"Researchers have traveled to Cold Spring Harbor for decades to learn innovative laboratory techniques and share their own discoveries," said Dr. James D. Watson, Chancellor of the Laboratory. "Now they can do the same online and expect to benefit from the same high level of technical expertise and innovation."
Dr. John Inglis, Executive Director of the Press, described CSH Protocols as "a unique site that combines the best methods from our hands-on courses and manuals with instruction in newly emerging techniques." Inglis added, "As a not-for-profit science publisher committed to research and education, we can offer scientists an authoritative site uniquely tailored to their needs – a place where they can search for and store valuable information, annotate it, share it with colleagues, and contribute improvements and updates for the benefit of the entire scientific community."
Dr. Michael Ronemus, previously a senior postdoctoral fellow at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and a former Associate Editor of Nature Genetics, is the Executive Editor of CSH Protocols. "Technology development is the lifeblood of experimental science," said Ronemus, "and as a division of a very active research center, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press has the inside knowledge, the resources, and the technological sophistication to create a carefully edited and structured database with state-of-the-art online features not found elsewhere."
At launch, CSH Protocols will feature protocols in cell and molecular biology, genetics, protein science, imaging, and bioinformatics. Its coverage will continue to widen with the continuous addition of new protocols from a variety of notable sources. Each protocol will be presented step-by-step, with the clarity and attention to troubleshooting and advice that have made Cold Spring Harbor's laboratory manuals, such as Molecular Cloning, Antibodies, and Cells, best-sellers worldwide. The protocols will be web-linked to online resources that will help researchers strengthen their practical skills and build new ones.
CSH Protocols will be fully searchable, with a unique taxonomy for browsing and many features that can be customized by users. The collection will have more than 900 protocols by year-end 2006 and will be continuously expanded, updated, and annotated by the authors and users of the techniques. A moderated, interactive function will enable users to ask questions, discuss their own experiences, and contribute suggestions. New protocols will be added monthly and many leading laboratories and researchers have agreed to contribute their own methods. By signing up for the site's alerting services, registered users will keep abreast of the latest developments in their particular fields of interest.
CSH Protocols will be available via institutional site license. Prior to official launch, librarians and scientists will have ample opportunity to explore the database and experience its outstanding utility and functions. Further details can be found at www.cshprotocols.org
About Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Established more than a century ago, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, headquartered in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, is a private, non profit basic research and educational institution, with some 330 scientists who conduct groundbreaking research in cancer, neurobiology, plant genetics, and bioinformatics. The Laboratory is one of eight National Cancer Institute designated basic research centers in the United States. It is recognized internationally for its educational activities, which include scientific meetings and courses that attract more than 8,000 scientists to the campus each year. Its Watson School of Biological Sciences offers an innovative Ph.D. program. In addition, the Laboratory trains college undergraduates through the Undergraduate Research Program, high school students through the Partners for the Future Program, and grade-school children through its Nature Study Program summer camp. The Laboratory also operates the Dolan DNA Learning Center, which offers laboratory workshops to science teachers and students. Other components of the Laboratory include Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, the Banbury Conference Center, and the Cancer Genome Research Center.
About Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
From its beginnings in 1933 as an initiative to publish an Annual Symposium in Quantitative Biology, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press is now the largest of the five educational divisions of the Laboratory, with more than 200 books in print, 5 research journals, and a variety of multimedia and online publications. Its 55 staff members work within the Laboratory and in several locations in the United States and abroad. Its publications assist working scientists, graduate and undergraduate students, and the general public through the mission of the Press to foster and financially support the Laboratory's commitment to the advance and spread of scientific knowledge.
CSH Protocols Subject Coverage
Antibodies
Bioinformatics / Genomics
Cell Biology
Chromatography
DNA Delivery / Gene Transfer
Electrophoresis
Genetics
High Throughput Analysis
Imaging / Microscopy
Immunology
Laboratory Organisms
Molecular Biology
Neuroscience
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
Plant Biology
Proteins and Proteomics
RNA Interference (RNAi)
Small Interfering RNA (siRNA)
Stem Cells
Transgenic Technology