention to how little we really know about the potential health problems associated with genetic cloning. The journal Nature offers a special Web focus on "the life of this extraordinary sheep," including current and archived news articles and...

MICROMAT, supported by the European Commission, "is an academic industrial partnership which aims to improve knowledge of the biodiversity of bacteria, protists, and fungi in Antarctic microbial mats and to test this biodiversity for novel compounds of potential biotechnological use." This MICROMAT website provides links to a summary of the project with listed objectives, relevant Publications,...

Released on April 5, this widely anticipated report on genetically modified foods from a twelve-member panel of the National Research Council, part of the US National Academy of Sciences, offers a cautious endorsement of biotech foods, but also calls for more oversight and regulation. Focusing only on plants that have been genetically engineered to produce their own pesticides, the report finds no...

The Journal of Evolution and Technology (JET) is "a peer-reviewed electronic journal publishing contemporary research into future science and philosophy." It deals with somewhat edgy topics that are often avoided by mainstream journals. For example, a common theme is the relationship between the human brain and computers, questioning their respective computational capacity and evolution. Despite...