Bio for Dummies

Inspiration + What it does

We originally planned to build a protein-protein interaction predictor. If you don't know what that is, don't worry. No one else on the team did either besides the bio student who pitched the idea! After spending hours discussing biology, from antibodies and vaccines to the spread of medical misinformation, we realized there was a simpler, more impactful problem to solve: making biology accessible to everyone.

That's how Bio for Dummies was born. Our agent helps the average person understand complex biology topics while browsing the web. Whether you're trying to understand the newest deadly pandemic, learn about the latest Nobel Prize in protein structure, or just too embarrassed to ask your bio friend what a protein is, Bio for Dummies breaks it down in plain English—right when you need it.

How we built it

We built an intelligent agent using the Claude API equipped with specialized tools to search reliable sources like PubMed, Wikipedia, and UniProt. The agent doesn't just regurgitate information—it synthesizes context from the webpage you're reading and tailors explanations to your chosen difficulty level (from ELI5 to expert) and preferred length (from a quick one-sentence definition to a comprehensive deep-dive). We exposed the agent through a REST API that processes biological terms and returns context-aware explanations in real-time.

What's next for Bio for Dummies

The browser extension! We built the core agent but ran out of time to integrate the Chrome/Firefox extension that would let users simply highlight any biological term on any webpage and get an instant explanation. We're also planning to add voice-to-speech accessibility features, allowing users to ask questions verbally and hear responses—making biology education truly accessible to everyone, including those with visual impairments or learning disabilities.

Built With

• anthropic-api
• claude
• python