May 15, 2011 (Vol. 31, No. 10)

URL:
http://www.kisspeptin.org

Rating:
Strong Points: Great introduction to the field, many useful resources
Weak Points: None

Summary:

Kisspeptin is about as whimsical a name for a gene that I can think of, and kisspeptin.org is an equally cheerful website. (If the brightly colored—but not overbearing—background doesn’t make you smile, I don’t know what will!) This website is dedicated to all things related to this protein, which stimulates the reproductive system and is a master effecter of puberty. The aim of the website is to bring clinicians and researchers together—to that end, the site contains scientific articles about kisspeptin, the “Kiss News Blog”, and a number of tools that allow site members (one can join the community for free) to connect with one another. I particularly like the name given to the network feature: “The Kiss Lounge.” It’s refreshing to see the site authors realize that, while kisspeptin is of medical importance, one cannot take a gene that’s named after Hershey’s Kisses too seriously.

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