StarGenetics is a free simulator for Mendelian genetics crosses, designed to support genetics teaching and experimental design. Its stated audience ranges from high school biology to advanced undergraduate biology. Students can use visualizers for cows, fish, flies, peas, a smiley face, and yeast. Instructor resources cover genetic crosses, Punnett squares, complementation, epistasis, gene linkage and mapping, and tetrad analysis. Instructors can customize exercises using Excel workbooks in XLS format. The Punnett Square tool summarizes expected genotypic distributions for monohybrid and dihybrid crosses. Fly mating results can be examined individually, sorted by sex and phenotype, or summarized by phenotype. DNA marker features for genetic mapping are available in the Fly and Fish visualizers. Experiments can be saved to a file and reopened later. Excel export is available for Fly exercises only. StarGenetics is accessible through the web and downloadable for Linux, macOS, and Windows; MIT recommends Java Web Start and provides downloads for users with limited internet connectivity.
Who it is for
StarGenetics suits biology students and instructors working with Mendelian genetics from high school through advanced undergraduate study. Teachers can customize exercises, while students can explore crosses and analyze results.
What is good
- Free to access through the web.
- Visualizers cover six organisms or figures.
- Instructors can customize XLS-based exercises.
- Experiments can be saved and reopened.
- Supports Linux, macOS, Windows, and web.
What to know first
- Excel export is limited to Fly exercises.
- DNA markers are available only in Fly and Fish visualizers.
Verdict
StarGenetics offers a focused teaching simulator with customizable exercises and several genetics analysis tools. Its export and DNA marker features have specific visualizer limits.
StarGenetics plans and pricing
All plansCompared on biology learning software
- Free plan
- Yes
- Virtual labs
- Yes
- Biology simulations
- Yes
- Assessment tools
- Yes
- Teacher tools
- Yes
- Primary learner level
- mixed
- Supported platforms
- mixed
