Celebration of cellular wonders

The natural world has more wonders than we can ever hope to see in a lifetime. But you can always make a start somewhere, and what better place to do it than the Internet. This week, the spotlight is on Web sites that explore the wonders of nature -- one on what the human eye cannot see and another on what we often miss.

www.cellsalive.com

This site is devoted to the fascinating attributes and characteristics of that humble unit of all life, the cell. With a combination of breathtaking pictures, clear text support and image series, the site has it all covered on things cellular.

A matter-of-fact layout that gets down to business straightaway is also designed for easy navigation so that you can zero in on whatever you are looking for without much difficulty.

You can either click on the Table of Contents to browse the site's contents by alphabetical order, or check out the vertical section on the left of the homepage which includes links to the site's collection of static and dynamic images, comprehensive information on plant and animal cells, take a quiz or send an e-card.

There are also links to external sites on cellular behaviour, discovery and research. In all, this site is a valuable resource on everything you want to know about cells and is equally useful to students, teachers and the lay user.

www.biologybase.com

As the site proudly states its mission, it covers the world of life. And quite well too. A vast collection of neatly categorised links to practically all major aspects of the living world, this deceptively simple site is a gateway to a great many Internet sources of information on the natural world.

Robert B. Hole, Jr's laudable work contains links to birds, amphibians, insects, fish families, plants...right up to extinct species.

Most categories come with a search facility that guides you to the topic of interest. Though the site does have an American bias, it is by and large comprehensive.

There are also links to Darwinian pages and world habitats and geography. Though the site doesn't score high on looks, it more than makes the grade on as far as functionality and utility value are concerned.

Compiled by C. Ramesh