Links to useful web sites

Biology 202, Section 9, Dr. Leif Saul

Sites specifically relevant to this course at ECSU

Human Biology by Sylvia S. Mader

Web site for the textbook used in this course.

ECSU main page

The main page for Eastern Connecticut State University.

Biology news

Access Excellence

A site by Genentech Inc., with good general biology news and lots of information about biotechnology.

CNN Interactive

A good general news site, with science and health news sections.

Sites relating to specific lecture topics

• Evolution
  • Animations of our drifting continents
  • Evolution FAQs - lists some of the evidence for evolution, and explains the main ideas and controversies in evolutionary theory - even includes an online version of Darwin's Origin of Species
  • University of California Museum of Paleontology - contains all kinds of information related to evolution - for information on Darwin, Lamarck, and other figures in the history of the field, see the history of evolutionary theory page
• DNA, molecular genetics, and protein synthesis
  • To review (in colorful detail) how proteins are synthesized using RNA, try the animated translation activity at Campbell on-line (a textbook web site).
• Digestive system
  • Animation of swallowing reflex
• Circulatory system
  • Animation of cardiac cycle
• Immune system
  • Animation of antibody production
• Respiratory system
  • Animation of the mechanism of breathing
• Vision
  • Photoreceptors and retinal anatomy
    • Graph of photoreceptor distribution
    • Photograph of cones in the fovea - arrows point to blue cones; see the complete photoreceptor page for explanations of photos
    • Photograph of rods & cones - blue cones circled, other cones stained
    • Demonstrations of the blind spot - several variations on this classic optical illusion!
  • Sensory adaptation
    • Demonstrations of afterimages - black & white and color
  • Image processing in the retina
    • Demonstration of lateral inhibition - the "hermann grid" illusion
  • General web resources on vision
    • Illusionworks - "hall" of optical illusions - this site will blow your mind!
    • Webvision home page - a collection of facts & images about vision

Searching the web

PubMed

Maintained by the National Institutes of Health, this site allows you to find and download biomedical research articles.

Yahoo

Very useful for searching all kinds of topics on the web.

Biological Sciences Resources Index

A huge listing of web sites related to biology.

Miscellaneous biology sites

The Visible Human Project

A long-term project by the National Library of Medicine. You can view slices of the human body if you download specialized software first. Some images can be viewed without special software; see the links provided.