From the Desk of the Editor

Doreen J. Schroeder

"Laughter need not be cut out of anything,
since it improves everything."--James Thurber

Have you ever tried to remember what it was like to be in college? Do you have many clear memories of the hours spent in lecture halls or in laboratories? I know that I do not. However, almost all of those that I do remember have been associated with laughter. I can still see my American literature professor standing in front of class reading aloud to us from Mark Twain's Roughing It and laughing so hard that tears were streaming down his cheeks, or my cell biology professor pretending he was dragging his liver across the floor of the lab to make a point about enzyme efficiency. It is with these (and other) memories in mind that I began a number of years ago to collect biology-related jokes and cartoons. I use them regularly in my introductory classes and labs, most especially to put at ease the non-science majors I teach during spring semester.

Despite a minor setback of a lost box in our move a few years ago, my files have expanded almost to the point of being able to locate a cartoon or joke for every topic in our General Biology course. Recently, I have found a few websites that have expanded my treasure trove. So, whether you are looking for cartoons for lab (or lecture), or just want to banish the doldrums of the middle of the term, enjoy the links to laughter below.

Profession Jokes-Biology This site has some new jokes and also some oldies but goodies.

The Human Genome by all the top cartoonists From Dennis Cagle's Pro Cartoonists page, this section is dedicated to editorial cartoons about the Human Genome Project.

Science Cartoons Plus by S. Harris--- no introduction needed

Strange Matters Biology Cartoons These are quirky, but very funny. See also the Strange Matters General Science Cartoons