April 15, 2018 (Vol. 38, No. 8)
URL:
http://neuroepic.mcdb.lsa.umich.edu/wp
Rating:
Strong Points: Citations include web links, good-quality podcasts
Weak Points: Essays are transcripts of podcasts, not additional content
Summary:
NeuroEpic is the “brainchild” of Monica Dus, Ph.D., a researcher at the University of Michigan. The website houses essays and podcasts that serve as students’ final projects in Dr. Dus’ upper division Neuroepigenetics course. The website features podcasts and essays on 13 topics that include the neuroepigenetics of drug addiction and depression, genocide and genes, maternal care, and Alzheimer’s disease. The essays on the site are basically transcripts of the podcasts, so there is less unique content than one might initially expect. However, as the essays are accompanied by images and citations (often including links to other websites), they are still a useful source of information. The production quality of the podcasts is high, and the topics are interesting. Podcasts run approximately 15–30 minutes.
