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The background information and the work you have done so far, has provided a much better understanding ultraviolet radiation. Now it is up to you to gather as much information as possible about ultraviolet radiation, specific to your research question.

A good starting point is to realize that there are thousands of scientists in the world working in many different fields of science. Scientists work on a problem until they think they have something to value to report to other scientists. Then they describe their findings or thoughts in an article or paper. They submit the paper to one of the many scientific publications and/or journals printed though out the world. The submitted article is reviewed by persons acquainted with the particular field of science it deals with and these persons are able to judge whether the article makes a contribution to the literature of science. If it does, the article appears in the publication. A few journals publish papers items of interest to all scientists. An important weekly in the United States which covers all of science is called SCIENCE. Its British counterpart is called NATURE. These two journals contain not only reports of original research, but also general articles, announcements, and advertise events of interest to scientists. The great majority of articles are published in journals which relate to particular fields of science. Journals are a great source for current research and information on your subject. Journals are usually found through library research, although some are now in electronic, online versions.

Library research will provide several sources of information of value. Books are still a wonderful source of information. It generally takes longer for new information to find acceptance into the field and into the books of the field. However, good solid information on our understanding of the natural world presented in books, may be new to you. Books help create a fundamental understanding of your research area and provide a wide view of our understanding of the natural world. There are also a standardized protocol books, which are very useful.

Internet searches are also valuable but remember, always evaluate the source of the information and determine how reliable that source is for information. There are several internet search engines that do metasearches (using several search engines at once). They are not necessarily better at finding specific information than individual search engines but they cast a very wide "net" . One of these metasearch engines is called Profusion. The trick to finding information using any search engines is to try several terms related to your research questions, and to try combination of terms.

The following material is from the Yeast Experiments at Kansas State University's Genetics Education Network. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants No. DPE-8319148, DTE-8954638, and ESI-9252889.

At the beginning of the 20th century, when physicists were trying to understand how matter and energy interacted, the classical theory of physics led to the conclusion that all warm objects should radiate all frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. In other words, everything should be shining with ultraviolet radiation. If nature behaved this way it would have been a catastrophe for life as we know it. Since the theory was absurdly wrong, scientists dubbed it the "ultraviolet catastrophe.". Because it led rather directly to the development of the quantum theory of light, however, it was anything but a catastrophe. Quantum theory gave us a way of understanding how molecules--including the important biological molecules such as DNA, chlorophyll, and visual pigments--interact with electromagnetic radiation. It gave us the concept of the photon as the elementary particle of light energy that interacts with atoms and molecules.

Today, the term ultraviolet catastrophe threatens to take on a more sinister meaning. If we have the potential to substantially increase the amount of solar ultraviolet radiation that reaches the surface of the earth, the consequences could be an ecological catastrophe. There are pessimists who will say that if there is a way to mess things up, surely we will do it. There are optimists who will say that even if we mess it up, we can turn around and fix it. We prefer to say that if we understand it, perhaps we can avoid messing it up to begin with.

Ultraviolet radiation in our environment is as common as sunlight. It generates genetic diversity and kills cells. It gives us suntans and skin cancer. It appeals to our vanity and feeds our fears. In the classroom, ultraviolet radiation is a vital topic for the study of the global environment, health, genetics, evolution, chemistry, and physics.

The following are articles of interest from the Gene Project;

A Closer Look at...Ultraviolet Radiation in our Environment

A Closer Look at...Stratospheric Ozone

A Closer Look at...Biological Consequences of Ultraviolet Exposure

A Closer Look at...Light and Energy

A Closer Look at...Modeling the Effects of Ultraviolet Radiation

Another source of information to review is the collection of material that other Pathfinder Science participants have found and posted for you here. KanCRN is a community of people working together and those working in this area before you have left "tracks" for you to follow. If you find additional information that will help others following you, post it on-line using the form below. It is important to help the KanCRN community build this valuable resource to our research community. A community is only sustainable if members contribute as much as they use!

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