RasMol Molecular Modelling Software

 Biology > Software > Merlin | Rasmol 

RasMol
by Roger Sayle and Herb Bernstein

RasMol is a program for visualising the three-dimensional shape of molecules on a computer. At Heckmondwike Grammar School we use it in A-level biology teaching to explore the structure of biological molecules like proteins, lipids and DNA. This interactive experience is much more engaging and informative than pictures in textbooks.

RasMol was designed for educational use, but is also used by research scientists all over the world in their research publications. Molecule files in the international standard "PDB" (Protein Data Bank) format can be downloaded from the Internet and then viewed and printed using RasMol.

RasMol was written in 1985 by Roger Sayle, who generously made RasMol free to the world. This means that students can copy RasMol to their own computers and use it at home or when they go to university. It is also available on our school network.

These images were all made using RasMol:

Useful RasMol Links

	The latest version of RasMol can be downloaded from Herb Bernstein's RasMol site.
	Eric Martz' RasMol site is the biggest source of materials for molecular visualisation, including versions of RasMol for a variety of platforms (including Macs and Acorns); RasMol tutorials; loads of samples; background information and other molecular visualisation software.
	The Molecular Visualisation Index allows you to search for molecular visualisation software, tutorials, molecules and images.
	The Protein Data Bank is the official database of all known protein structures. It has a good search engine.
	The PDB also has a "Molecule of the month", which gives images and background information on a variety of interesting proteins.
	The Atlas of Macromolecules has links to many other macromolecules.

The RasMol "Starter Pack"
At Heckmondwike Grammar School we have put together a RasMol "starter pack" containing the program together with student worksheets and over 150 PDB molecule files. Everything you need to get going with RasMol in one stop! The starter pack is compressed into the file RasMol.zip, which is about 6MB in size. When uncompressed, it contains the following files: