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Dialog Enhances BIOSIS Previews^® Database Available Through Dialog^® and Dialog DataStar™ Services

CARY, N.C., USA (February 5, 2003) — Dialog, a Thomson (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC) business and a leading worldwide provider of online-based information services and integrated information solutions, said today that it has enhanced the BIOSIS Previews® database available through its Dialog® and Dialog DataStar™ online services.

In addition to print publishing, BIOSIS also produces electronic databases, used for life sciences research, that integrate different types of content focused on various fields of biology. Included are abstracts from thousands of sources published worldwide, such as articles from professional journals, meetings and conference proceedings, patents, book chapters and more. The databases are supported by an extensive array of indexing and categorizing tools to facilitate document searching and retrieval.

BIOSIS Previews, one of the BIOSIS databases available through the Dialog and Dialog DataStar services, contains citations from Biological Abstracts® (BA), and Biological Abstracts/Reports, Reviews, and Meetings® (BA/RRM) (formerly BioResearch Index®), both major publications from BIOSIS. Together, these publications constitute the major English-language service providing comprehensive worldwide coverage of research in the biological and biomedical sciences. Biological Abstracts includes approximately 350,000 accounts of original research annually from almost 4,000 primary journals. Biological Abstracts/RRM includes an additional 200,000+ citations a year from meeting abstracts, reviews, books, book chapters, notes, letters and selected reports. A selection of U.S. patents is also included.

Researchers across a wide range of industries and organizations — including companies in the pharmaceutical, healthcare, agricultural, food processing and related sectors, as well as government bodies and others — access BIOSIS databases to track advancements in the life sciences, such as new product development, competitive news, and regulatory compliance.

"BIOSIS publishes a tremendous wealth of in-depth research that is vital to many of our users around the world," said Viji Krishnan, Dialog vice president, publisher management. "The enhancements we have made to BIOSIS Previews will be a big help in their ability to search and harness this important collection of research."

The most significant enhancements to the BIOSIS Previews database available through the Dialog and Dialog DataStar services include:

• the addition of CAS® Registry Numbers to more than nine million BIOSIS Previews records;
  
  
• the addition of more than 6,300 sequence data accession numbers; and
  
  
• the addition of BIOSIS Major Concepts, an indexing field that enables researchers to identify and retrieve targeted information by conceptual terms, now added to every citation back to 1969.

Other improvements to BIOSIS Previews include additional revisions to indexing fields, such as newly added taxonomical terms, revised biosystematic codes and revised mapping of Medical Subject Heading (MeSH®) Disease terms. In addition, the bibliographic data has been standardized and the patent indexing feature streamlined.

For detailed information about BIOSIS Previews content available through the Dialog service, please visit support.dialog.com/searchaids/dialog/pdf/f5_qrc.pdf. For detailed information about BIOSIS Previews content available through the Dialog DataStar service, please visit our website.

BIOSIS was recently acquired by The Thomson Corporation.

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About Dialog and The Thomson Corporation
Dialog, a pioneer in developing the technology behind electronic information retrieval, is the world leader in providing online-based information services to organizations seeking competitive advantages in such fields as business, science, engineering, finance and law.

Today, the online services provided by Dialog — offered through the Dialog®, Dialog Profound®, Dialog DataStar™, NewsEdge and Intelligence Data brands — give users the ability to precisely retrieve data from more than 1.4 billion unique records, accessible via the Internet or through delivery to enterprise intranets. Searchable content includes articles and reports from thousands of real-time news feeds, newspapers, broadcast transcripts and trade publications, plus research reports and analyst notes providing support for financial decision-making, as well as in-depth repositories of scientific and technical data, patents, trademarks and other intellectual property data. Information professionals and end-users at business, professional and government organizations in more than 100 countries prize Dialog services for their depth and breadth of content, precision searching and speed.

Based in Cary, N.C., USA, Dialog has operations in 31 other countries. Dialog (www.dialog.com) is a business of The Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC). With 2002 revenues from continuing operations of US$7.5 billion, Thomson (www.thomson.com) is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers.

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All designated trademarks used herein are the property of The Dialog Corporation or its subsidiaries. Registered marks are registered by The Dialog Corporation or its subsidiaries with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. All other marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

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