Abstract
Structural biology is based on an important observation: the function
of a biomolecule is determined by its three-dimensional structure
and its physico-chemical properties. Hence, visualization,
modeling, and simulation of molecular structures and of their properties
are crucial tools of the field. Typically, the graphical interfaces
to molecular modeling packages are aimed at domain experts
with significant experience and require an extensive learning
period. But in many scenarios, such as teaching, presentations,
and demonstrations, it would be highly preferable to have an intuitive
environment for showcasing molecular functionality. Ideally,
it should support simple preparation of the presentations as
well as their convenient display. To keep the user interface simple
and focused, the environment should be particularly adapted to the
processing of molecular structures. Here, we present such a presentation
framework, called PresentaBALL, which uses established
web technology standards to provide a freely configurable browserbased
interface into the extensive modeling and visualization capabilities
of the Biochemical Algorithms Library (BALL). The web
interface is embedded into BALL’s graphical frontend BALLView,
and provides complete, interactive access to the loaded molecular
data. PresentaBALL enables researchers in biology with basic
knowledge in HTML, JavaScript, or Python to easily setup academic
tutorials, demonstrations, or scientific presentations and lectures
with 3D structure content and interactive workflows. Owing
to its flexible design, other modern forms of teaching and presentation,
such as massive open online courses (MOOC) can also use
PresentaBALL as their core component. PresentaBALL is licensed
under the GNU Public License (GPL) and will be made available
in BALL/BALLView, starting with the upcoming release.
