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 t times, it's surprising to recall that the electronic computer is only fifty years old. Originally embodied in simple, massive calculating boxes, computer technology and its applications have subsequently evolved into what can seem more the stuff of science fiction than of science, far surpassing the original inventors' imaginations. (Half a century ago, Thomas Watson, then chairman of IBM, declared -- in a famous bit of mis-prognostication -- "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.")
Today, the future seems as wide open as the most speculative possibilities -- from computers that run on a cup of water, to portals that take you, in the comfort of your living room, to every telescope on the ground or in space. Science's 14 September 2001 special issue takes a look at some of those posibilities, particularly those that are reshaping the ways scientists communicate and work. This online supplement presents links to resources, laboratories, libraries, and other interesting Web sites pertaining to the major themes of this special issue.
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Quantum Computing
 iels Bohr was quoted as saying: "Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it" -- an observation true to this day. One of the most daunting and marvelous fields of science, quantum physics is filled with tales of the impossible . . . that somehow work. One example is quantum computing, ideas for which rest on storage of information in many different forms simultaneously by a quantum bit, or "qbit."
- Centre for Quantum Computation
- Part of Oxford University, the Centre for Quantum Computation is working on a variety of projects such as fundamentals of quantum information, architectures for nanoscale computing, and quantum optics for cryptography research.
- The Caltech QUIC project homepage
- The Quantum Information and Computation project is a collaboration of five groups at three universities -- Caltech, MIT, and Stanford. Their work centers on exploring and producing efficient, reliable quantum computers.
- Quantum Optics Group at Caltech
- Applying a more pragmatic approach to quantum computing, the Quantum Optics Group at Caltech studies the quantum mechanics of open systems (like those involved in quantum computers), where decoherence and dissipation of quantum states affect storage capacity and function.
- Quantum Information and Quantum Computation at IBM
- This site is provided by the IBM research lab at Yorktown, the main focus of which is work on quantum information and computation theory, as well as some work on other aspects of the relation between physics and information processing.
- Quantum Information at Los Alamos National Laboratory
- A useful site that contains information from work on quantum cryptography at the Los Alamos site and online tutorials on aspects of quantum computing.
- Stanford Quantum Computation Page
- Home of the Stanford-MIT-IBM NMR Quantum Computation Project, this website contains links to project timelines, objectives, researchers, and associated news and publications.
- Laboratory for Theoretical and Quantum Computing
- Laboratory home page from the University of Montreal.
- Quantum Computer Technology at the University of Queensland
- Homepage for the Australian-based Special Research Centre on Quantum Computer Technology, hosted by the Universitiy of Melbourne, the Univeristy of New South Wales, and the University of Queensland.
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Silicon Nanoelectronics
 o understand the incredible pace of silicon technology, one need not look farther than the latest cell phones, laptop computers, or handheld devices. However, faster, lighter, and smaller can't last for ever, as researchers and industry analysts predict that the limits of silicon technology may soon be reached. Included in this section are links to some of the largest computing associations in North America, as well as other Web sites regarding silicon electronic devices.
- Computing Research Association
- An association of over 180 North American computer science and engineering departments, laboratories, industry, government, and academic computing research centers, and affiliated professional societies, the CRS contains a wealth of information on news, careers, and publications in the field of computing research.
- Association for Computing Machinery
- Boasting over 80,00 members worldwide, the ACM functions as a computing hub for students and profesionals working in the field of information technology. With conferences, activities, awards, and publications, the ACM site is an excellent portal into the computing world.
- Computing Research Repository
- Sponsored by ACM, the Los Alamos e-Print archive, and the Networked Computer Science Technical Reference Library, CoRR acts as a single online repository for papers and articles pertaining to computer research.
- Computer Science Departments Across The Web
- An extensive, well-organized list of computer science department homepages worldwide, from Haverford College.
- IEEE Computer Society
- The largest of the 36 societies of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the IEEE Computer Society focuses on "advancing the theory, practice, and application of computer and information processing technology" through conferences, local chapters, journals, and more.
- WWW Computer Architecture Page
- Designed by the Computer Architecture Group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, this page is geared towards those working on the physical structure of computing devices. A handy resource, it contains news from around the industry, links to comercial and academic sites, conferences, and tools and simulators to facilitate research.
- Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
- Dedicated to advancing mathematics in all aspects of business and engineering, the SIAM is a terrific source for investigating and creating real-world mathematical solutions.
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The "World Wide Telescope"
he "virtual observatory" is a world-wide effort that harnasses the power of the Internet to organize all of the existing online astronomical data and literature into a coherent whole, accessible by anyone from anywhere in the world. To help readers better understand, and perhaps participate, in this undertaking, we have included links to astronomical data from various sources, as well as current efforts toward the goal of creating a unified world wide telescope.
