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Spatially resolved transcriptomics is an emerging class of high-throughput technologies that enable biologists to systematically investigate the expression of genes along with spatial information. Upon data acquisition, one major hurdle is the subsequent interpretation and visualization of the datasets acquired. To address this challenge, VR-Cardiomicsis presented, which is a novel data visualization system with interactive functionalities designed to help biologists interpret spatially resolved transcriptomic datasets. By implementing the system in two separate immersive environments, fish tank virtual reality (FTVR) and head-mounted display virtual reality (HMD-VR), biologists can interact with the data in novel ways not previously possible, such as visually exploring the gene expression patterns of an organ, and comparing genes based on their 3D expression profiles. Further, a biologist-driven use-case is presented, in which immersive environments facilitate biologists to explore and compare the heart expression profiles of different genes.

Summary Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of cell membranes allow for a better understanding of complex processes such as changing membrane dynamics, lipid rafts and the incorporation/passing of macromolecules into/through membranes. To explore and understand cell membrane compositions, dynamics and processes, visual analytics can help to interpret MD simulation data. APL@Voro is a software for the interactive visualisation and analysis of cell membrane simulations. Here, we present the new APL@Voro, which has been continuously developed since its initial release in 2013. We discuss newly implemented algorithms, methodologies and features, such as the interactive comparison of related simulations and methods to assign lipids to either the upper or lower leaflet. Availability and Implementation The current open-source version of APL@Voro can be downloaded from http://aplvoro.com

Spatially resolved transcriptomics (SRT) technologies produce complex, multi-dimensional data sets of gene expression information that can be obtained at subcellular spatial resolution. While several computational tools are available to process and analyse SRT data, no platforms facilitate the visualisation and interaction with SRT data in an immersive manner. Here we present VR-Omics, a computational platform that supports the analysis, visualisation, exploration, and interpretation SRT data compatible with any SRT technology. VR-Omics is the first tool capable of analysing and visualising data generated by multiple SRT platforms in both 2D desktop and virtual reality environments. It incorporates an in-built workflow to automatically pre-process and spatially mine the data within a user-friendly graphical user interface. Benchmarking VR-Omics against other comparable software demonstrates its seamless end-to-end analysis of SRT data, hence making SRT data processing and mining universally accessible. VR-Omics is an open-source software freely available at: https://ramialison-lab.github.io/pages/vromics.html