● http://www.biocompare.com

Have you ever wanted to buy a enzyme or kit but ended up being bewildered by which one to choose from the increasingly large range on offer? Well, Biocompare — a company based in California, United States — aims to help by being “The buyer's guide for life scientists”. It was started a few years ago by life scientists who wanted better information in order to compare reagent purchasing, and on this web site, you can browse products that relate to cell biology, molecular biology and tissue culture, to name just a few. The company's mission is “to facilitate scientific discovery by providing objective product information to the life science community”.

And this site is not just about browsing products — it has evolved to include several other useful and freely accessible sections, including New Technologies, News, Professional Reviews and Technology Spotlights. You can view 'News' as either 'Top Stories', or perhaps more conveniently under categories relating to your research interests. The Professional Reviews contain a synopsis, which succinctly summarizes the review information under the headings 'Product', 'The Good', 'The Bad' and 'The Bottom Line'.

The web site is easy to use and navigate, and is consistently and frequently updated. There is a simple search facility on the homepage, and the search results are listed under the sections mentioned above. By stopping scientists having to search through print catalogues to find the product they need, Biocompare aims to give them more time to focus on their valuable work.