Agriculture and Life Sciences News

Feb 09 2010

New Books in Agriculture and Life Sciences

By: Katie Wheeler

Click here to see all books added to the NCSU Libraries in the last week.

Feb 02 2010

New Books in Agriculture and Life Science

By: Katie Wheeler

Click here to see all books added to the NCSU Libraries in the last week.

Feb 01 2010

Websites of Interest

By: Debbie Currie

Climate 1-Stop: Designed as a “single location to access proven climate change tools, resources and information” the Climate 1-Stop website is sponsored by organizations including the National Science Foundation, the UN Development Programme, and the World Resources Institute. First-time visitors to the site may wish to use the “Information Search” area on the right-hand side of the page. Here they will be directed to answer questions such as “What are you looking for?” (i.e. “organizations” and “tools/guidance”) that will help focus in on the most germane resources. The “Community” area at the center of the homepage provides information about a recent climate resource added to the site, along with a “Quick Links” area. Visitors are also encouraged to complete a quick login so that they can add bookmarks to their favorite entries and communicate with other users of the site. Visitors can also sign up for their RSS news feed here.

Singing Insects of North America: How does one distinguish a katydid from a cricket? This website provides an answer to that question, along with samples of calls from other insects, including cicadas. The site was created by Thomas J. Walker and Thomas E. Moore, and it was designed to be of assistance to both professional and amateur biologists interested in studying singing insects. First-time visitors should scroll down to the “How to Use” section in order to get quick and concise answers from the site, such as “How to identify an unknown cricket, katydid, or cicada”. On the top of the homepage, visitors can also click on the “Crickets”, “Katydids”, or “Cicadas” areas. Each of these areas includes a table of species, complete with links to songs, photos, distribution maps, and drawings.

VetPulse: VetPulse is a website designed for veterinary professionals to share original video content, and visitors will find everything from surgery videos to news articles. The site has content and subscribers from over 80 countries, and allows veterinarians and others to peer into the wider world of veterinary medicine. Visitors should click on “Video” in the green tab at the top of the page to see the menu of subchannels from which to choose. Some of the subchannels include “On Location”, where speakers and exhibitors discuss how technological innovations are impacting their veterinary careers. “University Insight” provides video interviews of veterinary professionals at vet schools, and their research and areas of interest. One such interview is with Dorothy McKeegan describing the teaching of animal welfare. Another interview of note is with Stephen May, who discusses the evolution of teaching vet students. The “In Practice” tab, visible once the “Video” tab has been selected, features videos from particular practices or organizations. The videos include surgeries, informal lectures on various ailments, and videos of health checks on zoo animals.