Winter 2008, Vol. 4, No. 1 | Index

The MBL website continues to evolve to meet the needs of its users. In the month of December alone, the MBL website received nearly 3 Million “hits”, and roughly 50,000 unique visitors. Here are just a few statistics regarding the use of the MBL website during December 2007:

Total Hits: 2,778,763
Unique Visitors: 50,476
Average Visitors Per Hour: 67.84
MB Transferred: 41,506.81
Most Popular Search Term(s): mbl

As you can see, the website is used by thousands of people to learn about the MBL, register for courses, read about new research, and for a host of other reasons.

Visitors to the MBL website may noticed several changes in recent months, including:

The MBL Science Journalism Program site has been updated and expanded to give visitors and potential fellows more information about the new Polar Program, as well as access to other online resources.

The Guide to Research and Education has been completely updated for 2008, and offers web users a handy online guide to the MBL.

Research Highlights

Several recent feature articles have been highlighted on the website, including:

• A Cancer Prevention Clue - Zebrafish Excel at Repairing Their Own DNA
• Science in Orbit - Astronaut Suni Williams leverages her MBL training in space
• Rachel Carson at the MBL - Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring, spent six summer weeks in 1929 at the MBL as a beginning investigator in zoology.

Education

Course information and application forms have been updated for 2008, and will continue to be updated as new information becomes available.

Human Resources

Many more forms and online resources are now available for MBL staff and supervisors, under Staff Toolbox.

—Dave Gallagher, Web Editor/Designer

The Collecting Net is an employee newsletter published by the Communications Office. Comments and suggestions are welcome. Call (508) 289-7423 or e-mail us at