Case It! vs StarGenetics

Case It! is a free framework for collaborative case-based learning in molecular biology. Its v705 software simulates laboratory procedures on DNA and protein sequences, including PCR, qPCR, gel electrophoresis, restriction enzyme digestion, ELISA, microarrays, and Southern and Western blots. It supports plasmid DNA, labelled gels, and locating restriction enzyme sites, including Cas9 sites, in double-stranded DNA. Connections to bioinformatics software and websites support sequence alignment and tree-building, and sequence search is listed as useful for undergraduate research. The download includes DNA and protein sequences cited in case descriptions on topics such as genetic and infectious diseases. Case It Mobile presents selected cases through scenarios and videos of simulated procedures on phones and tablets. Cases not converted for mobile and custom sequences require v705. The project says v705 runs on current Windows and Mac systems and documents an M-series Mac setup using UTM and Windows 11 Pro. Educational users can download it free after submitting a form.

StarGenetics is a free simulator for Mendelian genetics crosses, intended to teach genetics concepts and experimental design. Its stated audience ranges from high school biology to advanced undergraduate biology. Students can use visualizers for cows, fish, flies, peas, a smiley face and yeast. Instructor resources cover genetic crosses, Punnett squares, complementation, epistasis, gene linkage and mapping, and tetrad analysis. Instructors can customize exercises using Excel workbooks in XLS format. The Punnett Square tool summarizes expected genotypic distributions for monohybrid and dihybrid crosses. Fly mating results can be viewed individually, sorted by sex and phenotype, or summarized by phenotype; DNA markers for genetic mapping are available in the Fly and Fish visualizers. Experiments can be saved to a file and reopened later. Excel export is limited to Fly exercises. StarGenetics is accessible through the web and downloadable for Linux, Windows and macOS. MIT recommends Java Web Start and provides operating-system downloads for users with limited internet connectivity. Users can submit bug reports, feature requests, comments or questions through the in-app suggestions form.