Mac/PC Molecule is a useful application for presenting 3D modelling of molecules in a variety of formats. The interface is very intuitive and easy to learn. Zero learning curve here. There are no complicated timelines to adjust. You make movies with Mac/PC Molecule as you go. You can make a frame or a set of frames and pause and change the settings or rotation values or position or view, and record more frames. You can drag and rotate with the cursor to create the frames of the movie. Or you can set xyz coordinates for auto rotation. Whatever you see in the window is what will be recorded in the movie or in the still images. The number of frames of movies created can be controlled. And this application creates movies directly. When broadband becomes a reality instead of hype, this application will have been ready for several years. Buddycom first got a copy of Mac/PC Molecule four years ago. Making 3D movies and animation could not be more simple. One thing which is difficult to figure is why other 3D applications are not using this type of approach to 3D modelling and animation. It reminds us of the simple intuitive real world approach which we like so much about modelling in ArchiCad but without the five thousand dollar price tag. Then there is the scripted information added to Protein Data Base files. The files of scripted molecules add tremendously to an interesting and fun learning experience. The scripts also add textual information of a didactic nature. Ther are extra atom selection suggestions and explanations of what why and wherefore of what you are seeing. Using the scripted information, views and viewing techniques, one can gain two quantum increases over simply twirling a molecule on the screen with the pointer.
	So what's the molecule everyone thinks of first when they think of molecular modelling? That's right, DNA. And while we are on the subject of DNA, we predict that the vast majority of genetic information will be found to code for the structural anatomical aspects of the human organism once scientists have had a chance to decipher the three billion or so genes they have sequenced at the turn of the century. A lot of people might not be expecting that. We'll just have to wait and see.
	Here are some VRML models of the nucleic acid building blocks and a twenty base pair piece of DNA in VRML format. Click on the text links if you have CosmoPlayer installed. The one for DNA is 300K. The bases are less than 15k. Adenine Thymine Guanine Cytosine Uracil DNA
Molecule