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www.sciencemag.org SCIENCE VOL 312 26 MAY 2006 1113

NETWATCH

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E D I T E D  B Y M I T C H  L E S L I E
R E S O U R C E S

Twisted Logic
German chemist Friedrich August Kekulé claimed that he
discovered the ring structure of the molecule benzene
during his sleep, when he dreamed of a snake eating its
own tail. Do the odd origins of Kekulé’s hypothesis make
the structure any less plausible? If you answered yes, you
need a remedial session with the Fallacy Files. Gary Curtis,
a philosophy Ph.D. in Austin, Texas, compiled this
encyclopedia that dissects more than 100 common
logical blunders, using cases from the media, books,
politics, and other sources. For instance, attacking Kekulé’s
notion—or any idea—based on its history is an example of
the genetic fallacy. Another gaffe to avoid is the Texas
sharpshooter fallacy, which involves mistaken conclusions
about disease clusters. >> www.fallacyfiles.org 

E D U C A T I O N

Touching 

the Void >>
It’s like the ultimate
adventure game: 
Board a spaceship, 
fly to a warped part of
spacetime, and drop
into a black hole. 
Welcome to the visually stunning Black Holes: Gravity’s
Relentless Pull. This month, astronomers Roeland van der Marel
of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland,
and Gijs Verdoes Kleijn of the University of Groningen in the
Netherlands received the €25,000 Pirelli INTERNETional Award
for the educational Web site. Its encyclopedia offers background
information on how black holes form, how long they last, and
more. Chairborne astronauts can zip off to destinations such as
Cygnus X-1, where a black hole is sucking matter from a nearby
star (above). There, you can perform virtual experiments such
as dropping a clock into the void: It ticks progressively slower
and freezes on the edge of the black hole. >>
hubblesite.org/go/blackholes

D A T A B A S E S

Fat Finders
They tantalize our palates, jam our arteries, and hold our
cells together. They are the lipids, the chemical family
that includes fats, oils, steroids, and related compounds.
Biochemists and other scientists can dig up data on the
heavyweight molecules at this pair of sites. Lipid Metabo-
lites and Pathways Strategy* comes from a U.S. consortium
that aims to identify all the lipids in one cell type and
measure their quantities. Along with a catalog of more
than 7600 lipids, the site features lab protocols, research
results from consortium members, and a database of
proteins that interact with lipids. Lipid Bank,† from the
International Medical Center of Japan and the Japan Science
and Technology Agency, houses data contributed by
researchers on more than 6000 molecules. The pages offer
a rich mix of information, from ultraviolet and infrared
spectrometry results to synthesis recipes. >> 
* www.lipidmaps.org    
† lipidbank.jp

I M A G E S

Redrawing the World 
Russia is the largest country by land area. But on a map
that scales nations according to total births (below), it
practically disappears, dwarfed by India and China. The
stark contrast in child-
bearing comes from
Worldmapper, created
by researchers at the
University of Sheffield,
U.K., and the Univer-
sity of Michigan, Ann
Arbor. The site turns
drab demographic and
economic statistics
into eye-catching maps. One hundred figures size each
country according to variables such as past and predicted
population, number of elderly people, and oil imports. >> 
www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/worldmapper/index.html 

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Bug-Eyed Beauties
Wander along a stream anywhere from Canada to Honduras, and you might see the

glittering American rubyspot damselfly (Hetaerina americana; below) perched on

vegetation. At OdonataCentral from entomologist John Abbott of the University of

Texas, Austin, you can net data on the taxonomy and distribution of damselflies and

their relatives the dragonflies. For North American states and provinces, the site

offers checklists that feature interactive range maps. A field guide showcases species

that buzz into Texas and neighboring states. >> odonatacentral.bfl.utexas.edu

Published by AAAS

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http://science.sciencemag.org/


IMAGES: Bug-Eyed Beauties

DOI: 10.1126/science.312.5777.1113d
 (5777), 1113.312Science 

ARTICLE TOOLS http://science.sciencemag.org/content/312/5777/1113.4

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© 2006 American Association for the Advancement of Science

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