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Biological Sciences: Use Webpages

Biology on the Web

Internet Pages to try out. Remember these sources still need to be used with caution - the best place for all your research is still mySearch.

 

Algaebase AlgaeBase is a database of information on algae that includes terrestrial, marine and freshwater organisms. 

BrightTalk:

A searchable list of videos and webinars on various topics including scientific ones.

British Ecological Society  A website which is kept up to date with current issues. 
British Society of Animal Science "The British Society of Animal Science works to improve the welfare and productivity of farm animals to help produce quality, safe and environmentally-sustainable food."

Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science:

 Website for the UK Government agency,

Dorset Wildlife Trust:

Very useful site for considering local fieldwork.

Marine Biological Association 

 site for the UK organisation
Morphobank  A web application with lists and images of living and fossil species
PhyloPic A database which stores silhouettes organisms and a phylogenetic taxonomy of all organisms.
Royal Society of Biology This society promotes the contribution of Biology to society, and supports academics and students. There are also good links for jobs. 

Scitable: https://www.nature.com/scitable/

Produced by writers at Nature this resource is a very useful bridge between highly specialised research and the non-specialist audience. There are tutorials taking you through important aspects of biology in a structured way. The perfect companion and primer for your academic studies.

Human Protein Atlas: https://www.proteinatlas.org/

One of the best resources available for understanding tissue histology and which human tissues and cells express which proteins.

BiteSize Immunology: https://www.immunology.org/public-information/bitesized-immunology

BiteSized Immunology is a developing online resource designed to form a comprehensive guide to the immune system, yet approaching the topic via punchy, easy-to-digest, entries that outline major learning points.

Roitt.com: http://www.roitt.com/

Ivan Roitt is a world-leading immunologist and developer of classic textbooks – this site provides many contemporary learning tools – a must for budding immunologists!

Wormbase: https://wormbase.org/#012-34-5

It provides all the information you could want about nematodes, which are an important model organism, especially C. elegans. A majorly important resource.

Flybase: http://flybase.org/

Everything you ever need to know about Drosophila melanogaster biology, genetics and development. Links to resources, data and much much more. A majorly important resource.

Contributors: Cassandra Edmunds, Sarah Buchan, Amanda Korstjens & Paul Hartley.

 

Search engines for research

Is Google the only way to search the web?

It has its uses, but here are some other search engines you can use, some of which may be much more helpful for academic work.

  • Sweetsearch: This is a search engine for students (www.sweetsearch,com). It is limited to good quality authoritative resources, but works just like Google.
  • BASE: Otherwise known as the Bielefeld Academic Search Engine has access to more than 100 million documents, which are to some extent checked for quality by those who run the search engine.
  • Science.gov:  A U.S. site which searches over 60 databases and 2200 websites all with US government science information. 
  • Google Scholar. It's not a bad resource to use, although it doesn't have anywhere near the functionality of mySearch, and you'll find lots of articles you can't access. 
  • Zanran: This search engine is for finding data and statistics. It has examples of popular searches to guide you.