Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Protein Dynamics in Living Cells01:19

Protein Dynamics in Living Cells

Different fluorescence-based techniques are used to study the protein dynamics in living cells. These techniques include FRAP, FRET, and PET.
Fluorescent recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) is a fluorescent-protein-based detection technique used to quantify protein movement rates within the cell. This method exposes a small portion of the cell to an intense laser beam. The laser beam causes permanent photobleaching of the fluorophore-tagged proteins in the exposed region. As the bleached...
Molecular Models02:00

Molecular Models

Physical models representing molecular architectures of chemical compounds play essential roles in understanding chemistry. The use of molecular models makes it easier to visualize the structures and shapes of atoms and molecules.
Protein Networks02:26

Protein Networks

An organism can have thousands of different proteins, and these proteins must cooperate to ensure the health of an organism. Proteins bind to other proteins and form complexes to carry out their functions. Many proteins interact with multiple other proteins creating a complex network of protein interactions.
These interactions can be represented through maps depicting protein-protein interaction networks, represented as nodes and edges. Nodes are circles that are representative of a protein,...
Protein Networks02:26

Protein Networks

An organism can have thousands of different proteins, and these proteins must cooperate to ensure the health of an organism. Proteins bind to other proteins and form complexes to carry out their functions. Many proteins interact with multiple other proteins creating a complex network of protein interactions.
These interactions can be represented through maps depicting protein-protein interaction networks, represented as nodes and edges. Nodes are circles that are representative of a protein,...
Protein-protein Interfaces02:04

Protein-protein Interfaces

Many proteins form complexes to carry out their functions, making protein-protein interactions (PPIs) essential for an organism's survival. Most PPIs are stabilized by numerous weak noncovalent chemical forces. The physical shape of the interfaces determines the way two proteins interact. Many globular proteins have closely-matching shapes on their surfaces, which form a large number of weak bonds. Additionally, many PPIs occur between two helices or between a surface cleft and a polypeptide...
Protein-Protein Interfaces02:04

Protein-Protein Interfaces

Many proteins form complexes to carry out their functions, making protein-protein interactions (PPIs) essential for an organism's survival. Most PPIs are stabilized by numerous weak noncovalent chemical forces. The physical shape of the interfaces determines the way two proteins interact. Many globular proteins have closely-matching shapes on their surfaces, which form a large number of weak bonds. Additionally, many PPIs occur between two helices or between a surface cleft and a polypeptide...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

"It Looks Sexy but it's Wrong." Tensions in Creativity and Accuracy using genAI for Biomedical Visualization.

IEEE transactions on visualization and computer graphics·2025
Same author

Stabilized Full-Length Measles Fusion Protein Elicits Potent Immunity and Protection In Vivo.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025
Same author

Deconstructing Implicit Beliefs in Visual Data Journalism: Unstable Meanings Behind Data as Truth & Design for Insight.

IEEE transactions on visualization and computer graphics·2025
Same author

Design principles for molecular animation.

Frontiers in bioinformatics·2024
Same author

Intermediates in SARS-CoV-2 spike-mediated cell entry.

Science advances·2022
Same author

Intranasal fusion inhibitory lipopeptide prevents direct-contact SARS-CoV-2 transmission in ferrets.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2021

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 24, 2026

Electron Cryotomography of Bacterial Cells
14:23

Electron Cryotomography of Bacterial Cells

Published on: May 6, 2010

Visualizing protein interactions and dynamics: evolving a visual language for molecular animation.

Jodie Jenkinson1, Gaël McGill

  • 1Biomedical Communications Program, Department of Biology, University of Toronto, Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada.

CBE Life Sciences Education
|March 3, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Complex 3D animations significantly improved undergraduate biology students' understanding of protein conformation and molecular motion during ligand-receptor binding. The most detailed visualizations yielded the best learning outcomes.

More Related Videos

Modeling an Enzyme Active Site using Molecular Visualization Freeware
14:37

Modeling an Enzyme Active Site using Molecular Visualization Freeware

Published on: December 25, 2021

Investigating Protein Sequence-structure-dynamics Relationships with Bio3D-web
09:51

Investigating Protein Sequence-structure-dynamics Relationships with Bio3D-web

Published on: July 16, 2017

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 24, 2026

Electron Cryotomography of Bacterial Cells
14:23

Electron Cryotomography of Bacterial Cells

Published on: May 6, 2010

Modeling an Enzyme Active Site using Molecular Visualization Freeware
14:37

Modeling an Enzyme Active Site using Molecular Visualization Freeware

Published on: December 25, 2021

Investigating Protein Sequence-structure-dynamics Relationships with Bio3D-web
09:51

Investigating Protein Sequence-structure-dynamics Relationships with Bio3D-web

Published on: July 16, 2017

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Biophysics
  • Undergraduate Science Education

Background:

  • Undergraduate biology students face challenges with complex molecular processes like protein conformational change and molecular motion.
  • Effective visualization techniques are crucial for understanding dynamic cellular events, such as ligand-receptor binding.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the effectiveness of different 3D animation complexities in teaching protein conformation and molecular motion.
  • To assess student comprehension of ligand-receptor binding events using varying levels of visualization detail.

Main Methods:

  • 131 undergraduate biology students viewed one of four animated treatments depicting ligand-receptor binding (stem cell factor and cKit receptor).
  • Students completed pretests, posttests, and delayed posttests to measure learning gains.
  • Animations varied in complexity, illustrating the same binding event with increasing detail.

Main Results:

  • The most complex animation demonstrated superior effectiveness in enhancing students' understanding.
  • Learning gains were sustained at a 2-week delayed posttest, indicating robust knowledge retention.
  • Visualization complexity directly correlated with improved comprehension of molecular dynamics.

Conclusions:

  • Increasingly complex 3D visualizations can be highly effective for teaching dynamic molecular interactions in biology.
  • This study highlights the potential of advanced visualization tools to address learning challenges in undergraduate molecular biology.
  • Tailoring animation complexity to learning objectives is key for optimizing student understanding of cellular binding events.