Sites of interest on the World Wide Web—by David Roman
Hans Selye and Stress
Rebecca Anderson’s Reflections piece this month focuses on traumatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress disorder. The popular press has tended to cast PTSD as a problem born of current social exigencies perhaps rightly so but as early as 1936, Hans Selye had proposed some of the original hypotheses surrounding stress adaptations. The idea of “General Adaptation Syndrome” stemmed from experiments he carried out in 1928 and to this day remains the groundwork for understanding physiological responses to stressful stimuli. The story of his experimental work and the impact of his thoughts since the 1930s is nicely told at the Brain Connection (www.brainconnection.com/topics/?main=fa/selye). This page provides an enjoyable, easily navigable look at the man and the field of research that he pioneered. The Brain Connection is more broadly committed to “providing accessible, high-quality information about how the brain works.”
Science Blogs!
Blogger extraordinaire
Net Results has touched on the phenomenon of science blogs in the past, but I have recently “discovered” two that are worth recommending, as they are informative and entertaining. Both are hosted by the ScienceBlogs Web site (scienceblogs.com), each with a different flavor. One blog is penned (typed?) by an anonymous pharmacologist who goes by the pseudonym “Abel Pharmboy,” paying homage in his nom de plume to the father of pharmacology. His (her?) blog, called Terra Sigillata (http://scienceblogs.com/terrasig/), contains commentary on science, politics, pharmacology, and current events, including posts about the recent melamine food contamination occurrences. The other blog is written by Alice Pawley of Purdue University (http://www.scienceblogs.com/sciencewoman). She provides commentary and addresses the challenges of being an Assistant Professor. She also highlights issues of particular interest to women scientists and provides keen and often humorous insights. I think everyone, especially new faculty members, will enjoy reading her blog.
An Internet Tool for Proteomic Research
The Global Proteome Machine Organization (GPM) (www.thegpm.org) provides an impressive array of tools for the researcher involved in the mass spectrometry of proteins. The GPM contains an annotated database of over 50 million peptide fragments that have resulted from protein identification efforts. The tools are easy to use: input the species you’re working from, and upload fragmentation data. Another very useful set of tools comes from the Laboratory of Mass Spectrometry and Gaseous Ion Chemistry at the Rockefeller University (http://prowl.rockefell-er.edu/). This Web site includes PEPTIDEMAP, a tool that identifies modifications on polypeptide sequences, such as phosphory-lation or crosslinking. PEPFRAG and X! TANDEM are used to identify proteins from either one or more tandem mass spectra datasets.
- © American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Theraputics 2008
