Science Surfing
- Health & Medicine
A Most Dreadful Pest
Yellow fever was a deadly scourge that had a devastating effect on lives and economies throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. This engrossing Web exhibit features historical documents from the Walter Reed Yellow Fever Collection at the University of Virginia. It focuses on the work of the Reed Commission, which proved that the Aedes aegypti […]
- Astronomy
A Hubble Decade
To celebrate the Hubble Space Telescope’s 10th anniversary, the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md., has created a new Web site devoted to the Earth-orbiting telescope and its spectacular images. Offering much more than pretty pictures, the site recounts Hubble’s discoveries, illustrates how the telescope works, and suggests various educational activities and games. Until […]
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Frog Guts
A little squeamish about dissecting a frog? Try the online virtual frog dissection at the Froguts Web site. The site also includes multiple-choice tests, lesson plans, and links to other frog pages on the Web. Requires the Flash 6 browser plug-in. Go to: http://www.froguts.com/
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Space Day
Flashy graphics, interactive games, puzzles, contests, and much more await young visitors to the Space Day Web site. On that day, a Webcast introduces children to the challenges of working and living in space and the future of space exploration. Go to: http://www.spaceday.com/
- Health & Medicine
A Prized Worm
This year’s Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine went to researchers who pioneered the use of the tiny worm Caenorhabditis elegans as an animal model for exploring basic processes involved in the development and behavior of multicellular organisms. Learn more about the remarkable C. elegans from a Vanderbilt University news feature about this “elegant worm” […]
- Tech
Engineering Top 20
Airplanes, telephones, refrigerators, and spacecraft are among the life-changing technological accomplishments highlighted at the National Academy of Engineering’s Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century Web site. A variety of illustrations, a brief history, and a timeline of important landmarks accompany each entry. Go to: http://www.greatachievements.org/
- Tech
Cool Contraptions
The J. Paul Getty Museum’s intriguing online exhibition, “Devices of Wonder,” features optical devices, robots, thinking machines, and other fanciful contrivances of yesteryear. Check out a variety of ingenious contraptions for projecting images, playing music, revealing secrets, and more. Go to: http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/devices/choice.html
- Physics
Interacting with Physics
Drag an electric charge to see how it affects a nearby water molecule. Fool around with a laser to cool an atom. The University of Colorado’s Physics 2000 Web site relies heavily on interactive animations to demonstrate important concepts and discoveries in modern physics. Topics range from X rays and CAT scans to the quantum […]
- Paleontology
Trilobites to Go
Extinct even before dinosaurs existed on Earth but extensively preserved in the fossil record, the eight orders of trilobites (more than 15,000 species) live on via this large, informative Web site, created by zoologist and amateur trilobite enthusiast Sam Gon III. The site provides a gallery of images, a glossary of terms, and much more. […]
- Plants
Fungus of the Month
Wisconsin botanist Tom Volk’s smorgasbord of a mycology Web site offers a variety of enticing distractions. You can find morel mushrooms dressed in their holiday best, fungi that ought to be avoided at a Thanksgiving feast, and much more. Be sure to check out the fungus of the month, then browse the archive of fungal […]
- Tech
Ear to Traffic
Listen to the sounds of Web site activity, as massaged by statistician Mark Hansen of Lucent Technologies and translated into musical tones by audio artist Ben Rubin of the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Intriguing audio samples offer hints of how aural cues might complement visualization techniques in data mining. Requires a Web browser with RealPlayer […]
- Archaeology
Visit Ancient Corinth
Hosted at the University of Pennsylvania, this elaborate, regularly updated Web site features historical, literary, and archaeological information about the ancient Roman colony of Corinth in Greece. Browser plug-ins allow you to fly through the city, traverse digital maps, and view three-dimensional models of various structures. Go to: http://corinth.sas.upenn.edu
