November 1, 2006 (Vol. 26, No. 19)
URL:
http://www.copewithcytokines.de
Rating:
Strong Points: A LOT of info
Weak Points: Hyperlinking needs improvement
Summary:
A site struggling to continue offering its information on a free basis, Horst Ibelgaufts’ COPE (Cytokines and Cells Online Pathfinder Encyclopedia) site is worthy of mention here and of your support. With a design centered on a combination of a dictionary and an encyclopedia, COPE provides visitors with an extensive set of cytokine-related information in an extensively hyperlinked format. On the downside, the hyperlinking frequently doesn’t lead to useful information. Consider my travels upon clicking on the phrase ‘Cytokine Families.’ This led to a hyperlink for Gene Families, which described what gene families were but nothing about cytokine families. Clicking on terms like ortholog or paralog under the gene family heading led to links back to gene family. It’s too bad, actually, because there is a lot of useful stuff here, but it needs to be weeded a bit.
