IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species provides taxonomic, conservation status and distribution information on plants and animals that have been globally evaluated using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. This system is designed to determine the relative risk of extinction, and the main purpose of the IUCN Red List is to catalogue and highlight those plants and animals that are facing a higher risk of global extinction. The IUCN Red List also includes information on plants and animals that are categorized as Extinct or Extinct in the Wild; on taxa that cannot be evaluated because of insufficient information; and on plants and animals that are either close to meeting the threatened thresholds or that would be threatened were it not for an ongoing taxon-specific conservation programme. 

http://www.iucnredlist.org/

NOAA Habitat Conservation

"The NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation protects, restores, and promotes stewardship of coastal and marine habitat to support our nation's fisheries for future generations.

Our vision is healthy and sustainable habitat that provides a range of benefits for abundant fish and wildlife, commercial and recreational opportunities, and resilient coastal communities that can withstand hurricanes, flooding, and other threats"

http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/

ITIS: Integrated Taxonomic Information System

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System provides "authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of North America and the world"
 
http://www.itis.gov/

Digital Teaching Resources Laboratory

Based at the University of Alberta, the Digital Teaching Resources Laboratory (DiTRL) is a computer lab for students and faculty designed to help undergraduates learn about biology. DiTRL's site contains instructional multimedia resources that will be useful to a wide range of people, as well as a database of lesson plans and such. Visitors can click on the Instructional Multimedia area to look through multimedia clips on a range of topics, including botany, ecology, and entomology. The Cell Biology section is quite well-developed, and includes interactive activities like "Animal cell mix and match" and "Nerve Action Potential." The Database link leads to an online collection that includes animations, video clips, and text excerpts. Currently, the entire database contains over 8,900 items, and visitors can browse around at their leisure or perform a full-text search. Finally, the site is rounded out by the option for visitors to provide their own feedback. 

http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/facilities/ditrl/?Page=4431

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2012. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Zachry Department of Civil Engineering Ethics Site

The Zachry Department of Civil Engineering at Texas A&M University has created this most useful website for undergraduates enrolled in engineering ethics courses. Working with funds provided by the National Science Foundation, the department has created reports, essays, teaching materials, and case studies to help educators and students alike. The materials here are divided into nine sections, which include Collected Case Studies, Collected Essays, and Collected Links. The Collected Case Studies area is a good place to start, as it features important overviews of well-known (and some not-so-well-known) cases, such as "TV Antenna Collapse" and the tragic explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger. Moving on, the Collected Essays area features brief and thoughtful pieces on the basic concepts and methods in engineering ethics, along with pieces on professional rights and responsibilities. The site is rounded out by the Guest Contributions area. Here users will find guest pieces vetted by the site's administrators which provide additional perspective on everything from the advertisements in Consumer Reports to problems with military aircraft.

http://ethics.tamu.edu/

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2012. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Spatial Thinking in the Geosciences

Spatial thinking is critical to the analytical work of the geosciences. Navigating unfamiliar landscapes requires a keen understanding of the lay of the land, as does constructing a cross-section through deformed rocks. This set of thematic resources from the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College provides teaching activities, visualizations, and print and online references for educators who wish to incorporate these ways of thinking into their classrooms. In the Teaching Activities area, visitors will find 33 different activities, including "Northwest Passage," which is an investigation of changes in polar regions using Google Earth. Visitors can also look through these activities by type, such as Field Activity or Writing Assignment. The Visualizations area includes data related to earthquakes, seafloor topography, and satellite images. Finally, visitors can subscribe to the spatial thinking email list, or browse through the list's archives. 

http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/spatial/index.html 

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2012. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Physics World

Created by the Institute of Physics, Physics World brings together "news, views and information for the global physics community." First-time users may wish to wander through the site's blog, which contains compelling entries on how athletes could benefit from an understanding of the physics of their sports. The site is also a fast-moving place to get news from the field, via the Headlines area. Scholars and others should scroll down to the White Papers area, which features compelling new works from a range of institutes and professional organisations. The Multimedia section is quite a pip, as it contains reports on the hunt for the elusive Higgs boson and a report on how plasma applications are shaping the modern world. Finally, the In depth area collects reports from the world's leading physicists and professional science writers on topics from radioactive contamination to modelling the entire universe. Interested visitors can sign up for the Physics World RSS feeds on the site.

http://physicsworld.com/

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2012. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering

The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering was created "to develop biologically inspired materials and devices that will solve critical medical and environmental problems and to translate these transformative technologies into products that have an impact on society and the world." The Institute's team of specialists includes technology development fellows, professors, postdocs, and a range of other partners. On the homepage, visitors can browse areas that include Innovation, Translation, and Collaboration. Each area includes multimedia clips, press releases, and interviews with Wyss researchers. Some compelling discoveries include human organs made on a small chip and a novel coating that repels almost every type of liquid and solid. Additionally, the Library section contains interactive features, along with speeches and essays from the Wyss faculty. Visitors are encouraged to sign up for the Wyss Twitter and RSS feeds. 

http://wyss.harvard.edu/ 

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2012. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Molecular Workbench

Created by the Concord Consortium, the Molecular Workbench is "a modeling tool for designing and conducting computational experiments across science." First-time visitors can check out one of the Featured Simulations to get started. The homepage contains a number of curriculum modules which deal with chemical bonding, semiconductors, and diffusion. Visitors can learn how to create their own simulations via the online manual, which is available here as well. The Articles area is quite helpful, as it contains full-text pieces on nanoscience education, quantum chemistry, and a primer on how transistors work. A good way to look over all of the offerings here is to click on the Showcase area. Here visitors can view the Featured simulations, or look through one of five topical sections, which include Biotech and Nanotechnology. Visitors will need to install the free Molecular Workbench software, which is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac.

http://mw.concord.org/modeler/

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2012. http://scout.wisc.edu/