Getting started
Helix lets you watch molecular dynamics simulations in a browser, share them with a link, and ask an AI guide what's going on. Here's the five-minute orientation.
A simulation on Helix is a 3D animation of atoms moving over time — the output of a molecular dynamics run. The minimum you need to share one is a trajectory file. With a topology file alongside it, you also get atom names, bonds, residues, and chains in the viewer.
What you can do
- Browse public simulations posted by other researchers, ordered by recency, trending, or category.
- Open any simulation in the viewer, scrub the timeline, change the representation (cartoon, ball-and-stick, surface), and isolate chains.
- Ask the AI guide plain-language questions about the system you're looking at.
- Upload your own trajectory and get a shareable URL.
- Embed a live viewer in a paper, slide, or website.
Your first five minutes
- Go to
/browseand click any simulation that catches your eye. - Press the play button on the timeline. The atoms start moving.
- Open the AI guide panel on the right. Ask: "What protein is this?"
- Try switching the representation between cartoon and ball-and-stick. Watch how the same atoms look in each.
- Use the share button at the top right to grab a link that drops the recipient at the same timestep and view as you.
Heads up
Helix is in closed beta. Uploads are gated to invited researchers until the storage and review backend lands. You can still explore every public simulation already on the platform.