Mission: Drosophila- Help Page

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Agent Hint Log Chat Cookies Hint How to Navigate This Site How to Solve a Mission How to Use the Notebook Level of Difficulty Outside Links Punnet Calculator Technical Specifications

AGENT HINT LOG	[ BACK \| TOP ]
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The agent hint log allows agents to give advice to other agents by posting hints to a hint file. This hint log can be viewed by any agent by either choosing "Agent Hints" from the "More Tools..." menu in the mission interface, or by clicking on the link in the main menu. To use the hint log, follow the instructions given on the page.

CHAT	[ BACK \| TOP ]
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To use the "real-time" chat feature, simply click on the link from the main menu, or from the "More Tools..." menu on any of the mission interfaces, select chat and click the "Go" button. A window will pop up containing a link to the chat interface. To log on to the chat, type your codename in the text field, and press the button to log on. The bottom part of the window will then change to a text area where you can type what you want to say and submit it to the chat. The area containing the text of the chat will refresh about every 3 to 5 seconds, and your message will be posted on top. We encourage you to use this chat to collaborate with other agents while you are trying to solve the missions.

HTTP COOKIES	[ BACK \| TOP ]
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This site relies on setting HTTP cookies to enhance your experience, and to make several of the features of this site functional. Please make sure your browser's preferences are set to accept cookies. Basically, a cookie is a little piece of information that is stored in a text file on your computer (for PCs with Netscape, this file is called cookies.txt in your browser's folder. If you use MS Internet Explorer, the cookies will be stored in a folder located at C:\WINDOWS\Cookies\. If you use Netscape for Mac, cookies are stored in the MagicCookie file in the preferences folder. If you use Internet Explorer for Mac, cookies are stored in the preferences folder.). With cookies, a web site can store preferences for itself that allow you to have a more dynamic experience. The cookie files are limited to a maximum size of 300 cookies, 20 cookies per server, and 4 kilobytes per cookie. So, theoretically, the maximum size of your cookie file could only be around 1 megabyte. For more information on cookies, please visit: http://www.cookiecentral.com.

HINT	[ BACK \| TOP ]
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In each mission, one of the tools you will have will be the hint tool. When you click on it, a hint will pop up that is relevant to the stage of the mission you are in. Hints will not always be available, but they are useful when you are having a hard time progressing through the mission.

HOW TO NAVIGATE THIS SITE	[ BACK \| TOP ]
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Because this site creates a new window without any of your browser's navigational buttons, it may seem difficult to navigate this site at first. However, we designed this site with that in mind, and created a few navigational tools for you to use. First, as you notice on the top of this page, and on all full-window pages, there is a grey image labeled MD NAVBAR.

The MD Navigational Bar has the basic back and forward functions of your browser. The "Next" button works the same as the "Forward" button on your browser. Also on this bar is a link to the main menu page so that you can access it at any point. Once you engage in a mission, the MD NAVBAR will be replaced by a more powerful button bar that has all of the basic button features of your browser.

Yeat_Browser

These buttons should function exactly like your browser's button bar, including the stop and reload functions, as well as a help button that will take you to this help file at any time.

HOW TO SOLVE A MISSION	[ BACK \| TOP ]
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All missions need to be solved in order. To solve a mission, simply click on the "Solve" image in the toolbar. Follow the directions on the page that appears in the main frame and click the "Solve" button to submit your results. The GMF will analyze your conclusions to determine if they are correct. If they are not correct, you will be asked to re-examine your data and try again.

HOW TO USE THE NOTEBOOK	[ BACK \| TOP ]
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To use the Notebook, simply select any text that you would like to have easy access to, copy it, and paste it into the text area in the window that pops up. At any time, you will be able to look at your notebook or add/edit it by following the instructions written in the window.

LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY	[ BACK \| TOP ]
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This web site is designed so that anyone, regardless of ability, can learn and have fun. The site begins with the most basic concepts of genetics (Mission 1) and gradually increases to more advanced genetics concepts (Mission: Drosophila). This is why it is suggested that you complete the missions in order. If you need help proceeding through the missions, you can use the collaboration tools, such as the real-time chat, the agent hint log, etc.

OUTSIDE LINKS	[ BACK \| TOP ]
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This site offers references to other genetics sites all across the internet. If you want to investigate more into genetics, these links offer a way for you to get a good start.

PUNNET CALCULATOR	[ BACK \| TOP ]
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The Punnet Calculator allows users to calculate monohybrid & dihybrid crosses automatically. Just fill in the gametes in the top row and left column of text areas and click "calculate." The offspring will appear in the squares labeled F2 (offspring).

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS	[ BACK \| TOP ]
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The Mission: Drosophila web site will only function with the following versions of browsers or better. This site is best experienced with Netscape® Communicator^TM 4.0 or Microsoft® Internet Explorer^TM 4.0.

Microsoft® Internet Explorer^TM 3.0x (Windows) Microsoft® Internet Explorer^TM 3.01 (Macintosh) Microsoft® Internet Explorer^TM 4.0 (both) (Note: In using versions of Internet Explorer before 3.01, you may receive javascript error messages, but this will not effect functionality of the site.)	Netscape® Navigator^TM 3.0 (both) Netscape® Communicator^TM 4.0 (both)
The ability to play MIDI files in your browser.	The LiveAudio Plugin from Netscape® (This one shouldn't be too hard. It comes standard with Navigator^TM 3.0)