Research Guides: Biological Sciences: Find Sources

What's On This Page?

On this page you'll find databases, books, web resources, and other resources we recommend to find information on Biology topics. We have organized the resources on this page by type of content. Depending on your specific project, you may find some resources more useful than others.

Journal Articles

PubMed (MCPHS link)
PubMed includes Medline. You do not need to search both PubMed and Medline (via Ovid).
Provided by the National Library of Medicine, this free database includes access to Medline, citations to other life sciences journals not indexed in Medline (primarily general sciences and chemistry), and links to the molecular biology databases maintained by National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). Read free articles. Use Get Full Text (MCPHS) for articles that are not free.
Scopus
Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed research literature with more than 20,500 titles from more than 5,000 international publishers. Scopus offers researchers a quick, easy and comprehensive resource to support their research needs in the scientific, technical, medical and social sciences fields and arts and humanities. Limited full-text available. [Free to MCPHS users download mobile app for your mobile device.]
CINAHL with Full Text
The new CINAHL site is now live. Literature related to nursing and allied health; also consumer health, biomedicine, and health sciences librarianship; indexes over 2900 journals; also provides access to healthcare books, nursing dissertations, selected conference proceedings, standards of professional practice, educational software and AV materials in nursing, the Pre-CINAHL dataset, and more. (1981 +). Full Text to over 600 nursing and allied health journals!! Free to MCPHS users access through a mobile device.
*Unlimited users

Background Information and Books

AccessMedicine
Access Medicine is an innovative online resource that provides access to more than 75 medical titles such as Harrison's Online and Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment, images and videos, interactive self-assessment, case files, diagnostic tools, and an integrated drug database. Free to MCPHS users the ability to view from and download content to a mobile device.
Faculty members: Create a free MyAccess account and follow the instructions on the For Instructors tab to access additional materials.
Stat!Ref – MCPHS
Through MCPHS. STAT!Ref, the premier healthcare e-resource, enables users to intuitively cross-search full-text titles, journals and evidence-based point-of-care authoritative resources. STAT!Ref provides the latest healthcare information in a customizable and convenient format. [Free to MCPHS users, download the mobile app to your mobile device.]
*7 simultaneous users to many books but 2 simultaneous users to many other books. A handful of highly used books have either 10 simultaneous users or unlimited simultaneous users.
MedGen (MCPHS link)
MedGen is the US NCBI's portal to information related to Medical Genetics, designed to organize information related to human medical genetics, such as attributes of conditions with a genetic contribution. It can be searched by the name of a condition, or by the clinical features or genes associated with that condition. It includes summary information as well as links to medical and research literature, consumer and patient information, practice guidelines, and genetic tests.
PubChem
Comprehensive details about chemicals, compounds, and bioassays. Find by description, chemical properties, or structural similarity. Provided by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).
Library Catalog
Search for books, videos, and more from MCPHS and from nearby libraries. Some items are only available online. Some items are only available as physical items.

Anatomy and Physiology Images and Videos

Anatomy.TV
View detailed models of the human body. Rotate the 3-D Real Time anatomy images to see the exact angle you want. See MRI images. Based on the Visible Human Project, these renderings are realistic and fairly detailed. Some parts have app versions. Quiz yourself on anatomy.
Unlimited users to Anatomy.tv.
Acland's Video Atlas of Human Anatomy This link opens in a new window
Learn about human anatomy through these short videos about different body parts. The body parts shown are only lightly preserved; see full color and textures. Sign up for a free account to quiz yourself.
NetAnatomy.com
A website designed to teach human anatomy to health profession students.
Faculty members: You can use screenshots to create an anatomy quiz. Find the body part(s) you want, set it to use blank labels, and take a screenshot. Explicitly state that the image is from NetAnatomy.
SMART Imagebase
Medical illustrations and animations. Includes simple drawings as well as more detailed images. Browse by body system or by disease / condition. Or, search for images.

Sequences, Genes, and Data

NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information)
Different molecular databases for sequences, structure, taxonomy, DNA, RNA, genes, proteins, genomes, homology, etc. See the "Learn to Search" section of this guide for tips on searching NCBI databases.
Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST)
The Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) finds regions of local similarity between sequences. The program compares nucleotide or protein sequences to sequence databases and calculates the statistical significance of matches. BLAST can be used to infer functional and evolutionary relationships between sequences as well as help identify members of gene families.
ClinVar
ClinVar is a freely accessible, public archive of reports of the relationships among human variations and phenotypes, with supporting evidence. ClinVar accepts submissions from researchers reporting variants found in patient samples, assertions made regarding their clinical significance, information about the submitter, and other supporting data. The alleles described in submissions are then mapped to reference sequences, and reported according to the HGVS standard.
Gene (MCPHS link)
The NCBI Gene database provides detailed information for known and predicted genes (in humans and other species) defined by nucleotide sequence or map position. A record may include nomenclature, Reference Sequences (RefSeqs), maps, pathways, variations, phenotypes, and links to genome-, phenotype-, and locus-specific resources worldwide.
Genetic Testing Registry (GTR®)
The Genetic Testing Registry (GTR®) provides a central location for voluntary submission of genetic test information by providers. The scope includes the test's purpose, methodology, validity, evidence of the test's usefulness, and laboratory contacts and credentials.

Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) Database

GEO is a public functional genomics data repository supporting MIAME-compliant data submissions. Array- and sequence-based data are accepted and tools are provided to help users query and download experiments and curated gene expression profiles.

Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) Datasets
- Stores curated gene expression and molecular abundance. DataSets assembled from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) repository. DataSet records contain additional resources, including cluster tools and differential expression queries.
Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) Profiles
- Stores individual gene expression and molecular abundance Profiles assembled from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) repository. Use this link to search for specific profiles of interest based on gene annotation or pre-computed profile characteristics.

Get Your Source

Looking for the full text? Either of the following symbols will take you to the full text of your item:

PDF or Get Full Text (MCPHS)

If the item you want is not available directly from MCPHS:

Check to see if the item is freely available online. Use the links in the "Try to get a free / open access version" section.
Is the item you are searching for not in our collections and not freely available online? Book chapters and articles not available from MCPHS’ print and digital collections can often be obtained from other libraries via our Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service. Requests for Interlibrary Loans can be made by submitting this form, or by accessing the “Get Full Text” links from citations available from our databases. This service is provided for MCPHS faculty, staff, and students only.