French fries, car exhaust, and shampoo have one thing in common: They can contain breast cancer-causing compounds. To find out more about suspect chemicals and lifestyle factors, including obesity, implicated in breast cancer, check out this new two-part database from the Silent Spring Institute, a women's health nonprofit based in Newton, Massachusetts.

Researchers pored over toxicity data to compile a roster of 216 compounds that trigger mammary tumors in animal tests. For chemicals such as acrylamide, a byproduct of cooking starch-laden foods, the site offers information on uses, routes of exposure, and health risks. The database also summarizes and critiques the methodology of 450 studies on links between human breast cancer and nongenetic factors.

Volume 316, Number 5829, Issue of 01 June 2007

The first project to share cancer-promoting genes found by scanning the entire human genome has posted its initial results. The Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility program, sponsored by the U.S. National Cancer Institute, evaluated DNA samples from some 1100 prostate cancer patients and an equal number of healthy men. Researchers tested more than 300,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to determine which ones boost the risk for the cancer. The data, released on 19 October, include the association values for each SNP. Scientists can break down the results to discover, say, how common a particular DNA variation is among patients with fast-spreading tumors. A whole-genome analysis of breast cancer genes will follow early next year.

Volume 314, Number 5802, Issue of 17 November 2006

Visitors to the new site HEALTHmap can pinpoint the latest outbreaks of more than 50 human and animal illnesses, from avian influenza to chikungunya fever, a mosquito-spread disease of Asia and Africa. Created by epidemiologist John Brownstein of Harvard Medical School in Boston and software developer Clark Freifeld of Children's Hospital Boston, the site automatically picks up and charts fresh case reports and other data from sources such as the World Health Organization, Google News, and the disease alert Web site ProMed-Mail. You can sort the information by disease and country and click on the world map to summon the original report or article.

Volume 314, Number 5804, Issue of 01 December 2006

Biologists who lament, "So many databases, so little time," should check out this portal from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. The site provides brief descriptions of more than 1500 free bioinformatics databases and tools in categories such as immunology, genomics, and RNA. If you're looking for data on how pathogens alter gene activity in immune cells, for instance, follow the link to the Macrophage Expression Atlas in the U.K. Or the site can help you sift through the more than 70 databases with information on plant genes and proteins.

Science 20 October 2006:
Vol. 314. no. 5798, p. 393

If you want to find out which countries recorded the most cholera cases last year or compare measles vaccination rates, drop by the Global Health Atlas from the World Health Organization. The site emphasizes communicable diseases, but its cache of health statistics covers variables as diverse as child mortality and number of hospital beds per capita. Last year, for instance, Senegal reported the most cholera cases, nearly 32,000. And Bahrain ranks highest in measles vaccination levels at 100%--versus 93% in the United States and only 80% in the United Kingdom. A library houses a host of maps, or you can use the site's data to make your own charts. Included is a map showing the breakdown of world tuberculosis cases in 2004, with red indicating the countries with the most infections.

Science 29 September 2006:
Vol. 313. no. 5795, p. 1861

This new avian influenza monitoring site houses no data on the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus in U.S. wild birds--but that's a good thing. As the U.S. Geological Survey clearinghouse records, none of the more than 11,800 birds sampled in 28 states so far this year carried the virulent strain, which experts fear could morph into a virus that triggers a pandemic. If the deadly virus does infect wild birds here, as it has done in Asia and Europe, visitors will be able to follow the results state by state.

Science 8 September 2006:
Vol. 313. no. 5792, p. 1367