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Margot Riggi and Janet Iwasa (Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA)
In order to understand molecular processes, biologists must synthesize numerous and diverse datasets that are generated from complementary experimental and computational techniques. Due to their engaging and didactic value, 3D animations have become a popular outreach and education tool, and also been increasingly prevalent in research seminars and conferences. While polished animations can certainly be attention-grabbing, their real, but underappreciated value to the scientific community comes from the process of creating the animation itself. The data integration process, which often happens behind the scenes, leads to intuitive and detailed dynamic visual models that are both grounded in concrete experimental evidence and unique in their ability to explore beyond them. Assuming that transparency into data sources and level(s) of uncertainty is provided, these models can help scientists connect sparse pieces of data, identify and discuss shortcomings and differences in their hypotheses, generate new ideas, and design better experiments to test these ideas.