Scientific and Technical Information Network

Research articles of interest to biochemists may appear in many types of research journals. Research libraries do not have the funds necessary to subscribe to every journal, nor do scientists have the time to survey every current journal copy for articles of interest. Two publications that help scientists to keep up with published articles are Chemical Titles (published every 2 weeks by the American Chemical Society) and the weekly Current Contents available in hard copy and computer disks (published by the Institute of Science Information). The Life Science edition of Current Contents is the most useful for biochemists. The computer revolution has reached into the chemical and biochemical literature, and most college and university libraries now subscribe to computer bibliographic search services. One such service is STN International, the scientific and technical information network. This on-line system allows direct access to some of the world s largest scientific databases. The STN databases of most value to life scientists include BIOSIS Pre-views/RN (produced by Bio Sciences Information Service covers original research reports, reviews, and U.S. patents in biology and biomedicine), CA (produced by Chemical Abstracts service covers research reports in all areas of chemistry), MEDLINE, and MEDLARS (produced by the U.S. National Library of Medicine and Index Medicus, respectively cover all areas of biomedicine). These networks provide on-line service and their databases can be accessed from personal computers in the office, laboratory, or library. Some... 

STN International is the online scientific and technical information network dedicated to meeting the information needs of scientists and information professionals throughout the world. CAS represents STN in North America. The CAS databases accessible on STN are... 

CAS cooperates with Fachinformationszentrum Energie, Physik, Mathematik (FIZ-Karlsruhe) in Karlsruhe, Federal Republic of Germany, and the Japan Information Center of Science and Technology (JICST) in Tokyo, Japan, to form STN International, the scientific and technical information network. The CAS-developed Messenger software is used to support STN International and is running on... 

Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) is also an authority on polymer nomenclature. CAS publishes Chemical Abstracts, which is available both in printed format and electronically via STN International, Scientific and Technical Information Network. The Chemical Abstracts Registry file provides many examples of CAS polymer nomenclature principles, which are published as Section 222 of Appendix IV in every edition of the CA Index Guide (33). 

Searchers who choose to search a publicly available file such as the CAS Registry File must learn the rules imposed on them by CAS (2). The CAS Registry File is remotely searchable via the Scientific and Technical Information Network (STN) in Columbus, Ohio. Anyone with an STN accoimt and a computer equipped with the necessary hardware and software may access this file. As of September 2002, the Registry file contains names, structures, or both for over 42 million substances, of which nearly 934,000 are polymers. 

STN Scientific and Technical Information Network SCI CA Eighth Collective Index 9CI CA Ninth Collective Index 12CI CA Twelfth Collective Index... 

STN International, a scientific and technical information network, created by CAS and FIZ Karlsruhe (linked with JICST, Tokyo, in 1987)... 

Most scientists use electronic services such as Dialogue, the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) of the American Chemical Society, the Scientific and Technical Information Network (STN), CrossFire, NetFire, etc. to search the literature a smaller subset use individualized search profiling to electronically access current journals but few utilize authorized access to collaborators research notebooks. Why should our research notebooks not become a shareable feast . For the first time our personal notebooks can become a controlled group electronic resource. 

This article contains some useful reference detail. However, it does not purport to list all relevant factual databases. Such a list would be contentious and almost impossible to compose, simply from the problem of definition and the multitude of available collections. In our view, one of the best entry points in this respect on the Internet is the Beilstein home page, where many further links are maintained. Relevant information is also contained in the catalogs of the major online hosts, such as STN (Scientific and Technical Information Network) International, which offers over 150 databases from mainly scientific and technical disciplines, and DIALOG Information Services, Inc., which offers over 400 databases from a broad range of disciplines, including natural sciences. 

International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry MDL = MDL Information Systems, Inc, RN = Registry Number SRU = structural repeating unit SSS = substructure search STN = Scientific and Technical Information Network SCI = CA Eighth Collective Index 9CI = CA Ninth Collective Index 12CI = CA Twelfth Collective Index. 

FIZ Chemie = Fachinformation.szentrum Cheniie ISl = institute for Scientific Information IRDAS = ISIS reaction database access system ISIS = integrated scientific information system JSM = Journal of Synthetic Methods MACCS = molecule access system MOS = Metlwd.s in Organic Synthesis, ORAC = Organic Reaction Acce.ss by Computer REACCS = Reaction Access System SMD = standard molecular data SPORE = Solid Phase Organic Reactions, STN = Scientific and Technical Information Network SYNLIB = Synthesis Library. 

In cooperation with national/international institutions, FIZ Karlsruhe produces databases in the areas of physics, energy, nuclear research, mathematics, and computer science, as well as reference databases for conferences, gray literature, research reports, and more. Moreover, it attends to databases of other suppliers and producers FIZ Karlsruhe operates the European Centre of STN International, offering worldwide access to about 200 databases in all fields of science and technology (see STN International The Scientific and Technical Information Network. ... 

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