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Biological & Life Sciences

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Phone: +65 6516 2548 Science Library

This subject guide covers resources available at the NUS Libraries. This is not a comprehensive subject guide, but rather a selective list of materials that are most useful for locating information in Biological & Life Sciences

This guide contains the following sections:

Databases
Journals
Reference Sources
Theses
Library Instruction & Tips
Internet Sources
Research, Citation & Writing Guides
Scholarly Associations and Societies on the Web

Databases

Databases are a good a place to begin research. They may contain articles in journals, papers in conference proceedings, newspapers, chapters in books, reports and reviews.

BIOSIS Previews, 1980 –
Librarian's take: The most comprehensive reference database for life science research. Covers original research reports and reviews in traditional and interdisciplinary biological and biomedical areas.
For records from 1927-1979 consult the Biological Abstracts printed volumes at Medical/Science Library Reference 11 collection.

A brief tutorial for searching BIOSIS Previews is available at: http://scientific.thomson.com/tutorials/biosis/ (the publisher)

Guides for searching BIOSIS Previews available at:
http://www.lib.nus.edu.sg/lion/slb/d/biosis_2page.pdf (NUS Libraries)

Science Citation Index Expanded, 1980-
Librarian's take: A multi-disciplinary index to more than 8500 of the most prestigious and high impact scientific journals. It is unique for its citation index and related record search capability.

A brief tutorial for searching Science Citation Index Expanded available at:
http://scientific.thomson.com/tutorials/wos7/ (the publisher)

Guides for searching Science Citation Index Expanded (Basic Search) available at:
http://www.lib.nus.edu.sg/lion/slb/d/WOS-basic_2page.pdf (NUS Libraries)

Guides for searching Science Citation Index Expanded (Advanced Search) available at: http://www.lib.nus.edu.sg/lion/slb/d/WOS-adv_2page.pdf (NUS Libraries)

Zoological Record, 1978 –
Librarian's take: Covers all aspects of zoology including behavior, biochemistry, development, ecology, evolution, feeding and nutrition, genetics, morphology, parasitology, reproduction, systematics, techniques, physiology and zoogeography.
For records from 1864 -1977 consult the Zoological Record printed volumes at Medical/Science Library Reference 11 collection.

A brief tutorial for searching Zoological Record available at: http://www.scientific.thomson.com/tutorials/zr/ (the publisher)

Guides for searching Zoological Record available at: http://www.lib.nus.edu.sg/lion/slb/d/zoo_2page.pdf (NUS Libraries)

PubMed, 1950 –
Librarian's take: A free database service provided by the U.S. National Library of Medicine and includes over 17 million citations from MEDLINE and other life science journals for biomedical articles back to the 1950s. PubMed includes links to full text articles and other related resources.

A brief tutorial for searching PubMed available at:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/pubmed_tutorial/m1001.html (the publisher)

Biological Science, 1982 –
Librarian's take: An interdisciplinary database offers areas in biomedicine, biotechnology, zoology and ecology, and some aspects of agriculture and veterinary science.

Biotechnology and Bioengineering Abstracts, 1982 –
Librarian's take: Provides bibliographic coverage of ground-breaking research, applications, regulatory developments and new patents across all areas of biotechnology and bioengineering, including medical, pharmaceutical, agricultural, environmental and marine biology.

Aquatic Science & Fisheries Abstracts, 1971 –
Librarian's take: A premier database in aquatic sciences covering global developments in the science, technology, and management of marine, freshwater, and brackishwater environments and organisms.

For more Biological Sciences databases, click on Database by Subject, then on Biological & Life Sciences for a complete list of E-resources databases available at NUS.

More databases available at: NUS Libraries> E-Resources> Databases

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Journals

Bioinformatics
Cell
Journal of Cell Science
Journal of Molecular Biology
Journal of Zoology : Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London
Molecular and Cellular Biology
Molecular Biology
Molecular Biology of the Cell
Nature
Plant Cell Reports
Plant Physiology
Plant Physiology and Biochemistry
Science
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
The Journal of Experimental Zoology
The Plant Cell
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society

More E-Journals available at: NUS Libraries> E-Resources> EJournals

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Reference Sources

This is a select list of reference sources that give background information including broad overview, definitions, key issues, major dates or events, keywords and bibliographies.

Current Protocols
These are manuals that are known for their scope and reliability in providing resources for new as well as tried-and-true methods.

