What's New
Every update to BenchCalc, from the first release to what is coming next.
More Troubleshooting Wizards
Cryo-EM (Sample Preparation, Screening, and Analysis), In Vitro Transcription, and DNA/RNA Extraction. More diagnostic wizards, more solutions, same step-by-step format.
Games & Quizzes
NEW Games & Quizzes - 7 science mini-games now in BenchGuide. Speed runs, memory, a scrolling DNA challenge, and quizzes.
NEW Speed Runs - Codons, Amino Acid Codes, Chemical Formulas, and Restriction Sites. 20 rounds, timed. Best times saved to leaderboards.
NEW Nucleotide Memory - Simon Says with A, T, G, C. Four difficulty modes. When the game ends you can see your full sequence and jump to the Sequence Translator or MW Calculator.
NEW Restriction Site Snap - a DNA sequence scrolls past, tap when you spot the recognition site. Quick Play, Expedition mode with 132 enzymes in a 4-phase DNA swamp trek, and Multi-Strand modes (Twin, Cross, Triple, Chaos). Three game modes: fastest time, countdown, or limited lives.
NEW Science Quiz - 75 questions across 5 topics: Lab Safety, DNA & Molecular Biology, Proteins & Amino Acids, Solutions & Chemistry, and Lab Techniques.
NEW Leaderboards - gold, silver, and bronze scores. Filter by game, difficulty, and mode. Share any score. Confetti when you set a new personal best.
IMPROVED Light theme contrast for borders and text.
IMPROVED pH slider styling with haptic feedback.
FIX Theme now correctly persists between sessions.
Foundations of Science & UI Polish
NEW Foundations of Science - new Learn and Understand section with 4 entries covering what science is, what models are, objectivity and evidence, and what this guide is for. 91 learn entries total across 11 sections.
NEW Scroll to top button - configurable position (left, centre, right, or off) for Tools and BenchGuide pages. Settings in Appearance.
IMPROVED Landscape support & Troubleshooting UI.
FIX Calculator pages scroll & Agarose calculator (Nancy-520 stock).
Data Sharing & Backup
NEW Local data backup and restore - download a full backup of all your saved data. Restore from backup on the same or a different device.
NEW Import and export saved setups - share your saved PCR mixes, reaction setups, digest conditions, and buffer recipes between devices. Export individual setups or everything at once.
IMPROVED Share functionality - share buttons on all saved calculator setups. Share troubleshooting diagnoses and guide entries.
IMPROVED UI and app navigation throughout.
NEW Som.. Wait. Actually... you will have to find these yourself!
Protein Troubleshooting & Lab Timer
NEW Protein Expression wizard - no growth, no expression, slow growth, pellet problems, sanity checks before purification. Real gel images with toggleable comparisons.
NEW Protein Purification wizard - lysis, nothing eluting, contaminants, unexpected elution, low yield, aggregation, final gel, column problems. Cross-linked to Expression and SDS-PAGE.
NEW SDS-PAGE wizard - gel pouring guidance, casting problems, band issues, staining, gel opening with fail gallery, interpretation. 7 troubleshooting wizards total, 87 questions and 252 solutions.
NEW 38 troubleshooting images - SDS-PAGE gel images covering destroyed gels, streaking, overloading, bad destain, empty lanes, good and bad purification gels. Expression time course toggle images. Toggleable comparisons throughout.
IMPROVED Lab Timer - multiple simultaneous countdown timers with 28 built-in presets. Save your own presets, pin favourites for quick access from any screen. Background notifications when timers finish.
IMPROVED Bench Guide now at 414 glossary terms, 87 learn entries, 45 lab tips. New entries covering affinity chromatography, ion exchange, and size exclusion.
FIX UI and calculator improvements and fixes throughout.
FIX Bug fixes and UI polish.
Troubleshooting
NEW Interactive Troubleshooting - 4 diagnostic wizards for Cloning, PCR, Restriction Digest, and Agarose Gels. 47 questions and 139 solutions with real gel images, step-by-step diagnosis, and cross-links to protocols and tools. Save your progress, resume later, or share your diagnosis.
NEW Cloning Design protocol - in silico cloning planning, from strategy through to primer design. Cross-linked to troubleshooting.
NEW Cloning Practical protocol - bench workflow from digest to colony screening. Cross-linked to troubleshooting. 13 protocols total.
Improved tablet and landscape support refinements.
Bench Guide & Gel Ladders
The biggest update yet. BenchCalc is no longer just a calculator.
NEW Bench Guide section - an entirely new part of the app with educational, reference, and safety content written by the developer.
NEW Glossary - 368 terms across 10 scientific categories with molecular structure rendering.
NEW Learn & Understand - 72 entries covering physical chemistry, biology, structural biology, experimental design, and scientific writing.
NEW Lab Safety - 19 guides with handling instructions, spill response, and first aid.
NEW Lab Tips - 36 practical technique tips across 6 categories.
NEW Statistics glossary covering experimental design and data analysis.
NEW Gel Ladders - 6 protein and 7 DNA ladders with band sizes, prestain colours, mass per band, and loading volumes.
NEW Loading dye migration tables for bromophenol blue and xylene cyanol in agarose, denaturing PAGE, and SDS-PAGE.
New Reference Tables
NEW Antibiotic reference - 20 entries with working concentrations, stock preparation, and resistance genes.
NEW Media & buffer recipes - 15 scalable recipes including LB, SOC, M9, PBS, TAE, TBE, and more.
NEW Fluorophore database - 60 dyes with spectrum bars and laser line compatibility filter.
NEW Lab safety and technique tips.
NEW Troubleshooting wizards coming soon placeholder.
Minor bug fixes.
NEW Ligation ratio calculations with insert:vector molar ratios and enzyme presets.
Fixed pH slider reset on clear.
Major Update
NEW DNA to RNA to Protein conversions with sequence translation, six reading frames, and ORF highlighting.
NEW Radioactive decay calculator with preset isotopes and decay curve.
NEW Peptide isoelectric point calculator with charge-vs-pH curve.
NEW Normality calculator with equivalence factors and N1V1=N2V2.
NEW Restriction digest calculator with enzyme database, buffer compatibility, methylation and star activity warnings.
Improvements and bug fixes.
Protocols & PCR
NEW PCR / reaction calculator table with enzyme presets and overage.
NEW Step-through lab protocols with checklist and focus modes.
NEW In-app calculator wired to other tools for quick intermediate calculations.
Extensive general improvements across the app.
Clear functionality added across all calculators.
Improvements to Protein MW calculator, Bradford assay, lab timer, and more.
Bug fixes and improvements. Expanded restriction enzyme set. Expanded reagent database. Improved bench timer.
Initial Release
BenchCalc launches on Google Play and the App Store. Calculators for nucleic acids, protein, dilutions, buffers, and cell and lab tools. Reference tables for amino acids, nucleotides, codons, restriction enzymes, and reagents. The app I wished I had had at the bench.