Merry Christmas!

The Birkbeck Library will be closed for the festive period from Thursday 22^nd December, 4 pm, to 8.30 am on Tuesday 3^rd January 2012. Full details of our opening hours can be found at: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/lib/about/hours

We would like to wish all Birkbeck students and staff and all our followers of the Science blog a Merry Christmas and a creative New Year!

Image credits:

Santa Hat was drawn by Eleni Zazani but textures were taken from:

• Furry texture by Caleb Kimbrough used under CC License

• Red Sparkly Fabric by Jessica Torres used under CC License

UK scientific research to be open access

Greater access to the results of scientific research

A new policy announced by the Science Minister, David Willetts, will ensure that all publicly funded scientific research will in future be available on open access - this article in the Guardian explains more

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/dec/08/publicly-funded-research-open-access

Electronic Resource of the Month

Henderson’s Dictionary of Biology

With over 22,000 entries, Henderson’s Dictionary of Biology is an essential reference for students studying any of the biological sciences. We now have online access to the fifteenth edition (2011) which includes many updated and revised definitions and has included new terms from emerging areas such as stem-cell research.

It gives you clear definitions and explanations and covers a wide range of topics within the biological sciences. It also includes up-to-date classification tables for the kingdoms of living organisms.
 
Try Henderson's Dictionary of Biology
 
More online reference resources for the Biological Sciences

Staying current with the Science Librarian’s Blog

Our blog now features a new way of bringing you content into your mailbox. Simply type your email address into the box provided on the right hand side of the webpage (image 1) and click submit.

Image 1: Email subscription box

Five reasons to subscribe via email or by RSS

1. Time: An email subscription will save you from regularly checking the blog for newly added posts.
2. Stay current & informed: Each time we publish a new post an email alert will immediately reach your inbox, allowing you to keep abreast with the best resources on your subject.
3. It’s easy: Simply follow the instructions given to set up your email subscription. If you later decide to unsubscribe, simply follow the link given at the end of each email alert.
4. Be part of our readers’ community (Birkbeck Library’s blogosphere) and send us your feedback. Your comments are of great value to us. Did you like one of our topics and you want to see more on this subject? Do you have a favourite source you would like to share or a suggestion to help us improve our blog? Click on the comment link found at the end of each post to send us your comments.
5. It’s free!

Wellcome Images for the incurably curious

Do you need a picture for your Science presentation? Would you like to illustrate your academic projects and make them stand out? Why not to explore the Wellcome Images collection!

Wellcome Images is the “the world's leading source of images on the history of medicine, contemporary healthcare, social history, biomedical science and clinical medicine.” The collection contains almost 200,000 images harvesting 2,000 years of the mankind civilization and culture.

The images are available for free when used for educational purposes, under the Creative Commons license. Each image bears at the bottom the credit line: Wellcome Library, London. Remember to include the credit line and an attribution to the creators when mentioned. You do not have to be a registered user to download images, however, when signed in you can personalise your searches, save results, email pictures, etc.

The detailed handout on how to access and use the collections, provided by the Wellcome Library, thoroughly explains how to make the most of the collections. You can also visit the “How do I” section of the website if you are not certain how to find your way around.

Would you like to explore further where else you can find images for your presentations?

If you are a Stratford Birkbeck student why not join us in a free Library workshop on “Finding “free to copy” images for your presentations” on Wednesday 30 November 2011 6.30 pm - 8 pm.

During the workshop you will have the opportunity to:

• Reflect on your image seeking patterns
• Consider your legal responsibilities when using digital images from the web
• Be given a selection of sources of copyright cleared images for enhancing your presentations (publicly shared and HE sources)
• Explore what is considered “acceptable use” when using the Flickr Creative Commons pool
• Discover where to find more help and online tutorials

To book your place, please email our Birkbeck Stratford study skills support team at: clpdstratford@bbk.ac.uk or call on 020 8223 4389 or 020 8223 4386.

My Favourite Scientist

Who is your favourite scientist?  Great Birkbeckian Rosalind Franklin is nominated as one blogger's favourite scientist:  A scientist talks about Rosalind Franklin and her ground-breaking work in the Guardian : http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/nov/09/1

Read more about Rosalind Franklin:

 

Book:
Rosalind Franklin - dark lady of DNA
Web:
Scitable
Wikipedia

Scitable – Online Scientific portal

Scitable is an online scientific website, offered by the editorial teams of Nature Publishing Group, currently focusing on Genetics and Cell Biology, with plans to expand into other areas of life sciences.

Content in Scitable is free to access and use, and all the articles are peer-reviewed by scientists and educators prior to being published.

You can start exploring Scitable by visiting the Topics area, or by choosing a guided path through the Learning Paths for more complex topics, such as Genetic variation and evolution, cancer, etc.

You can also register on the website to connect with other science students or experts in the field, save your favourite articles and join a group.

Do you want to go beyond Scitable? The Birkbeck Library subscribes to the Nature Journal published by the same publishers. To access it outside the college, just search for “Nature” in the ejournals search box, follow the link provided and enter your ITS username and password.

Science resources on your mobile

Would you like to be able to use ScienceDirect and Web of Knowledge on your mobile or iPad?

ScienceDirect now has mobile apps for iPhone, iPad, Blackberry or Android phone. You can download them at http://www.info.sciverse.com/sciverse-mobile-applications/overview and see details of how to register your device at http://www.info.sciverse.com/sciverse-mobile-applications/sciverse-sciencedirect-mobile

Web of Science is also available for mobiles - more details here http://wokinfo.com/about/mobile/ and FAQs about the service here http://wokinfo.com/media/pdf/wok-mobile-faqs.pdf

Welcome to new Science students

Welcome to all new science students at Birkbeck - here are a few links that will tell you a bit more about the Library and the science resources you can make use of during your course.

Information for New Students

Online Library induction tutorial

Biological Sciences resources guide

Chemical Sciences resources guide

Earth & Planetary Sciences resources guide

ScienceDirectTV

Do you prefer learning by watching videos? ScienceDirect has its own YouTube channel with videos showing you how to make the most of this essential science resource http://www.youtube.com/user/ScienceDirectTV

New Ebooks for Earth & Planetary Sciences

Latest ebooks for Earth & Planetary Sciences:

Fossen, H. Structural Geology CUP 2010
http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?451054

Ragan, D Structural Geology CUP 2009
http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?451055

Davidson-Arnott, R Introduction to coastal processes and geomorphology CUP 2010
http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?451057

McSween, H. Cosmochemistry CUP 2010
http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?451053

Taylor, S. Planetary Crusts: their composition, origin and evolution CUP 2009
http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?418426

McKillup, S. Geostatistics Explained CUP 2010
http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?451050

Library Saturday workshops this term

The Library is running workshops during the Summer term on Saturdays at 11am in the Seminar Room on Level 1 of the Library. Those of interest to science students are

May 28th: Keeping up-to-date with current awareness services. 1hr
June 18th: Managing your references with EndNote and EndNote Web 1hr 30 mins
July 9th: Using the Citation Indexes 1hr 30 mins

To see more details, the full programme and to book see http://www.bbk.ac.uk/lib/news/infoskills

Birkbeck Science Week

Birkbeck Science Week events include lectures by Professor Jim Al-Khalili, Professor Gabriel Waksman, Professor Helen Saibil, Dr Philip Hopley, Dr Karen Hudson-Edwards, Professor Jacqueline Barnes and Professor Denis Mareschal. Sign up here: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/science/news/Science%20Week%202011

Some new ebooks

Some new ebooks for Biological Sciences and Earth & Planetary Sciences available now via the Library catalogue:

Carter, John. B. Virology http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?446253
Dunai, T. J. Cosmogenic Nuclides http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?445682 Franklin, T.J and Snow, G.A. Biochemistry and molecular biology of antimicrobial drug action http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?445684 Lackie, J.M. Dictionary of cell and molecular biology http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?446373 McSween, H.Y. and Huss, G.R. Cosmochemistry http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?445683 Ruffell, A. and McKinley, J. Geoforensics http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?447143 Wacey, D Early life on Earth http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?442878 Walford, N. Practical statistics for geographers and earth scientists http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?447144

Sixty Symbols

Sixty Symbols is a collection of fun, easily understandable videos about the symbols used in physics and astronomy and much more, presented by scientists from The University of Nottingham.

http://www.sixtysymbols.com/index.html

Wiley-Blackwell blogs in Earth and Life Sciences

Two blogs I have recently come across from Wiley-Blackwell, the journal publishers, which could help you keep up to date with developments in these two areas:

Earth Sciences http://earth-pages.co.uk/
Life Sciences http://wisciblog.com/

Every couple of weeks a new journal article or book is highlighted and the science around it discussed and, as they are blogs, you can contribute to the discussion too.

