菌楽

KINRAKU is a visual education app that lets you "see and touch" the invisible world of microorganisms, how infectious diseases spread, and the process of evolution in living things.

Before tackling complex mathematical formulas, you first experience how microorganisms move, multiply, and evolve on the screen. You can learn 12 themes at a high school to introductory university level by changing conditions with taps and sliders. Each function also includes a sheet that explains the principles in an easy-to-understand way.

【12 Functions】

- Microbe Atlas:
Browse 17 types of microorganisms, including bacteria, archaea, yeast, fungi, and viruses, categorized by group. Tap to check their shape, size, habitat, and function.

- Cell Structure:
Compare cross-sectional views of cells from three major groups: bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes. Observe cell structures such as DNA, ribosomes, and flagella with labels.


- Cell Division
Three "reproduction methods"—binary fission, budding, and spore formation—are displayed in animation. By changing the generation time, you can experience the rapid "exponential growth" of bacteria, where the number of bacteria doubles exponentially.

- Petri Dish
Tap the petri dish to plant bacteria. Choose from three types of bacteria, and changing the nutrients, temperature, and pH will alter how the colonies (clusters of bacteria) grow. If multiple types are added, they will compete for space.

- Biofilm Formation
The process of floating bacteria attaching to the surface and forming a slimy biofilm is reproduced. You can observe how bacteria become activated all at once when they exceed a certain density, and how drugs become less effective.

- Chemotaxis
The "swimming" behavior of bacteria, where they approach nutrients and escape harmful substances, is reproduced. By tapping to move the nutrient source, you can observe how the bacterial colony gathers towards it.

- Fermentation: Switch between the activities of lactic acid bacteria, yeast, and koji mold. You can observe how the pH and products (lactic acid, alcohol, carbon dioxide, etc.) change over time in the container.

- Infection Simulator (SIR Model): An educational model that reproduces the mechanism of infection spread with many points (people) moving around. The shape of the epidemic wave and the changes in infected and recovered people are displayed in real time. You can change the vaccination rate and movement amount with sliders and observe how the spread of the epidemic changes.

- Map Infection (World Map): Divides Japan into 7 regions and models how infection progresses in each region and spreads to neighboring regions through human movement. You can stop movement between regions or change the vaccination rate and observe how the epidemic curve changes.

- Immune System: Visualizes how immune cells (macrophages) track down pathogens by following clues, and then engulf and process them. The balance between the number of immune cells and the ease with which pathogens can multiply determines whether an infection spreads or can be contained.

- Resistance Evolution
Adjust the antibiotic concentration, mutation rate, and proliferation rate with sliders. You can observe the "evolution of drug resistance"—where drug use reduces weaker bacteria, while those resistant survive and multiply—through changes in the graph.

- Tree of Life
A "tree of life" branching out from a common ancestor of all living things into three groups: bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes, and then further into more specific groups. You can pinch to zoom.

【Features】
- All functions include explanatory sheets that gently explain the principles.
- Experience the basic mechanisms of biology in real time, such as the spread of infection, how bacteria multiply, and evolution.
- Learn by changing conditions with taps and sliders.
- Supports Japanese and English.
- Supports Dark Mode and Light Mode.
- Advertisements are limited to banners at the bottom of the screen.

【Recommended for】
- High school biology and university students studying microbiology or public health.
- Those who want to intuitively understand how infectious diseases spread and how drug resistance develops.
- Teachers looking for teaching materials or self-study resources.
- Those who want to relearn the basics of infectious diseases and microorganisms.

The 13th installment in the "Fun" series. Sister apps that allow you to "see" and learn about familiar themes such as math, physics, and chemistry are also available.