This is an archive of (selected) older items that were previously listed in the Recent changes section of the Site home page. Some of the items have been updated, to make them more complete.
Bottom of page; return links and contact information
April 14, 2015. New calculator added on my page Using your scientific calculator: Casio fx-300MS.
April 8, 2015. I have continued to expand listings of Musings posts. I have started accumulating where those lists are, on the Musings: Introduction page, under Lists of Musings posts. (Also see August 20, 2013, below)
July 10, 2014. On my page Biotechnology in the News (BITN) -- Other topics, the section originally called Aging (including Alzheimer's disease) has been split into two sections: Aging and Alzheimer's disease. The content of the old section was split between the two new sections. Links throughout the site have been adjusted to link to the correct section.
June 14, 2014. On my page Biotechnology in the News (BITN) -- Other topics, the section originally called SARS (Severe acute respiratory syndrome) has been renamed SARS, MERS (coronaviruses), to reflect inclusion of the new and related disease. Links are unchanged.
August 20, 2013. Posts in the Musings newsletter are often cross-linked to related posts. I have been extending this to other parts of the web site. As part of this, two pages for BITN each have a new section that is a list of Musings posts related to that BITN page. Those BITN pages are: DNA and the genome Cloning and stem cells.
May 8, 2010. New page: Musings. Musings is an informal newsletter mainly highlighting recent science. It is intended as both fun and instructive. Items are posted a few times each week; an email notification is available. See the Introduction on the Musings page for more information.
May 18, 2009. My page ChemSketch - An Introductory Guide has been updated to reflect the new version, 12, which was made available in March.
April 15, 2009. There is now a navigation bar at the top of each page. It tries to show the current page in the context of the main topic-oriented hierarchy of the site; it also includes a contact link. The information that has been at the bottom of each page linking to other pages at the site will be maintained. The new navigation bar has been phased in over recent months.
November 10, 2008. New page: Balancing organic redox reactions. This page focuses on an approach to balancing redox equations that is especially suitable with organic chemicals: emphasizing H and O atoms. (Preliminary versions of this page have been here for a while. This is the "official" release of it.)
October 27, 2008. Another new section has been added to the page Biotechnology in the News (BITN): Cloning and stem cells. It is on Trans-differentiation. Further updating and revision of this page are in progress.
September 23, 2008. Two new sections have recently been added to the page Biotechnology in the News (BITN): Cloning and stem cells. They are on Terminology and Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). Further updating and revision of this page are in progress.
September 7, 2008. New section on the page Library matters: UC Berkeley library; electronic journals; journal articles; Medline searches; citation searches. It introduces the use of DOI (digital object identifier) for finding articles.
August 16, 2008. New section on the page Library matters: UC Berkeley library; electronic journals; journal articles; Medline searches; citation searches. It introduces citation searching. It describes the purpose of citation searching, and gives some resources for doing it, including free ones.
May 8, 2008. New page: Significant figures - a beginner's guide. An overview of a topic that is important in beginning chemistry. (Actually, this page has been here for a while, almost but not quite finished. This is the "official" release of it.)
Mar 24, 2008. My page ChemSketch - An Introductory Guide has been updated to reflect the new version, 11, which was made available in February. One new feature that is now included in my page is antialiasing, for smoother appearance of lines on the screen.
February 3, 2008. Page on Library matters: UC Berkeley library; electronic journals; journal articles; Medline searches has been revised and updated. Among other things, the sections on using PubMed (Medline) have been substantially expanded.
December 3, 2007. New topic added for Biotechnology in the News (BITN), on Brain. This section has since been subdivided, with separate sections on Alzheimer's disease and autism.
October 11, 2007. New page: Internet resources: Biology - Miscellaneous. At the start, this consists of sections split off from Internet resources: Miscellaneous. However, splitting these off to a fresh page will allow me to organize it better.
September 9, 2007. New topic added for Biotechnology in the News (BITN), on Bio-inspiration (biomimetics).
July 11, 2007. New topic added for Biotechnology in the News (BITN), on Synthetic biology. Other recent additions to this page include: HPV (Human papillomavirus) and Measles.
July 6, 2007. New section on page Books: Suggestions for general science reading. A boxed section near the top lists the most recent additions to the page.
June 10, 2007. New page: Unusual microbes. A brief discussion of some of the oddities of the microbial world, organisms that capture our imagination by being different. For "fun", for the general audience.
Nov 13, 2006. I have reorganized the introductory materials for Biotechnology in the News (BITN). In particular, I have combined the old BITN Main and BITN General Resources pages into one main page. This new main page should make it easier to explore all BITN materials.
Oct 19, 2006. My periodic table handout has been updated to show the new element #118 that was just announced. The PT is available, as a PDF file, from the Downloads page. I have also posted a link to the Lawrence Livermore press release on the announcement of the new element, on my page for Intro Chem Internet Resources.
