Molecular modeling Memes

Posts tagged with Molecular modeling

Chemists > Biochemists ๐Ÿ˜Ž๐Ÿ˜Ž

Chemists > Biochemists ๐Ÿ˜Ž๐Ÿ˜Ž
The eternal struggle of biochemists trying to avoid thermodynamics while studying protein folding! Pure chemists smugly embrace entropy and enthalpy, while biochemists are stuck looking at these colorful protein visualization programs wondering how these complex molecules actually fold into functional shapes. The molecular modeling software (CCP4MG) shown here is the biochemist's way of saying "I'll just visualize it and hope nobody asks me about Gibbs free energy calculations." Spoiler alert: protein folding is literally governed by thermodynamic principles that determine which conformations are energetically favorable. You can run from thermodynamics, but those alpha helices and beta sheets will find you!

The Molecular Structure That Broke A Thousand Spirits

The Molecular Structure That Broke A Thousand Spirits
The eternal nightmare of organic chemistry students everywhere! That "S" drawing is the infamous Schlegel diagram of cyclohexane - the molecular structure that haunts dreams and ruins GPAs. Drawing this perfectly on exams is like trying to perform brain surgery with oven mitts. The reply "Now load it in chem3d an optimize" is the modern chemist's equivalent of "just use a calculator" - completely missing the existential crisis of having to draw these by hand during tests. The perfect representation of that moment when you realize your beautifully drawn chair conformation looks more like abstract art than actual science.

The Most Scrutinized Worm In Scientific History

The Most Scrutinized Worm In Scientific History
The microscopic worm C. elegans has no idea it's the most stalked organism in scientific history. With exactly 959 cells and a completely mapped genome, this poor transparent nematode can't take a single wiggle without some grad student documenting it for their dissertation. Meanwhile, computational biologists are over here building molecular simulations like they're playing The Sims: Worm Edition with RTX graphics turned all the way up. "Let's track every atom in this creature's body!" Sure, because that's totally necessary and not at all overkill for something that's basically a living tube with digestive juices.