Scott's Botanical Links--May 1997

May 29, 1997 - EnviroLink

There are quite a few environment sites on the WWW, and this is one of the bigger and more attractive ones. Two bandwidths of the site are available (low and high graphics content). On-site are: two online magazines (Sustainable Business Network Journal and OneWorld Magazine), links to the Riptide do-it-yourself Adventure Story, EnviroArt, Link Libraries on Earth, wind, fire, water, flora & fauna (many are out-dated!), information about Envirolink, what it is and how to support it. There are also pages suggesting actions to take, education, events, general info, government, organizations and publications. This site is also home to the green ribbon for "Prisoners of Ecological Conscience." Site by Envirolink. (***1/2)

May 28, 1997 - Access Excellence Activity Exchange

This page features links to the Access Excellence collection of classroom activities, exchanges from conferences & share-a-thons, the classic collection, "activities-to-go," and a web discussion area for instructors. The site is aimed at high school but some of the exercises may be useful for undergraduate instruction. The page also links to a 40 to 60 page scientific mystery in which story clues are given; there is even an opportunity to email a virtual scientist asking about clues (answered by autoresponder) to add to the interactive fun. This is particularly well done; it sneaks lots of medicine and science into the story! Sponsored by Genentech. (****)

May 27, 1997 - Tropical Fruit News Magazine Online

Tropical Fruit News Magazine Online is still not mature, but features articles on their cookbook, advice for travelers (about importing plants), Rare Fruit Council International (RFCI) and its chapters, Cherry of the Rio Grande (about the Med fly), indexes to prior printed volumes, a "letter from Haiti", market place, lingaro and rare seeds. My hope for the site: more content, fewer spelling error, improved linking scheme. Site by Bobby G. Cannon II, Florida, through GeoCities--a good source of free webpages. (**)

May 26, 1997 - Memorial Day

A U.S. holiday. Reviews return tomorrow.

May 23, 1997 - Palaeobotanical Research Group

The educational centerpiece of the site is "A History of Palaeozoic Forests," which is an excellent introduction on Palaeozoic vascular plants. Topics include: the earliest land plants, towards a tree-like growth habit, the earliest forests, Carboniferous coal swamp forests, floral changes at the end of the Westphalian, Stefanian and Rotliegend floras, is there a floral break in the Permian? and references. Prof. Dr. Hans Kerp, Forschungsstelle für Paläobotanik, Münster, Germany. (***1/2)

May 22, 1997 - Ethnobotany Conservation Team

Although a brief site, this non-profit group has pages on their mission, careers in ethnobotany, the importance of conservation, and some articles on conservation and conservationalists. Among their missions is to retain diversity for the purpose of developing new medicines. Pages are well-organized; I hope that they expand the content! Executive Director is Mark Plotkin, Ethnobiology and Conservation Team, Arlington, VA (***)

May 12-20, 1997

This week I will be visiting Portugal to present a seminar and work on immunoelectron microscopy with collaborators.

May 9, 1997 - Cyberbotanica: Plants and Cancer Treatments

Detailed information is given at this site concerning numerous plant-derived chemicals and their roles in treating cancer. As with many anti-cancer drugs, most of these compounds attack cell division, which in cancerous cells has escaped the usual controls. The site includes medicinal plants & images, chemical products & structures, and the medicial uses of these chemicals. The narrative is complemented by a challenging 20-question online quiz. Site by Lucy Snyder of Indiana University's BioTech Project. (***1/2)

May 8, 1997 - America's Least Wanted: Alien Species Invasions of U.S. Ecosystems (disconnected from archives 9/97)

Introduction of species where they have not been found before can have unpredictable and devastating effects; some have no native biological controls to their expansion and replace native species. Information on these aliens are posted, with photos of the "dirty dozen" and frightening statistics (e.g., 79 harmful alien species have caused $97 billion in economic losses in the US from 1906-91; alien species have contributed to the decline of 42% of our threatened and endangered species). Also, QuickTime movies, but at a megabyte each, they are not worth the effort for modem users. Part of a site by The Nature Conservancy. (***1/2)

May 7, 1997 - Linda's Orchid Page

Although there are other orchid sites on the Web, this is technically among the best. A dynamic site, her current offerings include full information on orchid flowers, a short history, photo gallery, glossary of terms, a FAQ on growing orchids, Latin & common names of orchids, phylogeny and lots of orchid links. In addition, her orchid award for Web pages helps to encourage standards of HTML programming (even mine). Site by Linda Fortner. (****)

May 6, 1997 - TreeGuide: The Natural History of Trees

This site, although still under construction, already has information on the history, taxonomy, function, and geography of trees, with class sites for FOR 219 and 221, a set of Kentucky species sites (includes life histories, status, range, sites & soils, ecology, interactions, KY range and KY sites, ornamental and other uses), a forum and references. This is designed for North American use, but the developer plans to expand it in the future. Site by Thomas W. Kimmerer, Department of Forestry, University of Kentucky. (***1/2)

May 5, 1997 - Dictionary of Science and Biotechnology

An online dictionary of over 6,000 terms, this searchable dictionary covers most terms of interest in biochemistry, biotechnology, botany, cellular biology and genetics, with quite a few chemistry, ecology, medicine, pharmacology and toxicology terms. Although it is unillustrated, each entry has hyperlinks to biological terms in the definitions. Translations of the dictionary into Japanese and Chinese are underway. Site by the Indiana Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. (****)

May 2, 1997 - Plants in the Hawaiian Environment - Botany 130

Offered by telecourse on more than one island, this site presents the reading materials and course objectives of an excellent introductory course on the Hawaiian flora -- the most endangered of the US. The 30 listed learning objectives link to extensive textual material (equivalent to ~120 pages!) discussing the environmental context of the flora and the impact of man and introduced species on it. Site by Priscilla S. Millen, Department of Botany, Leeward Community College, Pearl City, Hawaii. (***1/2)

May 1, 1997 - The School Page: The Educator's Resource

A site aimed at science and math teachers of K-12 level, this site recognizes and archives excellent educational resources and sites. Although it is commercial, there is a service for free Web sites for schools, book reviews, and free email advice for teachers. The School Page, Glassboro NJ. (***)

Past, past links (by date):

2006: January

2005: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

2003: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

2002: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

2001: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

2000: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

1999: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

1998: January*, February*, March*, April*, May*, June*, July, August, September, October, November, December   (*Leigh's links)

1997: January, February, March, April, May, June, September*, October*, November*, December*    (*Leigh's links)

1996: February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Or search by: Subject Index

http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/bot-linx/may97.shtml