·http://ocw.nd.edu/irish-studies/banks-bailouts-and-irish-literature

The OpenCourseWare initiative is a remarkable one and it allows people from all over the world to learn about everything from accounting to Yiddish. This particular course from the University of Notre Dame takes a look at the relationship between Irish literature and economics from the 18th century to the early 21st century. The course was developed by Wes Hamrick and visitors can look over the syllabus, the course schedule, the readings, lecture notes, and related news stories here. The Readings area contains links to online materials, along withs suggested films, compilations of poetry, and so on. The Lecture Notes area is well-done and it covers compelling topics such as Gulliver's Travels, Dubliners, and scholarly articles on the Celtic Tiger phenomenon. [KMG]

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·http://www.usgs.gov/energy_minerals/

The Energy and Minerals Mission Area of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) "conducts research and assessments on the location, quantity, and quality of material and energy resources, including the economic and environmental effects of resource extraction and use." Visitors to the site can click on thematic sections such as Energy Resources and Mineral Resources. Each of these areas contains information about each program, along with fact sheets, databases, and detailed geospatial maps. The Program News area contains links to documents such as "Understanding the Global Distribution of Nonfuel Mineral Resources" and a host of summary documents on mineral commodities. Finally, the site is rounded out by the Mineral Resources Products area. Here, visitors can look into hundreds of statistical reports, bulletins, and data sets intended for scientists, journalists, and members of the general public. [KMG]

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·http://archives.nypl.org/mss/927

Housed at the New York Public Library, the Thomas Addis Emmet Collection contains over 10,000 historical manuscripts relating chiefly to the periods prior to, during, and following the American Revolution. Over the past few years, a number of key documents have been digitized and are now available here. The materials are organized into 28 series, including "The Siege of Savannah, 1779," "The Articles of Confederation," and "Howe's Virginia." Each section contains a brief summary of each document, along with particulars on their provenance and related matters. Additionally, visitors can filter their search by keyword or year and they can also create their own collection of documents for future consultation. [KMG]

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·http://www.nbtc.cornell.edu/

Established in 2000 at Cornell University as a science and technology center, the Nanobiotechnology Center works to inform the general public and interested scholars about this growing area of human inquiry. This field of nanotechnology applies the tools and processes of nanofabrication to advance research in life sciences. On their website visitors can look over their programs, workshops, or read some of their working papers and research documents. The Research section contains a basic primer on their ongoing research projects, which includes long-term investigations into bimolecular devices and nanoscale cell biology. Moving on, the Publications area contains some nice research summary slides, annual reports, and the Center's newsletter. [KMG]

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·http://www.ams.org/profession/career-info/grad-school/Kelton-TEACH.pdf

Teaching college mathematics can be a daunting task, indeed. It's nice for seasoned professionals and others to have a solid primer on the subject and this guide from Professor Suzanne Kelton is quite useful. The 54-page guide is divided into four chapters that cover documenting teaching practices, classroom basics, course policies, and discussion sections. Each of these chapters has additional subsections, such as syllabi, pace, and proofs. As a bonus, the document has an appendix that covers graphing techniques. The language of the document is jargon-free and accessible, which is a welcome departure from other guides. Visitors will want to share this item with friends in the field and even those who are teaching in other disciplines. [KMG]

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·http://www.eie.org/

Boston Museum of Science's Engineering is Elementary (EIE) has created this remarkable set of resources designed for young children with an interest in engineering and technological literacy. The focus of this work is to reach young people who are underserved or underrepresented in STEM fields while also improving educators' ability to teach engineering and technology. On this site, visitors can look over sections that include Educator Resources, The EIE Curriculum, and About Us. Within Educator Resources visitors will find dozens of videos, such as "Inclined Plane Station," "Solar Oven Box," and "Designing Model Membranes." Moving on, the Engineering Adventures subset of EiE Curriculum features a range of free modules designed for after-school progress. The modules here include "Engineering Aid Drop Packages" and "Safe Removal of an Invasive Species." There is also a place where visitors can sign up to receive the EiE newsletter, a delightful source full of updates, tips, and more. [KMG]

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·http://www.kingcounty.gov/operations/archives/exhibits/Earthworks.aspx

Can land reclamation be public art? It most certainly can and large scale installations can be found in abundance from California to Maine. This rather wonderful project appeared in Washington's King County in the summer of 1979. The King County Archives brought together original interviews, photos, and other documents for this marvelous exploration of a unique and trend-setting endeavor. The intent of the project was to have artists create various earthworks on land that had been environmentally damaged. The first phase was a demonstration project, then other artists moved on to create six different sites. The first demonstration project was crafted by well-known artist Robert Morris and there are a number of videos, explanatory essays, and diagrams documenting this crafty and fascinating experiment in public art. [KMG]

