Utilizing visualization technology in medical education

Although existing bioinformatics databases such as KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) provide a wealth of information, they generally lack a user-friendly and interactive interface. As a result, they are of only limited use in the life sciences education field. Accordingly, the present study proposes a web service system for exploring the contents of the KEGG database in an intuitive and interactive manner. The two-dimensional KEGG pathways are transformed to a three-dimensional format, thereby improving the readability of the entries and annotations. The system supports two basic functions, namely an exhaustive search for all possible reaction paths between two specified genes in a biological pathway, and the identification of similar reaction sequences in different biological pathways.