Gene Machine: The Lac Operon

The PhET project at the University of Colorado creates "fun, interactive, research-based simulations of physical phenomena." This particular one deals with the lac operon. Build a gene network! The lac operon is a set of genes which are responsible for the metabolism of lactose in some bacterial cells. Explore the effects of mutations within the lac operon by adding or removing genes from the DNA. The simulation is also paired with a user-contributed Teaching Idea using the simulation in context that can be found near the bottom of the page. The simulation is also available in multiple languages.