Cambridge University puts Isaac Newton papers online [BBC News]

“The notebooks in which Sir Isaac Newton worked out the theories on which much classical science is based have been put online by Cambridge University.

More than 4,000 pages have been scanned, including his annotated copy of Principia Mathematica, containing Newton’s laws of motion and gravity.”

To read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-16141723

Source: Library Link of the Day, Dec. 15, 2011

 

Medical vocabulary changes in PubMed or Medline

Overview of Vocabulary Development and Changes for 2012 MeSH

  • 454 Descriptors added
  • 42 Descriptor terms replaced with more up-to-date terminology
  • 15 Descriptors deleted

Totals by Type of Terminology

  • 26,582 Descriptors
  • 83 Qualifiers
  • 202,066 Supplementary Concept Records (SCRs)

Helpful Links

Please consult the 2012 online Introduction to MeSH for more details. Lists of new and changed vocabulary are available at these links:

MeSH Vocabulary Changes
New Descriptors – 2012
Changed Descriptors – 2012
Deleted Descriptors – 2012
New Descriptors by Tree Subcategory – 2012

Source: NLM New files for the week of Dec 5, 2011

Princeton Univ. authors get discount when publishing in BioMed Central

 BioMed Central unveils newly redesigned website02 Dec 2011

Open access publisher BioMed Central, UK, has announced the launch of its newly redesigned website (www.biomedcentral.com). BioMed Central, which currently publishes over 220 open access journals, has introduced a streamlined design and new look which makes the high-traffic website much more straightforward to navigate. The redesigned site also introduces a range of new and enhanced features.

Emphasising the company’s commitment to meeting the evolving needs of authors and readers, the new site includes a greatly improved ‘My BioMed Central’ section offering users convenient access to the latest research in their subject areas together with status updates on manuscripts which they are submitting or reviewing. Other features include enhanced navigation for archives, supplements and special article collections; additional RSS feeds and embedded social linking technologies; and improved subject gateways, providing a central starting point to find research on particular scientific topics.

Sister website Chemistry Central will also benefit from the new look and significantly increased functionality.

In addition to the new appearance, the site is built using modern open-source java technologies, which provide a firm foundation for the enhancements and new services still in development.”

Source:  Knowledgespeak Newsletter

Bassler Wins L’ORÉAL-UNESCO Award in Life Sciences

Bassler Wins L’ORÉAL-UNESCO Award in Life Sciences
National Academy of Sciences member Bonnie L. Bassler has been selected as the 2012 L’ORÉAL-UNESCO Laureate for North America. Bassler was chosen for her work in understanding chemical communication between bacteria and its use in developing anti-bacterial therapies to combat infectious disease.”

 

Source: What’s New @ the National Academies

National Library of Medicine adopts auto-complete feature

  “*NLM Technical Bulletin, Nov-Dec 2011, Search Auto-Complete Feature Added to NLM Main Web Site, MedlinePlus and MedlinePlus en Español

  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/nd11/nd11_mplus_auto_complete.html “

From NLM New files for the week of Nov 7, 2011

NLM-ANNOUNCES@LIST.NIH.GOV

Scientific American’s Online Archive (1845-1909) from Nature PG

Scientific American’s Online Archive to 1845 Goes Live

November 3, 2011 03:50

Source: Resource Shelf, ResourceBlog  Nov. 10th:

“From the press release:

Readers can now revisit original reports of Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the telephone and Thomas Edison’s invention of the light bulb. Scientific American‘s complete archive, back to volume 1, issue 1, is now available on nature.com. To celebrate the completion of the Scientific American archive on nature.com, the 1845-1909 archive collection will be free to all to access from 1-30 November 2011. Published since 1845,Scientific American is the longest continually published magazine in the U.S.”

Global Open Access Portal (GOAP) launched by UNESCO

 Global Open Access Portal launched at UNESCO meet07 Nov 2011

“The Global Open Access Portal (GOAP) was launched at a special side event organised during the 36th session of the UNESCO General Conference at Paris headquarters. The portal is aimed at presenting a snapshot of the status of open access (OA) to scientific information around the world.

For countries that have been more successful in implementing OA, the portal highlights critical success factors and aspects of the enabling environment. For countries and regions that are still in the early stages of OA development, it identifies key players, potential barriers and opportunities.

The portal has country reports from over 148 countries with weblinks to over 2,000 initiatives/projects in member states. It is supported by an existing Community of Practice (CoP) on Open Access on the WSIS Knowledge Communities Platform that has over 1,400 members.

The GOAP, launched together with the revamped Open Training Platform (OTP) and the first UNESCO Open Educational Resources (OER) Platform, provides the information for policy-makers to learn about the global OA environment. They can also view their country’s status, and understand where and why OA has been most successful.

Development of the portal has been made possible with support received from the governments of Columbia, Denmark, Norway and the US. The portal will be a work in progress, and shall be further improved with the support received from the community of OA practitioners.

OA is reportedly at the heart of UNESCO’s mandate to provide universal access to information and knowledge. The UNESCO Open Access programme shall continue to facilitate policy dialogue in member states, share knowledge and best practices in the field of OA, and build and share local capacities through North-South and South-South co-operation to build knowledge societies for sustainable development.”

Source:  Knowledgespeak Newsletter (today)

DNA — Secrets of the Sequence

Secrets of the Sequence

http://www.sosq.vcu.edu/

“If you are looking to get in on the ground floor of the DNA sequencing that occurs in a high-tech laboratory, this video series is a fine place to start. Produced with help from a variety of sponsors, such as the National Academies and Pfizer, this site from Virginia Commonwealth University brings together 50 of the best videos from the public television series “Secrets of the Sequence” to “assist teachers in the application of genetic research across the biology curriculum.” Each of the videos is 8-10 minutes long, and they are divided into topical areas that include anatomy, bioethics, and DNA. Visitors can download each video, or just stream them directly from the site. Finally, the site also includes a number of helpful educational worksheets and guides for teachers.”

Source:  The Scout Report, Univ. of Wisconsin, Oct. 28, 2011 

Microbe World — Website with news, videos, images…

Microbe World (Last reviewed in the Scout Report on November 19, 1999)

http://www.microbeworld.org/

“Microbe World has grown by leaps and bounds since the Scout Report last reviewed the site. First-time visitors will notice that the homepage contains a featured image and a featured video, which usually features a science expert speaking on microbes via an archived webcast. Moving on, the right-hand side of the homepage contains informational videos that cover how to get started with using Microbe World. The “Videos” tab will allow users to learn from dozens of videos that cover a gamut of topics, such as genetically engineered bacteria and an investigation into the origins of the Black Plague. Visitors can also use the “Images” tab to view high quality images of microbes taken from various research laboratories, science organizations, and so on. Finally, users can use the “Resources” area to view laboratory demonstrations and find out about new microbe-related apps that are under development.”

Source: University of Wisconsin’s Scout Report 10/21/11 

MeSH, Medical Subject Headings from NLM (National Library of Medicine)

MeSH is a great resource,a thesaurus, especially significant if you access Medline — from whatever source.  (PubMed is the free version, accessible everywhere anyone has access to the internet.)

MeSH means Medical Subject Headings.  They are assigned by indexers at the National Library of Medicine.  This thesaurus is complete with definitions or scope notes.  It is organized in a hierarchical fashion so that if you wanted to search all antibiotics, for example, you wouldn’t have to separately type all of them, but could just “explode” the main heading.  You can limit the headings to a major concept, the most important concept(s) in the article.  You can also attach subheadings, such as adverse effects of antibiotics.