Reviews

Reviews and Resources

Virus Ultra Structure
Reviewed by Erica Suchman, Colorado State University, Fort Collins

The Virus Ultra Structure page is maintained by Linda Stannard at the Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Cape town. The page states that it "is designed primarily as an introductory manual for students of virology". Therefore, this review will address primarily its potential use by students. The current format includes 3 "information options": 1) Principals of virus structure, 2) Electron Microscopy, How Images are Created Using Negative Staining, and 3) Electron Microscopic (EM) Images of DNA and RNA Viruses.

I found both the principals of virus structure and explanation of negative staining to be very informative, clearly written and easy to understand. Students will gain a better understanding of virus structure, and how it is analyzed by using this page.

The EM images of viruses were beautiful, and could be quickly and accurately printed. However, at this time the page contains only 9 images. The page says it is constantly under construction and always looking for new EM images to include. An email address is given for people interested in submitting EM images. Although many of the EM images in the "Great Big Picture Book of Viruses" are links to the Virus Ultra Structure page, this page is not linked to the "Great Big Picture Book of Viruses" page. This might be a useful link for students whom are using this page and interested in looking at other EM images of viruses.

I found this site to be well organized, visually pleasing, easy to get around, although brief. This site is well worth a visit from students interested in learning about viruses and how they are visualized, or professors interested in obtaining EM images for use in their courses. One note, these images are copy right protected, therefore, they should only be used accordingly.

The Cell Biology Lab Manual
Reviewed by Neal R. Chamberlain, Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine

The Cell Biology Lab Manual is excellent. Dr. Heidcamp at Gustavus Adolphus College, in St. Peter, Minn., has created an extensive and complete manual. The purpose of the manual is to provide an on-line source of cell biology labs, provide fast and easy access to other cell biology sources, globalize cell biology instruction, and lower the cost of education for future scientists. The manual contains 15 chapters (Microscope, Histochemistry, Cell Fractionation, Electrophoresis, Enzymes, etc.) and 10 appendixes. Each chapter has a very detailed introduction and then a number of actual experiments that can be performed. The experiments are very detailed and even indicate what supplies are needed as well as explicit intructions on what to do. What is even more exciting is that these materials can be copied and used for educational purposes without paying a fee. The only requirement is to let Dr. Heidcamp know the purpose for using the manual and how many copies you will make. The site is very easy to use and navigate. The last update of this manual occured on 21 July 1996. This on-line manual would be of use to anyone teaching cell biology courses. Several of the labs would also be useful in biochemistry or microbiology courses.

For more information, send email to Executivedirector@asmusa.org