June 15, 2007 (Vol. 27, No. 12)
URL:
http://www.firstscience.com
Rating:
Strong Points: Excellent coverage
Weak Points: Nothing significant
Summary:
Have you ever wondered why people sleepwalk? Perhaps you want to get up to snuff on bird flu or maybe you’d like to learn about species that live in the most inhospitable environments on earth. If any of these topics strike your fancy, you’ll find a way to quench your thirst for science news and information at the informative FirstScience website. Billing itself as “Your First Step for Science Online,” the site is not shy about its scope. Topic areas at FirstScience include Nature, Technology, Earth, Humans, Machines, Mysteries, Origins, and Space. Items are laid out in a format that resembles a newspaper, and links from each headline lead to longer stories. The site content is available as an RSS feed, facilitating easy notification when new content is posted. The stories, however, are what make the site what it is. A quick survey of topics ranged from the ones noted above to articles on heart disease in women, declining mammography rates, the science of cuteness, and the science of language.
