Fish development in black and white, and color too

Stewart, Aengus

doi:10.1186/gb-2000-1-1-reports212

Web report
Published: 17 March 2000

Fish development in black and white, and color too

Aengus Stewart

Genome Biology volume 1, Article number: reports212 (2000) Cite this article

Abstract

The primary resource for the zebrafish community is a vast site, and is also a jumping-off point to other relatively large zebrafish websites.

Mirror sites

Zebrafish information network Australian mirror site, Zebrafish information network Japanese mirror site, Zebrafish information network French mirror site.

Content

The primary resource for the zebrafish community is a vast site, and is also a jumping-off point to other relatively large zebrafish websites. There are links to anatomical atlases, news, genomic data, publications and genetic strain information, and that's just for starters. There is also a search facility for all HTML documents. A lot of the information is contained within the ZFIN database, (Netscape 3.0 or above is required to access this page) which allows guests to search all of its sections, including genes, maps, labs and publications.

Navigation

The front page is clearly laid out and serves mainly as a portal to external databases. These include the Stanford zebrafish genome project and particular areas of the local zebrafish database (which uses a very helpful search function to locate information). The information within the database is extensively linked and downloads quickly.

Reporter's comments

Timeliness

There is no front-page date stamp, but the latest news is dated August 1999.

Best feature

The database is excellent. Information can be retrieved easily and it is possible to update information online, after registering as a user. The search facility has been well designed and implemented, with judicial use of JavaScript.

Worst feature

The site has one small problem: looping from the database to the front page, and back again, causes frames to be opened within frames. These frames should be cleared each time.

Wish list

A navigation menu at the top or bottom of each page for quick movement to the main areas around the site would be helpful.

Related websites

There are a number of sites relating to vertebrate development and genomics, for example, the HGMP-RC Fugu project and the Xenopus molecular marker resource.