Intuition about how molecules behave physically remains a very important skill in chemistry and biology and their practical applications. Where a molecule might bend, where it won’t and just how the positive and negative charges it is riddled with attract and repel each other, are all key to understanding how a drug will slip into a cleft in a protein, among other puzzles.

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In the virtual world, users are experiencing the cutting of edge of what scientists know about how molecules move and flex, said David Glowacki, a researcher in chemistry and computer science at the University of Bristol in England who is a co-author of the paper. The simulation, which anyone with a virtual reality setup can access, is being run on Oracle supercomputers, with a grant from the company.

“When you reach out and touch these molecular strings, you are touching the absolute real physics,” Dr. Glowacki said. “The way that it moves and behaves is to the best of our knowledge the real deal.”