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·http://guides.library.harvard.edu/hcl

The Harvard University Library has worked closely with a vast array of information technology specialists and others to craft this fine collection of research guides. From African Studies to Zoology, each guide contains information culled from both print resources at Harvard's libraries to a plethora of digital resources from around the Internet. There are a number of particularly rich guides here, including those for Data and Biological Sciences. Visitors can learn about each resource in detail, including when they were last updated and other salient details. One can imagine that given the breadth of these guides, they might be used in a variety of educational settings from high school to post-graduate studies. [KMG]

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·http://www.moma.org/explore/publications/modern_women

How are women represented at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York? It's a fascinating question and this website takes a look at just that. The site was designed to complement a publication looking at contemporary female artists whose work has been included in various MOMA collections. The materials here are divided into four areas, including Exhibitions, Video, Modern Women: A Partial History, and Online Collection. Within the Video section, visitors can look through over two dozen videos that include interviews with MOMA's archivists and leading artists such as Maya Deren. Moving on, visitors can click on the Artists tab to view biographical profiles and artwork by the women featured in the online collection. There are some great pieces here, such as "Malcolm X Speaks for Us" by Elizabeth Catlett or Eva Hesse's "Repetition Nineteen III." Visitors can also explore the Blog for meditations on Lillian Gish or musings on the use of art in everyday spaces. [KMG]

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·http://hrc.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15878coll6#nav_top

Step right up to this collection and see hundreds of paper items related to the history of American circuses! This remarkable offering from the Harry Ransom Center draws on the work of noted showmen such as P.T. Barnum, Hageneck-Wallace, Ringling Bros. and Barnum Bailey. For anyone with an interest in American cultural history, entertainment, and related subjects, the collection is a wonderful find. All told, there are over 830 items here and visitors can search around by keywords, date of publication, format, or title. Some of the highlights here include posters for "Chang & Eng, the World Renowned Siamese Twins" and elaborate advertisements for the marriage of General Tom Thumb. Some visitors may also wish to sign up to receive email updates about the addition of new materials to the site. [KMG]

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·http://landscapearchitecturemagazine.org/

Founded in 1910, Landscape Architecture Magazine (LAM) is the monthly magazine of the American Society of Landscape Architects. It reaches over 60,000 readers each year and covers everything from green design to streetscaping projects. While not all of the content here is free, they do offer free issues periodically, along with access to high-quality articles written specifically for the LAM site via design professionals and others. On the homepage, visitors will find pieces on the redevelopment of the Presidio in San Francisco and the transformation of beach stabilization in the United States using best practices from the Netherlands. After a close consideration of the articles here, visitors can go on to look over some of the recommended sites and blogs, such as those from Dwell Magazine, Grist, Harvard Design Magazine, and others. [KMG]

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·http://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/visual-collections/turnabout-theatre

The Turnabout Theater in Los Angeles presented remarkable adult marionette comic dramas, live music, and comedy from 1941 to 1956. It was the culminating moment in the careers of the Yale Puppeteers. The troupe consisted of Harry Burnett, Forman Brown, and Richard Brandon. This archive of performance materials and publicity materials was acquired by the Los Angeles Public Library and has been digitized for this nice collection. After taking a quick virtual tour, visitors can perform a keyword search across all the items. While the site doesn't have suggested keyword searches, visitors might get started by trying the words "puppets," "drama," or "advertisements." [KMG]

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·http://www.shilohmuseum.org/

Based in Springdale, Arkansas the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History takes its name from a pioneer community that eventually became the town of Springdale. The city runs this rather fine museum and this website contains digital photo archives, podcasts, and features like Photo of the Month and Artifact of the Month. A fun way to get started here is to peruse the podcasts, which include "Native American Rock Art in Northwestern Arkansas" and "Arkansas Butterflies." In the Exhibits area, visitors can learn about rural relief programs in the 1930s, rodeo history, and the architecture of Carl Smith's Fayetteville. The Photo of the Month area provides interested parties with the ability to browse through dozens of compelling images organized by topics that include agriculture, businesses, holidays, and textiles. [KMG]

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·http://www.wolfsonian.org/explore/collections/browse

