Alternatives Database

Vade Mecum: An Interactive Guide to Developmental Biology

This is a CD–ROM that takes the student through the developmental cycles of several model organisms used in developmental biology and illustrates techniques used in studying these organisms. With over 130 interactive videos and 300 labeled photographs, the CD–ROM includes chapters on: the slime mould, Dictyostelium discoideum; planarian; sea urchin; the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster; chick; and amphibian. There is a chapter on the risks of ultraviolet radiation and its effects on sea urchin development. Within each chapter are embedded ‘how-to’ instructions on techniques used in studying the organisms, from obtaining gametes from a sea urchin to dissecting imaginal disks from a fruit fly larva. Where useful, colour-coding is superimposed on living embryos to illustrate positioning of different germ layers. Included is a complete set of cross-sections of a 33-hour chick embryo and whole mounts with definitions of terms on rollover. Several ‘purely technique’ chapters are included as well. One, on making the most of the microscope, includes a ‘virtual microscope’ which teaches how to achieve Köhler illumination, dark-field illumination and how to use polarising filters. Two other chapters illustrate, in a step by step manner, how to make microdissecting tools and how to do histological techniques for paraffin sections. For each chapter, there is a set of study questions and websites. Also included are slide shows on laboratory safety.

Year of production: 2000 Medium: CD-ROM System requirements: Windows 95/98/NT or later, with Pentium II CPU 200 MHz or faster (Pentium III recommended), sound card, SVGA monitor, 16-bit colour (24-bit recommended); Macintosh 7600/132 (G3 recommended), OS 8.5 or later, thousands of colours; 64 MB of installed RAM (20 MB free RAM), 800 x 600 resolution (or greater), 8X CD-ROM drive; QuickTime 4.0 or higher (installer provided); internet connection and Netscape Communicator or Internet Explorer are optional Price: US$29.95