Neat Science Resources

I've learned from the Adult Science Jokes thread that there are a number of fellow science geeks on this board. I'm not sure how many of you get excited about online tutorials on instrumentation, but I was thrilled when I found a brief introduction to flow cytometry. I thought maybe someone else would be interested, too. And even if you're not, maybe you'll know of something that will come in handy for me sometime.

So that's the reason behind starting this thread. If you happen to come across any neat science-y online resources, this is the place to share. Any scientific topic is welcome! Biology, psychology, physics, engineering, materials science... and so forth! Scientific writing and teaching techniques are always handy, too.
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My mom frequently uses video clips from The Futures Channel to add to her lectures when she is substituting K-12 Math and Science classes.

 

I've posted it before, but I don't think I could let a thread like this go by without linking to Khan Academy. At this point almost all of the material there is math or sciences related, so I think it counts. I believe there are plans to expand into lib arts and softer stuff in the future, but as far as I know Salman Khan is still doing all of the lectures himself, so it's understandable that these things would take some time.

 

If you're into science, then I've got a doozy for you...

arXiv
arXiv.org e-Print archive

This is THE archive for electronic preprints of scientific papers in the fields of mathematics, physics, astronomy, computer science, quantitative biology, statistics, and quantitative finance which can be accessed online.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ArXiv

Hosted at Cornell University Library where's it been since it transferred from the original XXX server at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Started in 1991, I've been on it browsing around since 1995 (found it with Archie under xxx.lanl.gov)

It has one of the most extensive collections of science papers anywhere. (cutting edge too, and then some)
And ANYONE can submit.
It is not "peer reviewed" so there is no "elitism" or "exclusivity"...but moderators do review...and will put the "off-topic" things elsewhere.
And there is an Endorsement protocol, so those certain papers can be forwarded up.

While I haven't submitted as of yet, (I'm still working out some details on my ideas including review with professionals...),
it is an incredible resource and find for science geeks....if only just to read.


Enjoy, I know I have.

 

Center for Internet Security
Center for Internet Security

This one is a good one for you IT SMEs out there.
Anyone who's a serious player in IT should know their security.

And this is one of those places that are on the "need to know" list.
Focusing on criteria and protocol that "White Hat" use to lock down their environs.

Hey, let the other guy get hacked...at least you don't have to sweat it as much.
I've ended up always being the guy to hunt & peck, looking for those holes.
Why? I don't mind people who "tunnel", etc...hell, I've done it myself out of curiousity.

But when I'm on the other side, I don't want to have to deal with the BS of people wandering in on my watch.
Besides, anyone knows that insiders are usually your culprit doing stupidity where they shouldn't
And again, if your door is locked, then bums can't stumble in and mess up your place.

Auditing, monitoring, inquiries, probing, techniques, etc... are all listed in here.
Much criteria is taken from NIST (National Insitute of Standards & Technology),
The U.S. federal government's dept of scientists and engineers which provide "Specifications, tolerances, and other technical requirements for weighing and measuring devices",
including uber-geeks who "get into" what it takes to get into places and what it takes to prevent them...

Now, not ALL criteria needs to be followed...these are all GUIDELINES
You can interpret what is necessary for your environ and setup.
And even then there will be different things necessary for each platform, app, process and server within that.

I hate damn security testing apps that note criteria not filled, as "Fail"
Well, guess what, it might not be an actual and literal failure...but simply either something you've noted and decided to except
or it might be an "interpretation" of that protocol by whatever dev wrote the damn code for the app that day.

-----------------------------

So, at least you've got a more formal entity that you can refer to when talking to the "powers that be" in your company.
And sometimes that's half the battle.

 

Too true, but I think that should be done for everything, even "established scientists" having been peer reviewed in "proven publications".
Even science has its fads and groupies.
And serious & sober professionals although not ignorant, enjoy their bliss too.

 

EurekAlert.org
EurekAlert! - Science News

Operated by the American Association for the Advancement of Science,
this site lists current press releases from thousands of research centers and institutions.
You must be a member of the media or a public information officer to access parts of the site,
but most public press releases and announcements are easily searchable on any scientific topic from agriculture to space science.


compliments of the Baltimore Science News Examiner

 

Freepatentsonline.com

Think you’ve developed something patentable?
This site is among the most powerful online patient search engines.

 

But before you build that thing that needs a patent,
maybe you need money to research, design it...or leverage it after the fact.

Grants.net
A clearinghouse of funding opportunities
bringing calls for proposals together in one convenient place.

 

eFunda.com

All the fundamental engineering principles you’ve probably forgotten can be found at this site.
Included are formulas, unit conversion, a design center, interactive periodic tables and more...

hmm...I don't seem enough time ever...

 

Thanks for the potential read, I'm actually reading "God Created The Integers" edited by Hawking, but I'm always looking for a new one.
If you like the book you referred to, I don't know if you saw this article on the new self-healing plastic
http://www.bgr.com/2012/03/29/scientists-create-self-healing-plastic-the-holy-grail-of-material-science/

I think this is similar, or incorporates aspects of the subject, but I could be wrong...you know better than I do.
My specialty is more Dimensional Physics

 

Don't want to spend a ton of money on a graphing calculator??
Or it broke, and you need one quick?

MathGV.com
Provides a mathematical function graphing program for all types of common scientific and engineering applications.
Created by independent software developer Greg VanMullem, this program is easy to use and very functional. (freeware for now)

 

If you're into proteomics, here's a basic one for you. PRIDE, the Proteomics Identification database.
PRIDE

 

Very cool.

I developed on something somewhat similar at a Biotech firm 13 years ago in San Diego. (was Idun Pharmaceuticals )
It's wasn't on the web, it was a customized client/server app.
They combined an Oracle database and ChemDraw (a graphics tool to make molecular structures)

The company wanted a respository for their experimentations & research.
So basically a database of molecular formulas (in string format)

It was my job to get them in there...since I was the DBA. (Oracle 7 database, recommended upgrade to Oracle 8...ooo, screaming)
You know how hard it is to get formulas into string format back then??? (no they didn't have LOBs)

But the interface allowed you to draw out a structure graphically, it would translate it into a formula string.
then it would search out the DB for similar strings,
and bring back them in graphic structure output.

Amazing what they can do these days.
<--- ancient man of 44