- Email: [email protected]
Laboratory Skills
Pancreatology and the Web Pancreatology 2007;7:7–8 DOI: 10.1159/000099002
Published online: January 25, 2007
Laboratory Skills Gwen Lomberk Gastroenterology Research Unit, Saint Mary’s Hospital, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn., USA
Abstract Many of us have entered a laboratory and not known where to begin. Many of us have also had to venture into trying new techniques we have never done before to accomplish our research goals. Others are trying to run their laboratories as efficiently as possible without losing integrity and accuracy. This issue of ‘Pancreatology and the Web’ considers these aspects of basic laboratory skills, whether you direct your own laboratory, manage people and projects in a laboratory, or work in a laboratory, highlighting some websites that are useful resources for laboratory information. Copyright © 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel and IAP
Protocol Online: Your Laboratory’s Reference Book: http://www.protocol-online.org/
The Protocol-Online website is an extremely valuable resource for life scientists seeking comprehensive information on laboratory protocols and methods for virtually all fields of the life sciences. The site also features the titles and links to important publications just out in Nature, Science and Cell, among others. If you have a protocol and are just having technical issues or questions, you can participate in the BioForum, in which scientists post and discuss issues to help one another.
Lab Manager Magazine: http://www.labmgr.com/
This website, which features Lab Manager Magazine, strives to provide the most current thinking and trends in all areas of laboratory management. At this website, you can register to receive the magazine electronically for free. Their mission is to help laboratory managers of every discipline balance good administrative practices with good science in order to promote scientific
© 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel and IAP 1424–3903/07/0071–0007$23.50/0 Fax +41 61 306 12 34 E-Mail [email protected] www.karger.com
Accessible online at: www.karger.com/pan
Gwen Lomberk, PhD Gastroenterology Research Unit Saint Mary’s Hospital, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine Rochester, MN 55905 (USA) E-Mail [email protected]
analysis and discovery. The coverage includes topics common to laboratories in industry, government, medicine, research, academia and biotechnology. In addition, the website has a useful list of upcoming meetings and conferences that cover not only scientific topics, but also managerial topics.
PubCrawler: http://pubcrawler.gen.tcd.ie/
PubCrawler is a wonderful free service that automatically scans daily updates to the NCBI Medline (PubMed) and GenBank databases and sends the user an e-mail containing links to new entries that match their chosen research interests. PubCrawler helps to keep scientists informed of the current contents of Medline and GenBank, which is especially useful for those of us who do not find time to do database searches often enough. The website allows the user to set up the key parameters of words, authors and/or topics for which alerts would be sent, and also to choose how often the information is sent. The e-mailed results are presented as an HTML web page, similar to the results of an NCBI PubMed or Entrez query, with direct links to the article or Genbank record.
Bio.com: http://www.bio.com/
This website is an excellent resource for online protocols ranging from specific protocols for different organisms to protocols working with DNA, RNA, protein and even chromatin. The site also features research as well as industry news. In addition, there is an online book store where the user can purchase common scientific protocol books. Finally, a Career Center allows the user to search for jobs, post jobs and seek advice for jobs. To follow on the heels of our editor-in-chief’s recent editorial entitled ‘I got my own laboratory! And now what?’ (Pancreatology Oct 2006;6:III–V), I have chosen these websites to cover an assortment of common laboratory skills. I, personally, have found various aspects of each of these websites useful at different stages during my career, and hope that you find your own valuable uses for them as well. Gwen Lomberk, PhD Scientific Editorial Assistant
8
Pancreatology 2007;7:7–8
Pancreatology and the Web
Published online: January 25, 2007
Laboratory Skills Gwen Lomberk Gastroenterology Research Unit, Saint Mary’s Hospital, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn., USA
Abstract Many of us have entered a laboratory and not known where to begin. Many of us have also had to venture into trying new techniques we have never done before to accomplish our research goals. Others are trying to run their laboratories as efficiently as possible without losing integrity and accuracy. This issue of ‘Pancreatology and the Web’ considers these aspects of basic laboratory skills, whether you direct your own laboratory, manage people and projects in a laboratory, or work in a laboratory, highlighting some websites that are useful resources for laboratory information. Copyright © 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel and IAP
Protocol Online: Your Laboratory’s Reference Book: http://www.protocol-online.org/
The Protocol-Online website is an extremely valuable resource for life scientists seeking comprehensive information on laboratory protocols and methods for virtually all fields of the life sciences. The site also features the titles and links to important publications just out in Nature, Science and Cell, among others. If you have a protocol and are just having technical issues or questions, you can participate in the BioForum, in which scientists post and discuss issues to help one another.
Lab Manager Magazine: http://www.labmgr.com/
This website, which features Lab Manager Magazine, strives to provide the most current thinking and trends in all areas of laboratory management. At this website, you can register to receive the magazine electronically for free. Their mission is to help laboratory managers of every discipline balance good administrative practices with good science in order to promote scientific
© 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel and IAP 1424–3903/07/0071–0007$23.50/0 Fax +41 61 306 12 34 E-Mail [email protected] www.karger.com
Accessible online at: www.karger.com/pan
Gwen Lomberk, PhD Gastroenterology Research Unit Saint Mary’s Hospital, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine Rochester, MN 55905 (USA) E-Mail [email protected]
analysis and discovery. The coverage includes topics common to laboratories in industry, government, medicine, research, academia and biotechnology. In addition, the website has a useful list of upcoming meetings and conferences that cover not only scientific topics, but also managerial topics.
PubCrawler: http://pubcrawler.gen.tcd.ie/
PubCrawler is a wonderful free service that automatically scans daily updates to the NCBI Medline (PubMed) and GenBank databases and sends the user an e-mail containing links to new entries that match their chosen research interests. PubCrawler helps to keep scientists informed of the current contents of Medline and GenBank, which is especially useful for those of us who do not find time to do database searches often enough. The website allows the user to set up the key parameters of words, authors and/or topics for which alerts would be sent, and also to choose how often the information is sent. The e-mailed results are presented as an HTML web page, similar to the results of an NCBI PubMed or Entrez query, with direct links to the article or Genbank record.
Bio.com: http://www.bio.com/
This website is an excellent resource for online protocols ranging from specific protocols for different organisms to protocols working with DNA, RNA, protein and even chromatin. The site also features research as well as industry news. In addition, there is an online book store where the user can purchase common scientific protocol books. Finally, a Career Center allows the user to search for jobs, post jobs and seek advice for jobs. To follow on the heels of our editor-in-chief’s recent editorial entitled ‘I got my own laboratory! And now what?’ (Pancreatology Oct 2006;6:III–V), I have chosen these websites to cover an assortment of common laboratory skills. I, personally, have found various aspects of each of these websites useful at different stages during my career, and hope that you find your own valuable uses for them as well. Gwen Lomberk, PhD Scientific Editorial Assistant
8
Pancreatology 2007;7:7–8
Pancreatology and the Web