Background: For years, Uniform Resource Locator (URL) decay or "link rot" has been a growing concern in the field of biomedical sciences. This paper addresses this issue by examining the status of the URLs published in MEDLINE abstracts, establishing current availability and estimating URL decay in these records from 1994 to 2006. We also reviewed the information provided by the URL to determine if the context that the author cited in writing the paper is the same information presently available in the URL. Lastly, with all the documented recommended methods to preserve URL links, we determined which among them have gained acceptance among authors and publishers.

The increasing amount of new scientific information made available by computers and the Internet is demonstrated by the growing number of available health sciences journals. Medical students, nursing students, those in other health science disciplines, and clinicians need to make information more manageable and accessible, especially at the point of care. Technological advances are available to assist them in keeping up with more information than what was accessible to their mentors. In this report, we examine technological advancements and Internet technologies, particularly mobile devices that are currently available to educators and students. We review these advances with respect to how they (a) deliver content, (b) serve different purposes in the classroom and beyond, (c) play different roles in a health sciences student's learning experience, and (d) make available a variety of resources to teachers. These innovations are broadly categorized as mobile technology, Web 2.0 innovations, Learning Management Systems/eLearning, and medical simulations. Educators and learning institutions must be equipped for the future and maintain proficiency in the ever-expanding world of human medicine by adopting effective strategies that will infuse their lessons with the appropriate technology and allow their students to achieve their maximum potential. Given all these, we believe that the future of the health student and professional will be in mobile computing.