Cshlp.org Website Review

> is useful to students, faculty, and researchers. — Stewart > Scherer easy access to information about human genes and their roles in specific processes. With numerous illustrations and tables, each of cellular levels to developmental and physiological processes. The availability of the human genome sequence has had an enormous impact on research but has not yet led to corresponding changes in how biology is presented to students. The origin of the Guide to the Human Genome is the idea that teaching biology requires easy access to genomic information and the accompanying information resources. To make this possible, I concluded that what was needed was a work organized like the textbooks used to teach biochemistry, cell biology, and related subjects, but one that provided direct connections to the extensive databases at NCBI. Simplifying access to sequences, search results, and other information would make possible much more realistic exercises for students in topics ranging from human genetics to sequence an*lysis. A principal goal of the Guide is to provide a comprehensive framework to present all human genes. This initial version already provides quite extensive coverage of the reference human protein set. With the increasing application of genome-wide screens using various functional genomics approaches, researchers often encounter unfamiliar genes and pathways. This work can provide a consistent starting point for basic information about genes encountered in these types of experiments. In textbooks, much of the information is presented via model organisms where various processes have been most intensively studied. I have long felt that the extent of human genetic and biochemical data is not fully appreciated and that many of these topics can just as easily be presented using the human genes in those same processes. This approach should appeal to students planning careers in medicine and make the work of value in the basic science courses in medical schools.