Oct 9, 2006. My page ChemSketch - An Introductory Guide has been updated to reflect the new version, 10, which was made available in September. Also, the page presents more features of ChemSketch; more to follow -- soon.
September 16, 2006. New topic added for Biotechnology in the News (BITN), on TGN1412: The clinical trial disaster.
September 12, 2006. New page added for Biotechnology in the News (BITN), on Prions (BSE, CJD, etc). (Actually this page has been here for a while, but it was not yet "official".)
July 24, 2006. New self-help worksheet added, on Buffers. It is part of a series of such worksheets on acids and bases, available on the Chemistry practice problems page.
July 20, 2006. New page added for Organic/Biochemistry, on Rings: Showing cis/trans and axial/equatorial relationships.
June 25, 2006. New page added for Biotechnology in the News (BITN), on Influenza (Bird flu).
Dec 20, 2004. New page: Books: Suggestions for general science reading. This page is listed as a general resource above, and is linked to each course page, for general information.
June 17, 2004. I have added a new page, Writing, drawing and viewing chemical formulas. It serves as an entry point to a range of resources (all of which were already listed, but in miscellaneous places).
June 17, 2004. My periodic table handout has been updated to show the proposed new name for element #111. The PT is available, as PDF, from the Downloads page.
Feb 15, 2004. My periodic table handout has been updated to show the two new elements just announced; see next item. The PT is available, as PDF, from the Downloads page.
Feb 10, 2004. I have posted a couple of links to announcements of the new elements, #115 and 113, on my page for Intro Chem Internet Resources.
Dec 12, 2003. Two new quizzes for Org/Bio Chem (X402) are available. One is a review quiz on topics up through ethers; this may be particularly useful in preparing for Test 2. There is also a new quiz on Lipids. See the Org/Bio Chem home page or the page listing the Practice quizzes.
Aug 28, 2003. I have updated the periodic table I distribute in class to correspond with the new Intro Chem textbook, and have also added the new name for element 110. This PT is available on my Download page. [Corrected Sept 6, 2003.]
June 8, 2003. Posted pages for new course Biotechnology in the News (BITN). This course will discuss the science behind current news stories, and is for the general public.
May 9, 2003. Using your scientific calculator. A form to help you discover key features of your calculator, and to submit that information for inclusion here. Information for a small sampling of calculators is now available. Also listed on main page for each chemistry course, and under "General resources", above.
Dec 10, 2002. I have split the Internet resources: Miscellaneous page. All Chemistry sections are now on a new page: Internet resources: Chemistry - Miscellaneous.
Nov 10, 2002. A new section on the Internet resources: Miscellaneous page, on Art and music.
Nov 7, 2002. A new self-help worksheet for introductory chemistry is available. It is on "Weak acids". It is available on the Download page. That page is also available under General resources, and from the Intro Chem home page. Note that this worksheet is the third in a series of closely related worksheets, on Water, Strong Acids, Weak Acids.
Sept 5, 2002. Two new self-help worksheets for introductory chemistry are available. One is on "Solutions: Molarity", and one is on "Strong acids". These are available on the Download page. That page is also available under General resources, and from the Intro Chem home page.
Aug 28, 2002. Two new quizzes for Intro Chem (X11) are available, for "Atoms and subatomic particles" and "Molecular shape (VSEPR); Lewis structures". See the Intro Chem home page or the page listing the Practice quizzes.
Aug 10, 2002. A "Glossary" for Org/Bio Chem, is now available. This is intended to highlight terms that come up, allowing us to build our own supplemental glossary. It is not intended to be complete. Suggested additions (and comments) encouraged. It is available from the Org/Bio Chem home page, or directly: Glossary.
Apr 22, 2002. New page, Omitting numbers, which discusses when you can and cannot omit the numbers in the name of an organic chemical. It is available from the Org/Bio Chem home page, or directly: Omitting numbers.
Mar 17, 2002. E-Z page. Now shows additional examples of how to apply the CIP priority rules, for both the E,Z system for naming alkenes and the R,S system for stereocenters. It is available from the Org/Bio Chem home page, or directly: The E-Z system for naming alkenes; examples of using the CIP rules.
Mar 17, 2002. ChemSketch page. Updated for the new version 5, which includes a feature for naming structures that you draw. The ChemSketch page is available under General resources, or from the Org/Bio Chem home page. Direct link: ChemSketch page.
Jan 12, 2002. New self-help worksheet for introductory chemistry, on Mass-mole interconversions. This is available on the Download page. That page is also available under General resources, and from the Intro Chem home page.
Jan 10, 2002. New page added, listing sources of "classic papers", in both chemistry and molecular biology. Some are sources on the Internet, some are notes about printed collections. Reading some of the classic papers in a field can be a fun way to explore history -- and to discover the different style of scientific papers long ago. Direct link: Classic papers. That page is also available under General resources, or on each course home page.
