On August 13, 2012, visitors to the ClinicalTrials.gov Web site and the accompanying Protocol Registration System (PRS) Information Web site (designed for data providers) saw a link to a beta site including a new integrated homepage and updated graphic design for the site (http://clinicaltrials.gov/beta/). Visitors will also have access to new and reorganized written content about clinical research, background information about the site, searching for studies, and maintaining study records. However, core functions of the site — including the basic and advanced search, search results options, and the study record data – will remain the same. The new site interface will run in parallel with the previous version for approximately four weeks after launch. After appropriate testing and additional minor changes it will permanently replace the previous interface.

What’s in a name? PubMed Central, a free full-text archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature at the U.S. National Library of Medicine, has shortened its name to PMC in order to avoid confusion with PubMed. What’s also new is PMC’s look and feel, which has been updated to conform to NCBI’s new standards for page design. This redesign allows for a cleaner and more uniform presentation across PMC’s site as well as its article, issue and journal archive pages.

More information on this and other PMC changes is available in the NLM Technical Bulletin.

The  Leadership Fellows Program, sponsored by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL), is currently accepting applications and nominations for the August 1, 2012, deadline for potential fellows for the 2012-2013 experience. The Leadership Fellows Program is focused on preparing emerging leaders for the position of library director in academic health sciences libraries. Fellows will have the opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills in a variety of learning settings, including exposure to leadership in another environment. They will be paired with mentors who are academic health sciences library directors. In addition to the individual relationship with their mentors, fellows benefit from working collaboratively with other fellows and mentors. Experienced Program faculty and mentors will provide content and facilitation for the cohort.

Candidates for fellow should have a strong interest in pursuing a directorship in academic health sciences libraries, as well as significant management experience. Applications are welcomed from professionals working in academic health sciences libraries, hospital libraries, or other library-related settings. Applications from qualified minority candidates are encouraged.

Applications due: August 1, 2012

More information is available at NLM’s  News and Events.

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) has announced an update for the Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders (WISER) app. WISER for iOS 3.0 adds native support for the iPad in addition to support for the iPhone and iPod touch. This update also features some improved graphics and provides iPads with access to many WISER features including WISER’s protective distance mapping feature.

Check out what’s new in this release:
http://wiser.nlm.nih.gov/whats_new_iOS_3_0.html

WISER for iOS 3.0 can be downloaded and installed directly from the Apple App Store:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wiser-for-ios/id375185381?mt=8

The NLM also announced that additional updates for WISER are coming soon, including the following:

• Chemical Hazards Emergency Medical Management (CHEMM) integration (http://chemm.nlm.nih.gov/).
• Updates to WISER’s Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG) content to the newly released 2012 edition.
• WISER for Android 3.0, which adds Help Identify Chemical and protective distance mapping to this popular platform.

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) recently launched a mobile version of the Drug Information Portal.

The mobile interface provides access to information for over 31,000 drugs. Names, usage, and structures are displayed, as well as search links to key NLM and government sites, using their mobile version when available. Spell checking and auto-suggest are also used during input.

Smartphone devices will be automatically redirected to the mobile version of the Drug Information Portal. Learn more about the Drug Information Portal from the June 25 NLM Technical Bulletin announcement.

Find out more about mobile sites from the NLM by visiting the Gallery of Mobile Apps and Sites.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has published the July 2012 edition of the NIH News in Health. Information in this issue includes:

• Adopting a vegetarian diet
• Health effects of massage therapy
• Impact of NIH Research

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is funding a series of continuing education courses with the Medical Library Association (MLA). These courses may be used to lead to a Basic or Advanced certificate, “Disaster Information Specialization,” which will be available from MLA for completion of courses and other activities focused on the information aspects of disaster preparedness, response and recovery.

Three courses were taught the week of May 19 in-person at MLA in Seattle and are now (or will be) available online. These three courses, plus an additional two online courses from FEMA, meet the requirements for a Basic-level certificate.

• Disaster Information Sources: The Basics

• Information Roles in Disaster Management

• US Response to Disasters and Public Health Emergencies

Additional enrichment courses are being developed and their CE contact hours may be used toward the requirements for the Advanced-level certificate.

• Disaster Situations in an International Context

• A Seat at the Table: A Step-by-Step Approach to Working with Local Responders

• Ethical and Legal Aspects of Disaster Response

Most of these courses will be offered June-August in a classroom setting or online at no cost. Please see the following links for more information. If you have any questions about the planning of the Disaster Information Specialization program, please contact Kathleen Combs, Director, Professional Development, MLA at 312-419-9094 x29 or mlapd1@mlahq.org.

CLASSROOM COURSES, schedule/info/how to register, http://www.mlanet.org/education/dis/index.html. Also scroll down for more about the specialization.

ONLINE LIVE, June 27-28, US Response to Disasters and Public Health Emergencies, info at http://www.mlanet.org/education/dis/us_response.html.

ONLINE LIVE, July 18-19, Information Roles in Disaster Preparedness, Response and Recovery, link available soon.

ONLINE LIVE, Aug 23-24, Ethical and Legal Aspects of Disaster Response, link available soon.

ONLINE LIVE, Aug 29-30, A Seat at the Table:  Approach to Working with Local Responders, link available soon.

ONLINE LIVE, Disaster Situations in an International Context, date and link available soon.

ONLINE ARCHIVED, Disaster Information Sources: The Basics, course available at http://www.mlanet.org/education/dis/basics.html.

Stay on top of the latest news from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) with this full list of social media links: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/socialmedia/social_nnlm.html Not only will you find quick access to Twitter, Facebook, and blog posts from the South Central Region, now you can find links to the social media sites and blogs from other Regions as well as the National Training Center (NTC), Outreach Evaluation Resource Center (OERC), and more.

For a comprehensive list of social media and news links from the National Library of Medicine (NLM) visit http://www.nlm.nih.gov/socialmedia/index.html

The world’s largest set of data on human genetic variation — produced by the international 1000 Genomes Project — is now publicly available on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud. Cloud access to the 1000 Genomes Project data through AWS is at http://s3.amazonaws.com/1000genomes/.

Since the project’s launch, the data set has grown enormously: At 200 terabytes — the equivalent of 16 million file cabinets filled with text, or more than 30,000 standard DVDs — the current 1000 Genomes Project records are a prime example of big data that has become so massive that few researchers have the computing power to use them. To help solve that problem, AWS has just posted the 1000 Genomes Project data for free as a public data set, providing a centralized repository on the Amazon Simple Storage Service.

The public-private collaboration demonstrates the kind of solutions that may emerge from the Big Data Research and Development Initiative announced today by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) during an event at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C.

“The explosion of biomedical data has already significantly advanced our understanding of health and disease. Now we want to find new and better ways to make the most of these data to speed discovery, innovation and improvements in the nation’s health and economy,” said NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Collins is among agency leaders speaking in support of the initiative at the launch event.

See the press release for more information.

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) solicits resource grant applications for projects that will bring useful, usable health information to health disparity populations and the health care providers who care for those populations. Proposed projects should exploit the capabilities of computer and information technology and health sciences libraries to bring health-related information to consumers and their health care providers. Preference will be given to applications that show strong involvement of health science libraries.

Because this FOA (Funding Opportunity Announcement) focuses on providing health information to health disparity populations, institutions with demonstrated commitment to the needs of health disparity communities (including Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCU), Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) and other institutions in rural and socially disadvantaged areas) are encouraged to apply.

Letter of Intent Due: April 22, 2012

Application Due Date: May 22, 2012 by 5:00 p.m. local time of applicant or organization.

Complete information may be found at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-LM-12-001.html.