Astronomy Databases
- Databases from the Centre de Données Astronomiques de Strasbourg
- NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED)
- A master list of extragalactic objects taken from 2MASS, the Digitized Sky Survey and literature resources that is continually updated every 2-3 months.
- Multimission Archive at STScI (MAST)
- A component of NASA's distributed Space Science Data Services, MAST touts a variety of astronomical data archives with a primary focus on optical, ultraviolet, and near-infrared parts of the spectrum. Data sources include the Hubble Space Telescope, the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer, the International Ultraviolet Explorer, the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer, and the ASTRO Missions.
- Astrobrowse
- The High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center's Astrobrowse search engine allows users to search hundreds of different catalogs around the world using a single query.
Astrophysical Data Centers & Services
- Selected Centers from NASA
- ESO/ST-ECF
- Lyon--Meudon Extragalactic Database (LEDA)
- Leicester Database and Archive Service (LEDAS)
- An online astronomical resource, LEDAS provides access to a variety of archive data from the ROSAT Public Data Archive, the ASCA Public Data Archive, the Ginga Products Archive and, recently added, the Chandra Science Archive.
- 2 Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS)
- A project of impressive scope, the goal of 2MASS is to scan the entire sky in three near-infared bands to better explore the large-scale structure of the Milky Way and the Local Universe. The site contains background information on the project, current sky coverage (the final release of all-sky data is scheduled for winter 2002), recent publications, and other information on near-infared research.
- The Digitized Palomar Observatory Sky Survey
- Another massive undertaking, DPOSS is a program whose aim is to photograph and catalog the entire Northern Sky. As the project nears completion, its Web site provides both technical information and nontechnical pages for a wider audience.
Virtual Observatory Sites
- SkyView Virtual Observatory
- Intended as a "quick look facility to the heavens" SkyView is a virtual observatory with images generated from different wavelengths freely available to anyone on the web.
- AstroGrid Project Website
- AstroGrid is the UK addition to the Virtual Observatory. Although currently it is awaiting approval, you can view consortium sites, investigators, and staff as well as proprosals and presentations for AstroGrid on this site.
- Astronomical Virtual Observatory
- Sponsored by the National Council of Research (C.N.R.) of Italy, this site contains three Italian astronomical databases and represents another step towards the foundation of the Virtual Observatory.
- Virtual Observatory Forum
- A site for discussion of information related to the creation of the Virtual Observatory for astronomical research.
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Biological Pathway Databases
 athway databases are important ways of quantifying subtle, complex biochemical relationships by organizing data into understandable, searchable databases. The following is only a sampling of some of the many pathway databases found on the web today; still others can be accessed via the link at the end of this section.
- EcoCyc
- The Encyclopedia of E. coli genes and metabolism, EcoCyc is a literature derived electronic reference source for those working with E. coli and other related microorganisms.
- MetaCyc
- A metabolic-pathway database that describes pathways, reactions, and enzymes of a variety of organisms, with a microbial focus.
- STKE -- Signal Transduction Knowledge Environment
- Created by Science and Stanford University Libraries, STKE is a routinely updated, easy-to-use knowledge base regarding signal transduction. The site includes graphical "connections maps," perspectives and review articles relevant to signal transduction, and a "Virtual Journal" that allows users access to full-text online articles from more than 25 participating publications.
- SPAD -- Signal Transduction
- The Signaling Pathway Database is a useful database for genetic information and signal transduction systems. The site is straightforward, breaking down subcategories based on signal pathways originating from the cell membrane going all the way to the nucleus.
- Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes
- The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (or KEGG for short) is an effort to organize the vast amount of genetic and biochemical information on the web into a number of databases such as metabolic, regulatory, and genetic sequence databases.
- CSNDB - Cell Signaling Networks
- The Cell Signaling Networks Database is a data- and knowledge-base for signaling pathways in human cells. Data and information about biological molecules, enzymes, and reactions are automatically compiled and charted in an effort to make a computerized model of various biological phenomena.
- More Biological Databases...
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Machine Learning
 ecent advances in the performance of machine learning methods have demonstrated that such techniques can yield powerful and useful applications for scientists in a wide range of fields. Here are some Web sites concerning machine learning and some of the varying techniques used to make computers "smarter." (For more resources, follow the link at the end of this section.)
- David Aha's List of Machine Learning Resources
- A massive list of machine learning links, including applications, books, data repositories, home pages, jobs, software, and more. Maintained by David Aha of the Navy Center for Applied Research in AI.
- ML researchers
- A veritable white pages for machine learning, this page, also maintained by David Aha, contains over 800 homepages of ML researchers worldwide.
- GMD Machine Learning Archive
- The Machine Learning Network Online Information Service is designed to speed information to investigators in the field of machine learning, knowledge discovery, case-based reasoning, knowledge acquisition, and data mining.
