Subject: WebMolecules News - Dec 99

From: James Givens <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 18:40:44 -0800

A new version of the award-winning site:

     ** WebMolecules.com **

is now available at http://www.webmolecules.com
Visualize molecules in 3D - real-time on the Web - for FREE!

New Features:
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- Improved SEARCH capabilities.
  You can search the entire WebMolecules Library by formula.
  Exact matching is used to search the entire database.
  Partial matching is also used to search our Top 2000.

- SEARCH can now accept formula strings in any order.
  Previously, there was a "CH alpha" order restriction.
  http://www.webmolecules.com/search.shtml

- Another 25,000 CAS-indexed molecular models have been added.
  We now have over 125,000 molecular models on-site.
  Search for these by CAS number or exact formula.
  http://www.webmolecules.com/search.shtml

December's Molecule
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Thalidomide
http://www.webmolecules.com/cgi-bin/webmolpage.cgi?thalidmd.m3d

Formula: C13H10N2O4       Weight: 258.233(1) g/mol

Originally prescribed as a sedative/hypnotic drug to fight 
morning-sickness in the '50's and '60's. Banned in the early 1960s 
after causing severe birth defects, mostly in Europe and Canada.
The drug was never approved for distribution in the United States.

Thalidomide is in a class of drugs called angiogenesis inhibitors.
It disrupts growth of blood vessels by attacking the cells that form 
their walls. Without such vessels, tumors are starved of nutrients
and cannot grow. Clinical trials indicate some effectiveness against:
advanced multiple myeloma, prostate cancer, and glioblastoma.

Second major mechanism of action: blocks overproduction of 
Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF), a naturally-occurring inflammatory 
protein implicated in a number of diseases, such as: 
Crohn's, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, and the inflammatory 
complications of leprosy.

Currently offered as Thalomid(R) by Celgene of Warren, NJ

Other Recent WebMolecules.com Upgrades and New Features
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- Email Models to Friends. Use the Email-a-Model link.
- 100's of large macro-structures have been added.
- New Visitor Uploads are available in Category 28.0
- Support for both Chime and VRML plug-ins
- For performance reasons, large molecules (>150 atoms)
  are available for the Chime viewer only.
- Mirror sites for the VRML plug-ins have been added. See:
  http://www.webmolecules.com/vrmlint.shtml
- Mirror sites for the Chime plug-in has been added. See:
  http://www.webmolecules.com/chimeint.shtml
- Resizable viewing window
- Support for uploads and model requests
- Improved support for bookmarks
- 3D coordinate downloads (M3D, MOL, PDB)

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WebMolecules.com is a FREE, sponsor-supported site.
Designed for the 3D visualization of molecules,
it contains over 125,000 molecular structures in 3D.

Thousands of common molecules are organized into 30+ categories.
Our TOP 2000 includes molecules of commercial value, educational 
importance, and of topical interest. It is indexed by formula 
and category and is also fully searchable.

Our TOP 2000 molecules include:
- Top 100 pollutants
- Top 100 commercial chemicals
- Top 200 pharmaceuticals
- Common valence geometries
- Common orbital configurations

WebMolecules.com is great for student and classroom use.

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KNOW SOMEONE WHO MIGHT ENJOY WEBMOLECULES?

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http://www.webmolecules.com

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http://www.webmolecules.com/newsletter.shtml

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Enjoy,
-- 
James Givens
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