XPlasMap

Plasmid maps for MacOSX.

XPlasMap draws plasmid maps, showing features such as genes, promoters, multiple cloning sites, and restriction enzymes. The maps are designed to be easily modified (e.g. to map new inserts in a vector), and features can be customized in a number of ways.

XPlasMap requires MacOS10.4 (Tiger) or 10.3 (Panther) (separate downloads).

XPlasMap is free (as in no cost) and can be redistributed as a complete package. I make no guarantees or warranties of any kind.

More info/Download

User's Guide

Translate.wdgt (Download here)

DNA/Protein conversions

Manipulates DNA or protein sequences.

• Translate DNA to protein, 3 frames
• Reverse translate protein to DNA, using human-optimized codons
• Format (60 characters per line in groups of 10, numbered at line breaks)
• Scramble
• Make antiparallel (complementary) strand

Input is taken from the clipboard (copy the sequence, there's no need to paste it into the Widget).
Output is put back on the clipboard to be pasted as you want.

Reminder.wdgt (Download here)

Quick reminders in 'X' minutes (Requires Growl)

There are several countdown and stopwatch widgets out there, but none did exactly what I wanted. This takes short messages and floats reminders after a certain number of minutes. Requires Growl -- specifically, growlnotify.

Top.wdgt

Top four CPU-using processes not in the Dashboard, + top four in the Dashboard

The output from "/bin/ps -arxwwo %cpu,command| head -20", sorted into Dashboard and non-Dashboard because when Dashboard is opened, Widgets dominate the CPU usage.

This widget still works, but there are now far more functional pieces of freeware available, so it's pretty pointless. Let me know if you have any particular need for it.

Savage Plasmids

Web-based plasmid maps; view on web browser, or download printable version

• Draw genes, multiple cloning sites, restriction sites
• Plasmids can be saved for later editing
• (Experimental) Virtual cloning -- copy, insert, and delete fragments
• Viewing with web browser requires SVG capability: Adobe's free SVG plug-in for most browsers is here. Built in SVG support in Firefox and Camino is incomplete; on these browsers the postscript map should be more accurate.
• Downloadable version is Postscript format; at least in MacOS10.4 or higher this is readily converted to other formats (PDF, TIFF, PNG, JPEG) using Preview.app.