Genalysis 2.1, a software package for comparing whole genomes and large DNA sequences on a desktop PC, is now available from Genpak.
Genpak claims the software can compare genomes larger than 10 megabases on a standard PC. The software requires Windows 95/98/NT/2000, Pentium II 350MHz (or better), 128 MB of memory (or better), and Internet access for web-based analysis.
The Theoretical Biophysics Group at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, has released the initial version of its Structural Biology Software Database. The database currently contains 158 applications, arranged into 11 categories, of interest to researchers in structural biology, quantum chemistry, and bioinformatics.
It is available at (www.ks.uiuc.edu/ Development/biosoftdb/biosoft.cgi).
The Theoretical Biophysics Group also recently released VMD (Visual Molecular Dynamics) 1.6, a free software package for the visualization and analysis of biomolecular systems. VMD 1.6 includes source code, documentation, and precompiled binaries for Compaq, IBM, HP, Linux, Sun, and SGI Unix systems, as well as Microsoft Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2K.
VMD development is supported by the NIH National Center for Research Resources. The software can be downloaded through the VMD home page, (www.ks.uiuc.edu/ Research/vmd).