Online fun for biochemists & other scientists

It helps if you first accept the premise that

science can be fun and humor can be found anywhere.

Kevin Ahern’s Metabolic Melodies – Songs for the biochemist. At last count, Oregon State University’s Kevin Ahern had 31 songs for biochemistry; some are even downloadable but these will soon move to iTunes. These can be a great learning aide.

Swiss-Quiz – in addition to all their great online tools, the Expert Protein Analysis System (ExPASy; Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics) maintains this broad based biochemical/molecular biological quiz. Every month they send Swiss chocolate to two individuals achieving perfect scores! You can take the quiz again & again.

Journal of Irreproducible Results – the self-proclaimed Science Humor Magazine. If you are clever enough, you too can be published without spending ridiculous hours at a laboratory bench tenderly caressing your pipette.

Improbable Research – Home of the journal known as ‘Annals of Improbable Research’ and the infamous Ig Nobel Prizes (think anti-Nobel Prizes).

Nobel e-Museum – Official site for the Nobel Prize Organization. Very extensive site rich in history but also has a long list of online educational games. Go attack some pathogenic bacteria, train Pavlov’s dog or pretend to be a cyber mosquito that spreads malaria (but try to do so without getting squashed by humans or eaten by bats).

Scientific Humor and Parody - wide assortment of items maintained by Donald Simanek. Be sure to visit his fictitious sponsor Ideal Scientific Equipment Company to pick up gift items for the scientist in your life. Their prices on Black Holes and Perpetual Motion Machines are the lowest I can find.

Science Humor – Collection of humorous items maintained by Engineer Amy Boonsiriseth.

Science Jokes and Humorous Observations.

Proton Don tests your Periodic Table knowledge.

Apologies to all the great online sites (and their developers) not included in this short list.

Maintained by Doug Cole. Teaching & Research links.