July 16, 2007

PostGenomic Science Blog Aggregator

For those who enjoyed our podcast on science blogs, here is a newly discovered resource to help make it easier to follow the science blogosphere -- PostGenomic.

PostGenomic is an aggregator -- a source that compiles or aggregates information from a variety of sources. In this case, PostGenomic collects information from a variety of science blogs, and repackages in a way to make them more useful. It has several very nice features, including (my favorite) the option to track your favorite blog postings and see who is talking about them. It collects science blogs across domains, so is broad in scope, but I have yet to visit their main page without finding something of interest. A marvelous resource!

PostGenomic: http://www.postgenomic.com/

Staying Current with Science Blogs & Wikis: Slides ; Podcast (zipped)

Posted by pfa at 01:16 PM | Comments (2)

November 21, 2006

SlideShare.net: Ready, Set, Present!

Dr. X. Pertise agreed to speak to a university group at a meeting that is coming up in two days, on a broad topic peripherally related to his own research, but for which he doesn't have appropriate slides. Dr. P. thought there would be plenty of time to just put together something quick, but something unexpected has gone haywire in the lab at the last minute. He doesn't have time to make presentation slides, so he logs onto SlideShare and looks to see if there is a presentation by anyone he knows on this topic, that he could repurpose for this talk, with appropriate attribution to the original author. A few quick keyword searches, and he has found one presentation that has some good images, another presentation with a good conceptual outline, and some recommended resources that he can easily enrich. He knows the authors, so he contacts them to request a copy of their slides. In the meantime, he sends the links to his assistant, and asks them to start assembling new presentation slides that incorporate these bits. Later, he will quickly reorganize the information the way he wants it for the presentation.

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Does this sound too good to be true? Pie-in-the-sky futuring? Well, tah-dah! The future has arrived. SlideShare.net allows people to share their slide presentations. It does not allow people to download the slides, only view them online, but that still can be very useful when assembling ideas in a time-dependent situation. SlideShare is a new service, so the content is still very much growing. Some of the best content is from organizations and government institutions that provide free information as advocates for a specific topic.

Still, you might be surprised what you can find. Examples include presentations on HIPAA and e-mail, four-handed dentistry, medical ethics, professionalism and education, bioinformatics, genomics, the semantic web, craniofacial anomalies, tissue engineering, drug development, and more.

The search interface is particularly sloppy, so you have to do a fair amount of digging once you get to the results. The more specific language is more useful in this circumstance. Like any of the Web 2.0 tools, the quality of what is findable will depend on people who are willing to share their content. If this would be a useful resource to have in the future, consider if it is worth sharing something of yours to make it more useful now.

Posted by pfa at 03:06 PM | Comments (0)

May 24, 2006

Rollyo: Biomaterials Starter Kit

Made another Rollyo last night. Next time you are searching the web for information on biomaterials, try this and see what you think. Let me know if you have recommendations of other sites that would be better than the ones I selected.

Rollyo: pfa: Biomaterials Starter Kit: http://rollyo.com/pfa/biomaterials_starter_kit/

Posted by pfa at 07:01 AM | Comments (0)

May 04, 2006

Free Life Science and Health Books Online

Taken a look at the PubMed Bookshelf lately? Not only are there are several new books (free, fulltext) about public health and global health issues, but you can also search the content of their entire collection of books. For example, a search for matrix metalloproteinases brings back 72 results in 9 books; while a search for ("antibiotic prophylaxis" OR "SBE prophylaxis") gives 90 results in 8 books. Worth checking out. Meanwhile, here are those new books I mentioned.

Posted by pfa at 01:48 PM | Comments (0)

April 14, 2006

How to Write a CV: Online Resources

A number of students have recently been asking for tips and resources about writing curriculum vitae. Many of the best resources for this specifically for students in the health sciences are online. Here is a small selection, including the guidelines for UMMS.

Posted by pfa at 10:38 AM | Comments (0)

January 23, 2006

NLM Exhibits

NLM's new exhibit, Visible Proofs: Forensic Views of the Body, is available for viewing in the Bethesda-based library through February 16, 2006. Just in case you happen to be in the area.

A more accessible exhibit is that on the life and professional contributions of Stanley Jablonski, author of
Illustrated dictionary of dentistry, Illustrated dictionary of syndromes and eponymic diseases, and Multiple Congenital Anomaly/Mental Retardation Syndromes (MCA/MR), among many other important resources. This exhibit is available online at:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/jablonski/index.html

Posted by pfa at 02:35 PM | Comments (0)

January 20, 2006

Resources for Public School Presentations about Dentistry

Many dentists are invited to give presentations to local elementary schools, churches, or parenting groups about dentistry and children. One of the interesting challenges of doing this is coming up with appropriate educational activities for the children. If you are a dentist, hygienist, or student about to speak to a group of children, you may find some of these ideas or resources helpful.

For UM patrons, the Dentistry Library has oversized models of a mouth and toothbrush that can be borrowed and used to demonstrate proper brushing. The library also has books with ideas for these activities, such as:

The Dentistry Library also has many books about dentistry, oral health, and traditions and folklore related to the mouth and teeth. These also may be borrowed and ued to illustrate concepts or to read aloud to a class. While we have many more children's book titles than are listed here, you may want to begin by browsing the exhibit guide for an exhibit we did some years ago on this topic.

In addition to the local resources, there are a number of online resources you may find useful.

Enjoy!

Posted by pfa at 12:34 PM | Comments (0)