(Note - I have only seen a demo version)
This is a series of animations designed to accompany a course in cell and molecular biology. The animations are divided into seven categories: DNA structure and replication, Protein synthesis, Cell division, Recombination and mapping, Mutation repair and regulation, Biotechnology techniques, and Cell biology. Each category has approximately 10 animations in it. The animations are more than stick-figure but less than realistic-looking, and are stopped many times to show explanatory text and labels. Along with animations, the program has multiple choice and problem-solving questions, and can also present you with a diagram which you must then label correctly. You can input your own questions if you wish. None of these were active in the demo version.

In the demo version I saw, only two animations are active, a demonstration of meiosis, and an animation of several biochemical techniques for separating out proteins, dna, and rna. The meiosis animation seems useful to me as a visual aid in understanding what is happening, since meiosis is a confusing concept for many students, and the animation can show the steps fairly clearly. The biochemical techniques animation seems less useful, and I believe a good description in a textbook with nice pictures should do just as well or better at explaining the techniques. However, perhaps the television appeal of having things move on the screen will help some students to remember these techniques better than they would have through reading. In general, this package should help students who learn visually to understand and remember some introductory concepts in cell and molecular biology, as an adjunct to (but not a replacement for) a good textbook, laboratory, and video tapes of live cells. It should be especially helpful for things such as meiosis and dna replication which are somewhat complicated to visualize from a description in a textbook.

Computer: Macintosh and IBM

Source: BioAnimate Productions, 28 Askin St., London, Ont. N6C 1I3.
Phone: 519-432-5800.
email: info@jbpub.com
Demo available from http://www.jbpub.com/vg.htm

Cost: Low to High (depending on number of animations purchased)

Last update 22nd of January 1996