Resources for Undergraduate Students and Faculty
Discover the connections between microbial life, the history of the earth and our dependence on micro-organisms.

"This internet textbook covers all aspects of microbiology and immunology and is based on our course for second year Medical Students." Sections are arranged thematically, with a search function to aid in finding relevant sections.

The NCBI hosts a search engine that cross-searches the major websites and web publishers of information in the field of molecular biology, including OMIM and PubMed. This website also offers online tutorials, links to bioinformatics databases, and links to download software tools for sequencing and other data retrieval

Features an interactive timeline and educational modules that cover genetic code, gene manipulation, genomes, applications of DNA science, and eugenics. Links to news stories about DNA are also provided.

An online biology encyclopedia consisting of alphabetized lists of biological terms (the index/glossary) with links to discussions of a wide range of biological topics (many illustrated).

Nature is the world's most highly cited interdisciplinary science journal. Toolbox, which is hosted in the News & Comment section of Nature's website, reports on the software and websites that make research easier for investigators engaged in science and technology subjects, from molecular biology to astrophysics, and beyond. Readers will find articles here about software, such as Excel, ChemDraw, and MATLAB, and the programming languages that are used to build that software, including Python, R, and SQL. From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2015. https://www.scout.wisc.edu

The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Archives has undertaken a major initiative to document the history of science through the words and images of the scientists who have worked and regularly visited here. This unique collection of oral histories provides an unprecedented perspective on the development of molecular biology, the present state of the science, and visions of the future by the leading scientists in the field.

arXiv is an e-print service in the fields of physics, mathematics, computer science, quantitative biology, quantitative finance and statistics. Submissions to arXiv should conform to Cornell University academic standards. arXiv is owned and operated by Cornell University, a private not-for-profit educational institution. arXiv is funded by Cornell University Library, the Simons Foundation and by the member institutions.

A consortium of natural history and botanical libraries that cooperate to digitize and make accessible the legacy literature of biodiversity held in their collections and to make that literature available for open access and responsible use as a part of a global “biodiversity commons.”

Brings together information about all life on earth - text, images, video, sounds, maps, classifications and more - all freely available on-line. But EOL is much more than 1.9 million taxon pages.

Provides copious information about phylogeny and biodiversity and contains contributions by 266 experts with extensive bibliographies to the published literature.

From the nonprofit organization, Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund this website provides information on specific regions where biodiversity is plentiful but also threatened. The site gives the particular species, the overall ecosystem, the influences of humans on the ecosystem, and the conservation actions for each region. The site is rich with content including tables, photos, and bibliographies.

A product of the U.S. Geological Survey's Core Science Analytics and Synthesis Program. BISON is an information system that allows users to access, explore, and download U.S. species occurrence data from participating data providers.

The world’s leaders in biology present lectures that start with a broad introduction to their current work and progress to detailed discussions of their research and experiments.

This website aims to tell you nearly everything you need (and may ever want) to know about convergent evolution.

60+ bloggers selected on the basis of their originality, insight, talent, and dedication provide up-to-date coverage of their different scientific fields.

an, "extensive database information system about all birds of the world, containing over 19 million records about 10,000 species and 22,000 subspecies of birds, including distribution information, taxonomy, synonyms in several languages, and more." Visitors can explore this list by conducting a text search (available via the search tab) and restrict searches by year, language, species, etc. In addition, visitors have the option of setting up a MyAvibase account, which is a tool designed to help one manage their own bird observation data. While these features may especially appeal to ornithology instructors and researchers, AviBase may also appeal to casual bird-watchers. For example, the "Bird of the day" offers a delightful way to learn about birds around the world

For researchers and students interested in global biodiversity, the Catalogue of Life is an index consisting of 1.6 million species from around the globe. The catalogue collects this information from over 200 taxonomic databases, which are peer-reviewed by a team of experts. Visitors will find a link to the most recent edition of the catalogue, updated monthly, from the site's homepage. Users can search the catalogue by keyword or browse by taxonomic tree (e.g. Animalia, bacteria, viruses) or by taxonomic classification (e.g. phylum, genus, species). The catalogue is available in twelve languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, and Russian. Those interested in using the Catalogue of Life may want to start by taking a look at the resources page, which includes a user's guide and frequently asked questions about the index. [MMB]

An informative site on Genetics with excellent examples of interactive learning tools along with a Teachers Resources section with classroom activities and guides.

Provides information on The Human Genome Project, including the ethical, legal, and social implications of genetic research, submitting a grant application, links to various genetic databases, and a glossary of genetics terms.

(U.S. Department of Energy Human Genome Program)
2008 update to the Primer on Molecular Genetics and the booklet To Know Ourselves. This edition covers basic science, the Human Genome Project, what we know so far, societal concerns, medicine, benefits and more. This primer is available in HTML, PDF, and PowerPoint formats.

This website provides a curated collection of resources about the people, places and technologies that have enabled biotechnology to transform our healthcare and the world we live in today

The World Library of Science is a free online resource for a global community. Developed as a partnership between UNESCO and Macmillan Science and Education, this online Library offers quality Nature Education content in short eBooks and articles, serving a mission to equalize access to high quality resources for science education for all communities across the globe. All offerings are digital, allowing easy access to online tools and networks. The content of the World Library of Science is meant to inspire more learning and curiosity, and help train students and teachers alike, both in the content and cultural impacts of scientific discovery. Future plans involve expansion of life and physical science subjects, as well as translation of resources into multiple languages.

More than a dozen fact sheets, covering topics such as Comparative Genomics, Cloning, DNA Sequencing, and Genetic Mapping

"The BEN Portal provides access to education resources from BEN Collaborators and is managed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).Over 18,095 reviewed resources covering 77 biological sciences topics are available. ."

"...an interactive online resource for learning biology developed at The University of Arizona [. . .] designed for biology students at the college level, but is useful for high school students, medical students, physicians, science writers, and all types of interested people."

Sample lesson plans, classroom activities, labs, worksheets, and webquests (assignments for the web) are included for teaching biology at the secondary school level.

Science educators looking for ways to inspire interest in their students about plants may want to check out Botany Depot. Launched in early 2018, this resource describes itself as "a global website for creative ideas and materials for teaching botany in the 21st century for all ages and levels." Botany Depot is created and run by Lena Struwe, Professor of Plant Biology and Director of the Chrysler Herbarium at Rutgers University. Here, visitors will find a wide variety of botanical teaching ideas and resources, ranging from engaging videos to interactive lesson plans, all freely available. Examples include a teacher's guide for a botanical role-playing game centered on "toxic plants in the emergency room," which includes downloadable classroom worksheets and information on 55 different toxic plants. The teacher's guide also serves as an introductory manual of plant nomenclature created for beginning and intermediate botany learners, which covers wild, agricultural, and horticultural species and also includes PowerPoint slides of the figures in the manual for classroom use. Most of the resources shared by Botany Depot at this point were developed with college students in mind, but they could also be helpful for other educational levels or for naturalists and general plant enthusiasts. [JDC]