Lutz: I would like to second your point about people (students or otherwise) seeing a 3D structure. We semi-frequently have high-school students come through the lab, and the thing that always impresses them the most is being able to rotate a 3D represenation of a molecule, especially when they understand that it's a molecule they depend on to live (i.e. in them, part of their biochemistry). This is (obviously?) related to their exposure to all sorts of other video experiences (movies, TV, video games, etc.), but it is still nice to see that connection made, especially since they seem to have a more-or-less difficult time making a connection to anything else we can show them (I guess benchwork just isn't that sexy).
-- Steve Lane System, Network and Security Administrator Doudna Lab Biomolecular Structure and Mechanism Group UC Berkeley
