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BioTechniquesVol. 49, No. 6 WebWatchOpen AccessWebWatchKevin AhernKevin AhernSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:28 Jun 2018https://doi.org/10.2144/000113563AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Going Array PartyThe power of a technology is its ability to answer questions that were not addressable before it existed. Such is the case with microarrays, which have helped facilitate the development of systems biology. An excellent overview of the technology can be found at MicroarrayWorld. From protocols to instruments, visitors to the site will find no shortage of relevant content, which will keep them coming back. Additional information covers software (design/management, annotation, imaging, and data analysis), twenty databases, hardware, and online tutorials. Indeed, every technical aspect relevant to this important technology is described in detail.[www.microarrayworld.com]Energy Currency ConverterEasily one of the most abundant, efficient nanomachines on the face of the Earth (and arguably, one of the most important ones), ATP synthase (ATPase) is nothing short of remarkable. Comprised of a membraneembedded, rotating F0 stalk and an ATP-synthesizing F1 head positioned in the mitochondrial matrix, the ATPase complex converts transmembrane proton potential into ATP chemical energy. In one tidy site, Boris Feniouk has assembled an impressive amount of information on one of nature's most fascinating entities. Students hoping to learn more about ATPase would do well to point their browsers to the URL below, where they can read about the enzyme, uncover relevant literature, find investigators working on the complex, and learn how to measure its activity.[www.atpsynthase.info]Good ChemistryFrom Charles Ophardt at Elmhurst College comes Virtual ChemBook, an online offering spanning scientific disciplines from general chemistry to biochemistry. Aimed largely at entry-level college students not majoring in these areas, Virtual Chembook provides information on topics as diverse as artificial sweeteners and sources of solid waste. The site's strengths are pages with short, insightful descriptions, fun (quirky?) demonstrations of chemical principles, and an interesting mix of related topics that include acid rain, wastewater treatment, solar energy, and aluminum refining. The writing is solid and the information is useful at this simple, yet surprisingly extensive educational site.[www.elmhurst.edu/∼chm/vchembook]Diversity ProHoused at the University of Michigan, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) is as much a great resource as it is a labor of love. Credit for the effort goes to Phil Myers, who has brought an eye for simplicity and organization to this eclectic collection of web pages focusing on 10 primary groups of the animal kingdom: amphibians, insects, arthropods, mammals, birds, mollusks, bony fishes, reptiles, echinoderms, and sharks. Supported in part by the National Science Foundation, ADW abounds in pictures, sounds, and general information, and has an easy-to-navigate design to boot. The site makes no pretense of having exhaustively covered the animal kingdom, but nonetheless, its comprehensive scope means that students at all levels will welcome the excellent collection of carefully organized information at ADW.[http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu]Black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus) at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon.© 2003 Phil Myers.Phytochemica FactaYour mother always told you to eat your vegetables and now, at least according to Phytochemicals.info, it appears she had a good point. Phytochemicals are in the spotlight on this aptly named web site, which outlines the various possible benefits of these compounds: they may serve as antioxidants, reduce hormonecaused menopausal symptoms, stimulate enzymes affecting estrogen production, interfere with DNA replication in cancer cells, protect DNA from carcinogens, prevent pathogens from adhering to cell walls, and act as antimicrobial agents. Whew! To accompany the health claims, the web site extensively lists vegetables, fruits, nuts, herbs, beans, and medicinal plants, and indicates the phytochemical(s) that each contains. Curious visitors can also obtain information on phytochemicals by locating them in an alphabetical listing and clicking on names. Lastly, a section on antioxidants helps elucidate the benefits of these important compounds.[www.phytochemicals.info]Online BankImagine you've carefully selected 800,000 commercially available chemical compounds and want to make access to the information available online. For the site to be maximally functional, it should provide multiple means of accessing the content. Stuart Schreiber and colleagues appear to have carefully considered this challenge in creating ChemBank, which scores major points for its design. At the ChemBank site, users can search through chemical data by several means, including structure/substructure, similarity to a structure by description, function, assay, name, and even a particular person or vendor. In perhaps a sign of things to come, a subsection of the site gives users access to tools for finding relevant proteins as well.[http://chembank.broadinstitute.org/welcome.htm]FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Vol. 49, No. 6 Follow us on social media for the latest updates Metrics History Published online 28 June 2018 Published in print December 2010 Information© 2010 Author(s)PDF download