fbpx The app for playing with 3-D molecules structure | Science in the net

The app for playing with 3-D molecules structure

Primary tabs

Read time: 2 mins

Molecules is an application for viewing three-dimensional renderings of molecules and manipulating them using your fingers. You can rotate the molecules by moving your finger across the display, zoom in or out by using two-finger pinch gestures, or pan the molecule by moving two fingers across the screen at once. These structures can be viewed in both ball-and-stick and spacefilling visualization modes.

New molecules can be downloaded from the RCSB Protein Data Bank, an international repository of biological molecules and their 3-D structures, or NCBI's PubChem, a public database of compounds. Molecules can be downloaded directly to your handheld device and stored there for later viewing. It is also possibile to view detailed information about the molecule, such as the researchers who established its structure, its amino acid or nucleotide sequence, and its full name. Multiple visualization modes can be switched to by double-tapping on the 3-D rendering.

Custom molecular structures can be downloaded to the application via iTunes file sharing, or from any publicly available web server. The location of these structures can either be manually specified in the application, or custom URLs, such as molecules://www.sunsetlakesoftware.com/sites/default/files/neonPump.pdb.gz , can be clicked on within Safari or Mail on the device. This will launch Molecules and have it start downloading the file at that address.

Molecules is free and its source code is available under the BSD license.

Video review and preview of the app:

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf33YEScPPQ]
Video review by 

Molecules 1 Molecules 2 Molecules 3 Molecules 4


Scienza in rete è un giornale senza pubblicità e aperto a tutti per garantire l’indipendenza dell’informazione e il diritto universale alla cittadinanza scientifica. Contribuisci a dar voce alla ricerca sostenendo Scienza in rete. In questo modo, potrai entrare a far parte della nostra comunità e condividere il nostro percorso. Clicca sul pulsante e scegli liberamente quanto donare! Anche una piccola somma è importante. Se vuoi fare una donazione ricorrente, ci consenti di programmare meglio il nostro lavoro e resti comunque libero di interromperla quando credi.


prossimo articolo

Nature Restoration Law: We Approve the Law for the Future of European Nature

fenicotteri

On the upcoming July 12, the European Parliament will decide the fate of one of the most ambitious initiatives in support of European nature, the Nature Restoration Law, a legislative proposal aimed at restoring European natural habitats. Now more than ever, it is crucial to defend this law and push for its approval.

In Italy, the Manifesto for the Nature Restoration Law has been published, an initiative that has so far received the support of over 150 associations, 4,000 scientists, dozens of large companies, and over one million signatures from individual citizens (here is the registration form).

Image credits: JD design - Unsplash

Making the protection of nature and the restoration of habitats a legal obligation: this is the purpose of the new European regulation proposal, the Nature Restoration Law. An ambitious proposal, but crucial for making the European Green Deal something concrete.