A Simple Trick to Showcase Molecular Motion with the Rock Animation

For molecular modelers, visually communicating dynamic behavior is essential—whether it’s for presentations, publications, or team discussions. Yet, it’s often difficult to convey subtle molecular motions effectively and understandably. One recurring challenge? Showing how groups of particles move together in a…

Using NSL to Control Note Visibility in SAMSON

As molecular models grow in size and complexity, modelers often turn to visual annotations—such as notes and labels—to document observations, mark points of interest, or organize a workspace. However, with many notes cluttering the screen, one common challenge emerges: how…

Creating Smooth Protein Transition Paths with ARAP Interpolation

When modeling molecular processes, capturing transitions between different conformations of a protein is often essential. Whether you’re exploring activation pathways, refining docking poses, or setting up umbrella sampling simulations, intermediate structures along these conformational paths are a valuable resource. But…

A Quick Guide to Selecting Backbones in SAMSON Using NSL

When working on complex molecular systems in SAMSON, efficiently selecting specific components—like molecular backbones—is crucial. Whether you want to inspect properties, apply materials, or run analyses, the Node Specification Language (NSL) provides a clear and expressive way to specify what…

No Admin Rights? No Problem: Installing SAMSON Without Admin Privileges

For molecular modelers working in institutional settings—especially students and researchers without administrative privileges on their workstations—software installation can be a persistent challenge. Many powerful scientific tools require admin rights, which slows down onboarding and introduces a frustrating dependency on IT…