International Year of Chemistry

2011 is the International Year of Chemistry http://www.chemistry2011.org/ with activities planned all over the world to promote the public understanding of chemistry.

Here are some of the activities planned in the UK http://www.chemistry2011.org/participate/activities?by_country=1&country=United+Kingdom

New books in the Library for Biology

New books in the Library for Biology - click on the links to see the catalogue record:

• British National Formulary 60 http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?443973
• Enzymes Vol.28 Part B: structure, function and regulation of TOR complexes from Yeasts to Mammals http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?443372
• Brown, T. A. Gene cloning and DNA analysis : an introduction 6th ed. Wiley-Blackwell http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?444496
• Cassimeris, Lynne. Lingappa, Vishwanath R. Plopper, George. Lewin's cells 2nd ed., International ed. Jones and Bartlett http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?438712
• Dale, Jeremy. Schantz, Malcolm von. From genes to genomes : concepts and applications of DNA technology 2nd ed. John Wiley http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?444486
• Davis, Martha. Scientific papers and presentations. Rev. ed. Academic Press http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?444086
• Day, Robert Adams, 1924- Gastel, Barbara. How to write and publish a scientific paper 6th ed. Cambridge University Press http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?444484
• Dewick, Paul M. Medicinal natural products : a biosynthetic approach 3rd ed. Wiley http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?414860
• Gunsalus, I.C.. The Bacteria: A Treatise on Structure and Function – the Biology of Pseudomonas. Academic Press http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?444346
• Hailman, Jack Parker, Strier, Karen B. Planning, proposing, and presenting science effectively : a guide for graduate students and researchers in the behavioral sciences and biology. 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press. http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?444483
• Harmon, Joseph E. Gross, Alan G. The craft of scientific communication. University of Chicago Press ; University Presses Marketing http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?444087
• Hille, Bertil. Ion channels of excitable membranes. 3rd ed. Sinauer. http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?287587
• Hochberg, M. and Ives, A. Parasitoid Population Biology. Princeton University Press. http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?440627
• Hunt, James H. The evolution of social wasps. Oxford University Press. http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?439038
• Katz, Michael Jay. From research to manuscript : a guide to scientific writing. Springer. http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?444420
• Knisely, Karin. A student handbook for writing in biology 3rd ed. Sinauer. http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?443859
• Patrick, Graham L. An introduction to medicinal chemistry. 4th ed. Oxford University Press. http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?442702
• Pechenik, Jan A. A short guide to writing about biology. 7th ed. Longman. http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?444112
• Pinon, Ramon. Biology of human reproduction. University Science Books. http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?444115
• Ramachandran, G.H. and A.H. Reddi. Biochemistry of Collagen Plenum Press http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?444347
• Rose, S., Lewontin, R.C. and Kamin, L.J. Not in Our Genes: Biology, Ideology and Human Nature. Penguin Books http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?93276
• Starkey, Michael P. Elaswarapu, Ramnath. Genomics : essential methods. Wiley-Blackwell. http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?444485
• Stearns, S. C. Hoekstra, Rolf F. Evolution : an introduction 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?439047
• Taiz, Lincoln. Zeiger, Eduardo. Plant Physiology. 5th ed. Sinauer Associates. http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?44
• Tautz, Jurgen. The buzz about bees : biology of a superorganism. Springer. http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?440973
• Walker, John M., Rapley, Ralph. Molecular biomethods handbook 2nd ed. Humana. http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?439281
• Wilson, Keith, Walker, John. Principles and techniques of biochemistry and molecular biology. 7th ed. Cambridge University Press. http://ipac.lib.bbk.ac.uk/hipres/info/permalink.html?437669
  

Nature Protocol Exchange

The Protocol Exchange is an open repository for the sharing of scientific protocols which are made freely available. Scientists can pool their experimental know-how to help accelerate research. Discover the protocols, share a protocol or join a virtual lab group. http://www.nature.com/protocolexchange

Library Saturday workshops

Come and find out how to get the most out of the online resources that the Library offers.

Saturday workshops you may be interested in are:

Introduction to ejournals - Jan 29th
Using the Citation Indexes - Feb 26th
Introduction to Endnote Web - Mar 5th

For more details and to book, go to http://www.bbk.ac.uk/lib/news/infoskills