Current Protocols in Molecular Biology
Librarian's take: Provides basic methods for DNA preparation and isolation, library screening, and sequencing, advanced procedures detailing DNA-protein interactions, yeast manipulation, and phosphorylation analysis.

Current Protocols in Cell Biology
Librarian's take: Focuses on techniques particularly applicable to cell biology. An authoritative and indispensable guide for all life scientists and researchers who are looking to improve their understanding of cell biology methods.

Current Protocols in Bioinformatics
Librarian's take: Shows how to select the right software parameters, analyze data, interpret results, generate hypotheses, and advance research to new levels. It includes a valuable appendix on user fundamentals and a glossary of bioinformatics terms.
Available at Medical/Science Library Information Desk.

Current Protocols in Protein Science
Librarian's take: Provides a practical compilation of available protein methods. It includes procedures for the expression, characterization, and purification of recombinant proteins as well as post-translational modification and structural characterization.
Available at Medical/Science Library Information Desk.
Click here for a list of Current Protocols available at Science Library

Dictionaries, Encyclopedia & Handbooks

Encyclopedia of Life Sciences
Librarian's take: One of the most comprehensive reference sources in the biological sciences area. It comprises of 4,000 specially commissioned, peer-reviewed articles. Articles written by leaders in the field provide comprehensive and authoritative coverage. Updated monthly.

CRCnetBASE
Librarian's take: This is a collection of handbooks published by CRC press via the Internet. It is organised into several specialized databases such as FORENSICnetBASE and PHARMACEUTICALnetBASE.

Nomina: Global Bird Dictionary
Librarian's take: A CD-ROM with over 30,000 scientific and 27,000 common names of all the species of birds listed in the most widely used global taxonomies of the last fifty years. Information includes classification anomalies, fauna regions, sub-species, lineage and common names.
Available at Medical/Science Library Information Desk

Etymological Dictionary of Grasses
Librarian's take: A CD-ROM that introduces the terminology of grasses which is one of the largest and economically most important plant families. It is an extensive dictionary of all presently used names and derivations in grass taxonomy, a glossary of terms used in describing grass features, a literature overview of most important references and a list of scientists working in this field.
Available at Medical/Science Library Information Desk

An Illustrated Dictionary of Fish and Shellfish
Librarian's take: A CD-ROM contains over 900 commercially important species of fish and shellfish in the international fishing trade, fisheries science and fish biology. Descriptions of weight and size, geographical maps, fishing methods and common food preparations are all included. Species names are listed in up to 22 different languages.
Available at Medical/Science Library Information Desk

BioTech's Life Science Dictionary
Librarian's take: This is a BioTech Resources Web Project at University of Texas at Austin and deals mainly with biochemistry, biotechnology, botany, cell biology and genetics. This dictionary is searchable with hypertext links to explanations of terminology used in the descriptions.

The Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology
Librarian's take: It is intended to provide quick access to easily-understood and cross-referenced definitions of terms frequently encountered in reading the modern biology literature.

For other background sources, search the Library catalogue, LINC at http://linc.nus.edu.sg/.

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Theses

NUS Theses

Selected theses & academic exercises received from the NUS Biological Sciences Department are kept in the Medical/Science Library Closed Stacks under call number QC9 (Biological Sciences), QK3 (Botany), QL3 (Zoology) and QR74 (Molecular & Cell Biology).

More on how to search NUS theses available at: http://www.lib.nus.edu.sg/lion/l/wtheses.html.

Foreign Theses

Index to Theses with Abstracts accepted for Higher Degrees by the Universities of Great Britain and Ireland (E-Resource)
Listing of theses with abstracts accepted for higher degrees by universities of Great Britain and Ireland since 1716.

Guide to searching Index to Theses with Abstracts accepted for Higher Degrees by the Universities of Great Britain and Ireland available at: http://www.theses.com/idx/registered_users/search/Search_help.htm

Proquest Dissertations & Theses Database (PQDT) (E-Resource)
A comprehensive database of dissertations and theses records from around the world. Where available, PQDT provides 24 page previews of dissertations and theses. It allows natural language searching and the menu-driven search facility help users find information quickly and easily.