Dec 9, 2001. I have added a new page of "Supplemental information" for each of the chemistry courses (Intro Chem, Org/Bio Chem). This is a page for miscellaneous notes about the course, often expanding on the syllabus a bit. It is also a place to put information in response to student questions and comments. The "Supplemental information" page is available from the course home page and syllabus page. Direct links to "Supplemental information" pages: Intro Chem; Org/Bio Chem.
Dec 9, 2001. I have added a new self-help worksheet for introductory chemistry, on Density. This is available on the Download page. I have also added a list of the available worksheets at the start of the relevant section on the Download page, to make it easier to find each one.
Aug 22, 2001. Chapter on Metabolism, and related materials, posted for Org/Bio Chem. This is intended as a 3-4 hour introduction to enzymes and biochemical pathways. For this handout and related pages, see the Metabolism page.
Aug 4, 2001. Periodic table, on Download page, modified to show that announcement of the discovery of elements # 116 & 118 has been retracted.
Feb 24, 2001. The section of my main page listing "recent changes" has been split. The older items are now in a separate archive file. You are reading that page.
Jan 22, 2001. New supplementary page for Org/Bio Chem: Aromaticity; discusses the nature of aromatic compounds, beyond the simple statement that they are "like benzene". Also available from the Org/Bio Chem home page.
Jan 10, 2001. New pages that provide supplementary material for Org/Bio Chem:
* Terms: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, Quaternary (discusses the terms primary, secondary, etc, in several contexts);
* Amides (discusses some unusual features of amides);
* The E-Z system for naming alkenes; examples of using the CIP rules (discusses a more rigorous way to name alkene isomers).
All are available from the Org/Bio Chem home page.
Jan 2, 2001. New page: ISIS/Draw - An Introductory Guide. An introduction to ISIS/Draw, a program for drawing chemical structures. These drawings can be converted to 3D structures, and viewed with RasMol. Listed under Org/Bio Chem and General Resources. (Introductory guides are now available here for RasMol, ChemSketch, and ISIS/Draw. Together, these three programs provide a student or organic chemist a variety of tools for drawing and viewing molecular structures, from simple to complex.)
Dec 14, 2000. New page: ChemSketch - An Introductory Guide. An introduction to ChemSketch, a program for drawing chemical structures. These drawings can be converted to 3D structures, which are viewed either within a module of this program or with RasMol. Listed under General Resources.
Nov 29, 2000. The Library Matters page now includes a section listing sources for online journals. Some of these have free access. It is also now listed under List of pages of Internet resources.
The Library Matters page gives information on using the UC library system, including electronic resources, and information on searching for articles, using databases such as Medline. It is available under General resources, and on each course page.
Sept 26, 2000. An update of the ChemFormula macro has been posted, on the Download page. ChemFormula is a macro that helps you format chemical expressions in Microsoft Word. The Dutch-language version has also been updated. See "version history", on the Download page, for details.
Aug 8, 2000. A section on "Gene Chips" has been added to the Molecular Biology - Internet Resources page. This replaces the old "Gene Chips" page. Other subject-specific sections have been added recently to this course Internet Resources page, along with sections by chapter.
Jul 25, 2000. New sections have been added to the page of Internet Resources - Miscellaneous. These include Biochemistry, Books (free books online), and Food Safety.
Jul 10, 2000. Some supplementary self-help materials for introductory/general chemistry are now available. They include extensive practice problems. Currently available topics: Dimensional analysis; Dilutions. These are available on the Download page. See "General resources", above, or the Intro Chem page.
Jul 10, 2000. Some web sites in foreign languages are available on the Internet - Miscellaneous page. These are highlighted in red. Contributions welcomed.
May 30, 2000. Intro Chem. Information about halogen lamps and fluorescent lamp alternative; see Intro Chem Internet resources. Links have been updated.
May 15, 2000. RasMol - An Introductory Guide. A new section has been added, showing you how to create your own PDB files, so you can view the structure of molecules of your own choice. More generally, this guide offers help getting started with the RasMol computer program for viewing molecular structures on your computer. Useful for those getting started in organic chemistry, and also useful for exploring protein structure. This page can be reached from the Org/Bio Chem home page, and as a "quick-link" for Org/Bio Chem, above. It can also be reached from the "General resources" section, above.
Feb 7, 2000. A kit that lets you make your own "buckyballs" is now available, from the Download page. See "General resources", above, or the Org/Bio Chem page.
| July 16, 1999 | ? | FAQ page (frequently asked questions) for this web site is now available. FAQ - Frequently asked questions. Links to it are also on the home page for each course, near top and bottom. |
June 10, 1999. Periodic table updated to reflect announcement of new elements #116 and 118 by Lawrence Berkeley Lab. See "Download" under "General", above.
May 4, 1999. New page: Metric Prefixes - from yotta to yocto. Listed on some course pages, and on Site home page: General.
Apr 24, 1999. New page: Files available for download. Listed on some course pages, and on Site home page: General.
Site home page (top) or Site home page: "Recent changes" section
Last update: November 18, 2023