What South Florida cultural institution is eclectic and borders on the eccentric? The Wolfsonian answers its own question as it houses everything from Art Deco household objects to rare books. The institution was founded in 1986 to exhibit, document, and preserve the Mitchell Wolfson, Jr. Collection of Decorative and Propaganda Arts. A decade later it became part of Florida International University. On their Collections page, visors can look through items organized into twelve themes, including Art Nouveau, Colonialism, and World's Fairs and Expeditions. One area that should not be missed is the collection of items related to the Works Progress Administration and the New Deal. Here, visitors can look over hundreds of prints, posters, and original pieces created during this most unique period in America's recent artistic past. Finally, visitors shouldn't neglect the opportunity to craft their own specialized search as they look through this fabulously diverse archive. [KMG]

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·http://placeswire.designobserver.com/zine/100pctbuilt

Are you curious to learn more about cities and placemaking? You'd do well to make a beeline for the Places Wire site, which offers a cornucopia of material on urban parks, public policy, architecture, planning, and other topics. In sum, the site is a "curated feed of news and commentary on architecture, landscape and urbanism." It has partnered with twenty different organizations to provide new content on a daily basis. Some of the recent articles that have found their way to the site include "9 Suggestions for Changing DC's Height Limit" and "The Demise of the Public Hearing." Visitors can also use the drop-down View tab to scroll through the last few hours or days as the content is quite dynamic. One gem that should not be missed is the archived appearance of Frank Lloyd Wright as a guest on the 1950s television program "What's My Line?" [KMG]

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·http://listart.mit.edu/public_art

When people think of MIT, they probably don't immediately think of public art. However, the collection is quite impressive. It all started in 1961 when Mr. and Mrs. Samuel A. Marx commissioned MIT's first outdoor sculpture. Since then, the collection has grown to include a diverse set of pieces by artists like Pablo Picasso, Henry Moore, and Mark di Suvero. Visitors can look over an interactive map of the public art on campus, listen to podcasts featuring the artists talking about their work, or even book a guided tour of the collection. Also, visitors can download "A Brief Architectural History of MIT" and sign up to learn about new additions to the campus as they are installed. [KMG]

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·http://uber.com

Uber is a helpful app that seamlessly connects riders with drivers in more than 50 cities and 20 countries. It's a rather innovative way to travel, allowing users to request a ride and pay via their mobile phones. The application includes the ability to compare rates for different vehicles, split payments, and get fare quotes as well. On the site, visitors can begin their journey by selecting their city, then proceed to pick their preferred vehicle and end destination. This version is compatible with iPhone, Android, and Blackberry. [CD]

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·http://cycleroute.org/

If you're an avid cyclist or just a neophyte, you'll find this rather unique app most useful. Cycle Route can assist those with a passion for cycling plan out their route based on topography, elevation, main roads, and a range of other variables. Visitors just need to enter their origin and destination and they will be all set. The app returns a range of routes that users can take advantage of and there's also a mobile version as well. This version is compatible with all operating systems. [KMG]

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Nanomedicine: Particle physiology
http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2013/11/nanomedicine

Singapore university sets up nanomedicine research institute
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/sci/2013-11/05/c_132861629.htm

Winners of the first-ever nanomedicine award revealed at BIO-Europe
http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=48455

Thanh Nien News: Vietnam announces first nanomedicine success
http://www.thanhniennews.com/index/pages/20131030-vietnam-announces-first-nanomedicine-success.aspx

Nanomedicine, benefits and risks
http://www.nanopinion.eu/da/node/343

European Technology Platform: Nanomedicine
http://www.etp-nanomedicine.eu/public

Nanotechnology has been of great scientific interest for several decades and allied fields have continued to grow as well. One particular area is nanomedicine, which seeks to build a range of terribly tiny machines that can circulate the bloodstream. As other medical innovations have come to pass (such as face transplants) this idea no longer seems so far-fetched. The Economist recently reported that Dr. Sangreeta Bhatia of MIT has created a nanoscale device that can explore the bloodstream to find possibly damaging blood clots. These devices can actually detect the enzyme thrombin which induces clotting and is thus an indicator of their presence. The trials so far have taken place with mice, but early results have been promising. It's exciting to think of the future possibilities of such devices and we may see more of them in the near future. [KMG]

The first link leads to the aforementioned piece from The Economist which appeared this Tuesday. Moving on, the second link will whisk users away to a piece from Xinhua News that talks about the new nanomedicine research institute that was established recently at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University. The third link will take interested parties to a news article from Nanotechnology Now that talks about the recipients of the first-ever Nanomedicine Award. The fourth link leads to a news update from Thanh Thien News about a team of Vietnamese scientists who harnessed the power of nanotechnology with a cancer-preventing extraction from turmeric. The fifth link will take users to a podcast about the possible benefits and risks of nanomedicine. Finally, visitors will be taken to the official homepage of the European Technology Platform on Nanomedicine. Here, visitors can learn about the possible uses of nanomedicine or look over some interesting white papers and research documents.