- University of California-Irvine (UCI) Machine Learning Page
- This homepage for researchers at UCI describes machine learning as the mechanisms by which knowledge is acquired through experience. The research focuses on the development and analysis of algorithms that identify patterns in observed data in order to make predictions about unseen data -- otherwise known as data mining or knowledge discovery.
Machine Learning Techniqes
- Recursive-Partitioning.com
- A digital clearinghouse for recursive-partitioning-based learning methods, Recursive-partitioning.com contians everything the avid researcher needs including online forums, cluster analysis software, regression tree programs and more.
- ILPnet, the Inductive Logic Programming Pan-European Scientific Network
- ILPNet is a collaboration between 20 leading European institutions involved in Inductive Logic Programming research. Funded from 1993-1996, the site worked to interconnect researchers across Europe and the world. It has been followed by its more recent successor ILPnet2.
- Reinforcement Learning Repository
- Hosted by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, this Web site is an electronic center for resources and research on Reinforcement Learning.
- The Genetic Algorithms Archive
- The Genetic Algorithms Archive is a repository for information related to research in genetic algorithms and other forms of evolutionary computation.
- Pattern Recognition Page (Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands)
- An online resource library that collects information in the form of journals, books, and review papers on pattern recogntion research.
- COLT Home Page
- The Computational Learning Theory homepage is dedicated to studying the design and analysis of algorithms for making predictions about the future based on past experiences -- the computer equivelant of learning from experience.
- More Machine Learning Resources...
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3D Gene Expression Analysis
 hile heralded as a milestone in biological research, the sequencing of the human genome represents the tip of an information iceberg. The task now remains to explore and quantify the countless interactions that these genes have with their surrounding environment over the course of the organism's life -- research that creates immense amounts of data. Below are links to labs and projects that are currently scaling these "genetic mountains" by formulating representations in the hopes of ultimately creating predictive models.
- The Cancer Genome Anatomy Project
- Undertaken by the National Cancer Institute at the National Center for Bitoechnology Information, CGAP is an interdisciplinary program established to generate the information and technological tools needed to decipher the molecular anatomy of the cancer cell.
- The Microarray Project
- The Microarray Project is a collaborative research effort between numerous institute and divisions at the NIH. The aim of the project is to better microarray technology, allowing scientists to analyze large amounts of genetic information at once.
- The Molecular Pathology Team of the Institute of Cancer Research (UK)
- Heavily dependant on microarray technology, this ICR team uses high-throughput techniques to analyze known cancer genes in tumours and to identify new cancer genes.
- The GATC Consortium
- Affymetrix and Molecular Dynamics have teamed up to form the Genetic Analysis Technology Consortium, with the goal of standardizing the rapidly growing field of array-based technology. The site contains project updates, news, software information, and a place to submit comments.
- Web Resources on Gene Expression and DNA Microarray Technologies
- This well organized site contains a wealth of links about gene analysis tools and information. Broken down into numerous categories such as news, noncommercial Web sites, standards, tools, and articles, the site contains well-written, thorough summaries of each link.
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The DMCA and Online Piracy
he Digital Millennium Copyright Act was adopted as a way of protecting copywritten material from computer hackers and thieves. However, recent events have shown that scientists who study encryption, computer security, or other related fields may face new risks of legal liability, resulting in fines, penalties, and, in some cases, prison. This section includes links to sites that tilt both in favor of and against the DMCA, as well as a copy of the law and summaries on what it is and why it is significant.
- Digital Millennium Copyright Act [HTML] [PDF]
- Online copy of the House of Representitives bill 2281 - the "Digital Millennium Copyright Act."
- DMCA Executive Summary
- Executive summary of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act published by the U.S. Copyright Office.
- Digital Millennium Copyright Act Status & Analysis
- A primer on the Digital Millennium Copywright Act, this page provides analysis on the law including a complete history, compliance, and fair use.
- Primer on the DMCA
- Another primer on the DMCA, entitled "What the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Copyright Term Extension Act Mean for the Library Commuinity," written by Arnold Lutzker of Lutzker & Lutzker LLP of Washington, D.C.
- Recording Industry Association of America Anti-Piracy Page
- To say that this page, published on the RIAA website, leans toward Internet-control legislation would be an understatement. Equating Internet music swapping to the world of skull and crossbones, cannons, and cutlasses, this page contains recent news, penalties for Internet piracy, and effects and statistics of these practices on the recording industry.
- Anti-DMCA Website
- The other side of the debate -- a site that, as might be expected from the title, finds very little to like in the DMCA.
- Dmitry Sklyarov: Adobe vs Elcomsoft
- Website that describes the high-profile case of Dmitry Sklyarov, a Russian cryptographer arrested in the U.S. for violation of the DMCA during a convention in Las Vegas.
- Electronic Frontier Foundation
- A donor-supported membership organization that works to protect internet privacy and online free speech rights.
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