OnScreen DNA Lite (Now a Free Download)
Think of OnScreen DNA Lite as a DNA model on steroids an interactive virtual model with 35 base pairs. Use it to teach the basic structure, composition, and chemical bonds of DNA. Numerous aids to learning and understanding, including popup labels, an auxiliary linear representation of the model, the ability to rotate the model in space and to toggle between single and double strand views, all within a tutorial framework, make this software fun to play with, which makes the learning 'painless.' With the help of the on-screen tutorial guides, a student becomes completely at home with the double helix structure of DNA and learns the names of its component molecules and chemical bonds. Of course the base pairing is made clear, but so are the polarity and right-handedness of the DNA strands and what those terms mean. Simulations of the lab phenomena of denaturation and renaturation are also included.


You can expect to teach the following points with ease using OnScreen DNA Lite:

the names of DNA's sugar phosphate, nucleotide bases, and the chemical bonds between them
how the nucleotides are connected to each other both in the same strand and between strands
which bases pair with one another
that the DNA strands have opposite polarity (and what polarity means)
that DNA is right-handed (and what that means)
how many bases there are per helical turn
what the major and minor grooves are and what their physical basis is
how thermal agitation causes the two DNA strands to separate in denaturation
how complementary DNA strands reconstitute the double helix through base pairing during renaturation

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