Hunt for Alien Worlds - Are we alone? That's the hot topic in this neighbourhood of NOVA online, produced by the US Public Broadcasting Service in conjunction with its popular science TV series. Setting the mood with a computer-generated image of an imaginary world, this well organised section details the search for Earth-like planets orbiting other stars. The articles are fairly superficial, being aimed at the non-scientist and the young, but are by specialists who manage the trick of writing in magazine style, while arousing the reader's curiosity and maintaining accuracy of content. For those who want to learn more, there are links to the latest research on extrasolar planets. Amateur astronomers will find tips on backyard stargazing, with descriptions of the constellations and star maps showing the positions of recently discovered planets. An informative, easy to navigate site that's good looking, and should persuade anyone to pull out their telescope. (8 December 2001) JAS
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/worlds/
Ranger Rick - This is the website of the children's magazine of the (US) National Wildlife Federation of the same name, aimed at 7-12 year olds. As with many magazine sites, this one serves as a teaser to induce people to buy the print magazine or take out a subscription, a tactic which we certainly can't criticise ourselves! Unlike some, this offers a reasonable selection of material online to make the visit worthwhile, rather than simply an online ad for the magazine. Visitors can read some features from the current issue, there's an activity of the month, you can "Ask Scarlett" your nature questions, links to resources for "homework help" and lots of "cool stuff" such as reader riddles, games and quizzes. Considering that about 5 years of issues are archived on the site, there is a wealth of material here for children interested in nature. (19 October 2001) KN
http://www.nwf.org/rangerrick/index.html
Internet Archaeology - Billed as 'the first fully refereed electronic journal for archaeology', Internet Archaeology (published by the Council for British Archaeology) provides a forum for academic articles on current and recent research. Start with the Site Map for either searching by theme such as Anthropology, Ceramic Studies, Environment, In the Field or by keyword, or to access the indexes of archived journals. Be warned, though: as with any academic journal, Internet Archaeology has been set up by and for specialists rather than the curious layperson (expect such article titles as 'The application of high resolution fluxgate gradiometery as an aid to excavation planning and strategy formulation'), and you can only access the full text of articles if you are dialling in from an authorised network. But for anyone studying or working (or wishing to publish) in the subject, this is an important online resource. (15 July 2001) DD
http://intarch.ac.uk/
Canadian Medical Association Journal - The Internet is a fantastic resource, enabling online journals to reach greater audiences more rapidly than has ever been previously possible. It has so revolutionised journal publishing that many now advocate the philosophy of providing free full-text access to all life science journals. eCMAJ, the online home of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, a peer-reviewed international medical journal, provides free-online access to the complete editorial contents of the printed journal. The site also hosts a variety of extra features, which don't appear in the printed version. For example, in addition to providing online news articles, eCMAJ's eLetters service allows letters to the editor to be published online just 24 hours after submission. For those with a busy schedule, eCMAJ's table of contents and abstracts can even be downloaded onto your PDA, enabling you to browse the latest issue while on the move. A French version of the site, JAMCél, is also available. (30 June 2001) LH
http://www.cma.ca/cmaj/
Scientific American Fronteirs - The happy face of Alan Alda, he of eternal M.A.S.H. fame, graces the pages of this web site for a television documentary series from PBS. Co-produced with the Scientific American magazine, which lends its name to the series, topics range from animal life to space exploration. Each season is built up around a number of topics, each of which gets its own microsite with information and research material. There is also a section for educators, with in-depth material for use in the classroom. Of special note is the Special Features section, with video footage and interactive shockwave pages. The overall purpose of this web site is to teach and preach science in an exiting and fun way, and it is a task well done. (16 June 2001) TG
http://www.pbs.org/saf/index.html
Science in Africa - Science in Africa is a brand new on-line science Magazine covering a wide range of scientific and health issues over the whole of the African Continent. Edited by a team of enthusiastic scientists and updated daily, the journal's first articles have been sent in by invitation and more are invited from all areas. To give an idea, the March issue includes Fighting Bilharzia a Natural Way, Rock paintings, Cassava Mosaic Virus, Solar Cooking and more. Some articles are in a brief form, and if you're interested the whole article is just a click away; they all carry excellent links, etc. Like any good magazine, it also features jobs, events, fundings, organizations and so on. Aimed at an African public, anybody with an interest in or has links with Africa is bound to want to register and have Science in Africa delivered monthly. (15 May 2001) CCL
http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/
Nordic Journal of Philosophical Logic - Philosophical logic is an area of thought that is closely related to mathematics and statistics. A prime example is the study of game theory, which uses math and philosophy to solve classic problems like how to win tic-tac-toe, or rather, why it may be impossible to make a winning strategy. The Nordic Journal of Philosophical Logic is published by the Department of Philosophy, University of Oslo. Key articles from each issue are published on their web site. Although the final issue was published as PDF only, previous articles were published as HTML with optional formats available for printing professional copies. The site is easy to navigate, but the search function did not work when we tried it. (3 May 2001) TG
http://www.hf.uio.no/filosofi/njpl/
PreText Magazine - Few online magazines offer such intelligent, structured debate on Internet-related subjects. Tackling key issues such as web privacy, the effect of Internet on today's youth and the lesser known history of the Net, PreText is engaging and relevant, and because it doesn't run ads or take subscriptions, it remains that rare commodity: a profit-free, purely informative site. (12 April 2001) NNS
http://www.pretext.com/
Once Upon a Tree - In this web page for the children's TV show on Discovery's Animal Planet, Oakley, the oldest tree in the forest, welcomes you to "explore my forest through this wild new web site." Unfortunately the virtual strangler vines seem to have taken root in this forest, as about half of the site's already meagre collection of links are as dead as a stump. Beyond the fact that the site doesn't seem to contain any science even by a five-year-old's definition it just doesn't branch out anywhere. Links promise to tell you about the day's story or give you the lyrics to 'tree tunes' but instead give you a 404 error. Likewise for a scroll-down bestiary of the forest's denizens collectively known as 'twiggets' that promises a colouring book page for each modern day dryad. One page of character profiles seems to be up and running, and includes a 'tree-mail' address for each, but one can't help wondering how many kids' messages have got 'lost in the woods', as it were. Perhaps things will improve in this forest after the tears of all those disappointed children have watered its rootsŠ (31 March 2001) MN
http://www.onceuponatree.com/
