NCBI offers onsite training at WSU
The National Center for Biotechnology Information will be hosting "A Field Guide to GenBank and NCBI Molecular Biology Resources" at Wayne State University from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 20. The free event, which was funded by the WSU's MCBI Node, a part of the Michigan Technology Tri-Corridor, will provide a lecture and hands-on computer workshop in GenBank and related databases covering effective use of the Entrez databases and search service, the BLAST similarity search engine, genome data and related resources. To register, please visit http://bioinformatics.wayne.edu/register-ncbi/register.html. For more information on the course, please go to http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Class/FieldGuide/.
AAMC seeks presentations for educational technology conference
The Association of American Medical Colleges is soliciting abstracts for presentations on multimedia and information technology in medical education. The presentations will be part of the Slice of Life Conference, June 14 through 18, in Portland, Ore. The event is co-sponsored by the AAMC, the University of Utah Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library and Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine. A variety of presentation formats are encouraged, from small-group "hands-on" training to plenary presentations. The submission deadline for abstracts has been extended to Feb. 1. For more information, please visit
http://www.aamc.org/meetings/specmtgs/sliceoflifeconf05/.
NAS releases reports on animal research, scientific education research
The National Academy of Sciences has recently published a revised report, "Science, Medicine, and Animals," that explains to students and the lay public the importance of animals to the field of biomedical research. It addresses the history of animal research and how it continues today, and gives an overview of some of the medical advances that would not have been possible without animal models. The report also examines the regulations and oversight governing animal use, as well as efforts to use animals more humanely and efficiently.
A new report on research in education, also produced by the NAS, offers recommendations from a committee convened by the National Research Council. The creators of "Advancing Scientific Research in Education" believe that a strong base of scientific knowledge is needed to inform educational policy and practice. Their report makes select recommendations for strengthening scientific education research and targets federal agencies, professional associations and universities to take the lead in advancing the field. For more information, please visit http://www.nap.edu.