BioMole

About BioMole

BioMole presents the structure and function of biological molecules with a focus on understanding proteins. It is primarily designed for students in Biology at either the college level or college prep high school students, especially AP Biology. However, it does not require an extensive background and is appropriate for anyone with an interest. BioMole is colorful as well as informative.

All of the molecular models in BioMole are 3-D and interactive. They can be rotated, scaled and moved to gain a true sense of the structure of these complex molecules. For molecules where atoms are represented as spheres, the atoms can be scaled from a ball & stick representation to a full spacefill model. For several models an opacity slider helps in focusing on details. Some models are animated, at the press of a button, to show such processes as formation of a peptide bond. On occasion a "utility slider" offers features such as the ability to show the growth of a large molecule or to slice a protein to show its interior.

BioMole is comprised of 76 chapters organized into 8 subunits. Each chapter features from 3 to 12 pages elaborating on the concept. There is a scrollable text box explaining the concept and many of the pages have overlays which clarify details.

The interface of BioMole is uncluttered and streamlined to show molecules full screen. The background tint is adjustable, six levels are available for any page in BioMole. The text box can be hidden any time with a tap, it reappears again with two taps. The opacity of the text box background is adjustable from transparent to opaque. There is also some adjustment to the lighting angle.

Seven short animations are included, each with with a series of explanatory overlays at different frames. These animations elaborate on the activity of proteins performing various functions such as protein synthesis, muscle contraction and activity at a synapse.

BioMole's units include:

   •   Bonding

   •   Functional Groups

   •   Carbohydrates

   •   Lipids

   •   Amino Acids

   •   Protein Structure

   •   Nucleic Acids

   •   Protein Survey

These materials are based on 24 years of teaching of AP Biology. When you understand and can visualize the structure of these important molecules, the rest of Biology just makes more sense.

BioMole runs natively on iPad and iPhone/iPod touch and on Macs with M1 chips and recent operating systems. On iPad, BioMole also runs in portrait mode. On iPhone, it operates in landscape only.

Buttons to the sides of the image below will navigate through a slide show.