Guide to searching Proquest Dissertations & Theses Database available at: http://proquest.umi.com/i-std/en/dis/basic/basic.htm

More foreign theses databases are available at: NUS Libraries> E-Resources> Databases by Type> Theses & Dissertations

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Library Instruction & Tips

This is a list of customized "How to search" Library sessions teaching users how to search specific databases, Library catalogue, etc.. It may include notes on how to use specific resources.

Library Information Skills Session for Biological Sciences Honours/Graduate Students

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Internet Sources

AGRIS/CARIS
The international information system for the agricultural sciences and technology. The system identifies worldwide literature (both conventional and non-conventional; the so-called "grey" literature), dealing with all aspects of agriculture. CARIS is the Current Agricultural Research Information System, which identifies projects dealing with information on agriculture. Both are indexing databases produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Animal Genome Size Database
A comprehensive catalogue of animal genome size data of vertebrates and invertebrates. It includes chromosome numbers and size (in haploid C-values) for over 2900 vertebrates and invertebrates, from sponges to sapiens.

Arabidopsis Information Resource
Arabidopsis thaliana is a small flowering plant that is widely used as a model organism in plant biology. This site archived 117 million bases sequenced by a collection of labs around the world. This database is searchable by genetic markers, clones, etc. It also has links to analyze proteins as well as rules for naming a gene.

Biocontrol Network
This site is for those interested in Integrated Pest Management Solution for pest control and offers alternatives to "conventional" chemical pesticides and fertilizers for agriculture, horticulture, commercial and residential use. It also has preventative management resources such as bio-intensive pest control, organic farm and garden products, and educational materials.

Biological Procedures Online
An open access-based journal of research methods in the medical and biological sciences areas.

BIRDNET
Provides information about ornithology. The site is a service provided by the Ornithological Council, a public information organization involving ten North American professional ornithological societies. It also provides links to other related ornithology sites.

Iowa State Entomology Index of Internet Resources
A directory and search engine of insect-related resources on the Internet. Entries are organized alphabetically within categories or one can search by keyword.

Forensic Entomology.com
The use of insect knowledge in the investigation of crimes or even civil disputes. It includes collection of entomological evidence, forensic entomology case histories and bibliography of this subject. Links to sites include forensic entomology, forensic science and entomology.

Forensic Entomology, or Medicocriminal Entomology
This is an official site of the American Board of Forensic Entomology and provides an introduction in the area of forensic entomology.

Plants For a Future Database
This searchable database of useful plants covers 7000 species worldwide. Information includes plant physical characteristics, cultivation, propagation and its uses.

The Plymouth Culture Collection of Marine Algae
The main Plymouth Collection consists of some 280 strains from 71 genera of marine phytoplankton. It has a searchable database and online order form.

Protocols Online
A database of research protocols in a variety of life science fields. The protocols were contributed by worldwide researchers as well as links to web protocols hosted by worldwide research labs, biotech companies, and personal web sites.

Searchable Databases of the New York Botanical Garden
It includes the CATALPA (CATAlog for Library Public Access); Herbarium Specimen Catalog; Index Herbariorum; Index to American Botanical Literature; North American Bryophyte Herbaria and the NYBG Living Collections.

The Andean Botanical Information System (ABIS)
This site provides information from the floristic and systematic investigations of the phanerogams (flowering plants) of Andean South America. It presents research on selected geographic regions or groups of Andean plants, including the flora of coastal Peru and Chile, floristic inventories of montane forests of northern Peru, and monographic treatments with online images.

The International Plant Names Index (IPNI)
This is a database of the names and associated basic bibliographical details of all seed plants.

The Plant Pathology Internet Guide Book (PPIGB)
This is a subject oriented internet resource guide for plant pathology, applied entomology, and all related fields.

TreeBASE : a database of phylogenetic knowledge
This is a relational database of phylogenetic information and stores phylogenetic trees data from published research papers.

USDA Plants Database
PLANTS were created to replace the National List of Scientific Names published by the National Resources Conservation Service. It provides a single source of general information about the plant kingdom to researchers and other people interested in plants.

Vascular Plant Type Catalog
A catalogue of approximately 89,202 vascular plant type specimens accompanied with digital images. This database also has basic information from all types in these families. There is an alphabetical list of available families listing the taxa for that family.

Additional sources of information on biological sciences can also be found at the following sites:

Biological Control & Sustainable Horticulture

Harvard University, Dept. of Molecular and Cellular Biology : Biology LInks

Noble Foundation Library : Agricultural & Biological Links

WWW Virtual Library: Mycology

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