Reviews and Resources

The Retroviridae
Jay A. Levy (ed.) Plenum Publishing Corp., New York, $299.95
Reviewed by Roger J. Pomerantz, Thomas Jefferson University

Escherichia coli in Domestic Animals and Humans
C. L. Gyles (ed.). CAB International, Wallingford, Oxon, United Kingdom, 1994, 666 p., $135
Reviewed by Michael P. Doyle, University of Georgia

Internet Directory of Biotechnology
Reviewed by Michael Schmidt, Medical University of South Carolina

The Internet Directory of Biotechnology (http://biotech.chem.indiana.edu/) has as its mission to make this particular WEB site a convenient location for quick access to biology-related resources. The web site is well organized and contains many useful and interesting linkages to biology based resources. The design of this site unique in that it makes information convenient to high schools students as well as post graduates. The manner by which the Internet Directory of Biotechnology accomplishes this task is through hypertext linkages throughout its web pages that offer detailed explanations of concepts, techniques, educational materials, literature resources, internet tools and a dictionary of relevant terms. Especially noteworthy are its linkages to educational guides, educational resources for biology and its on-line dictionary. Topics in the educational guide (Genetics, Nucleic Acids, and Proteins), are written by team members and are intended as supplements to curricula in biology. Specific guides may inform the user about a resource, step them through its use, or include a tutorial problem set on a particular topic. Consequently the user is quickly and easily brought to a level that enables them to use all the resources included in the site. Biotech lives up to its home page claim in that it is an interactive educational resource and biotechnology reference tool. Its worth a look.

The RNA World
Reviewed by Michael Schmidt, Medical University of South Carolina

The RNA World (http://www.imb-jena.de/RNA.html) is a WEB site located at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology in Jena Germany. This particular site has collected and placed at the users disposal world-wide links or URLs of RNA related topics. The management of this site (J. Suhnel) has truly located universal resources for anyone working in the RNA field. Starting with linkages to all the standard genetic databases the site has further collected the addresses of other databases unique to the topic of RNA and homepages critical to active researchers in the field. Especially noteworthy to this location is the Image Library of Biological Macromolecules. Drilling down through the WEB linkages one discovers a nice primer on virtual reality modeling in biology. One such link takes the user to the UCSF MidasPlus - Molecular Display and Simulation System home page. Here the user learns that MidasPlus is an advanced molecular modeling system developed by the Computer Graphics Laboratory (CGL) at the University of California at San Francisco. MidasPlus facilitates the manipulation of proteins and nucleic acids and was developed with an emphasis on the interactive selection, manipulation and docking of drugs and receptors. The RNA World has also surfed the net and located essential software, books, tutorials, meetings and on-line table of contents of journals, specific to the topic of RNA. Consequently, given the breadth and depth available at this site this particular WEB location is a tremendous resource for not only active researchers but for all students of RNA.

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