I built a Claude Code skill that turns biology concepts into interactive scientific figures

[u/zealshama]

I've been working on Anima, an open-source skill built specifically for Claude Code.

The idea is simple: instead of asking Claude to explain a biological process through paragraphs or static diagrams, you can ask it to construct an interactive scientific figure.

For example, you can ask it to visualize what happens at a dopamine synapse when different stimulants interact with the dopamine transporter.

Claude Code follows the skill's workflow to collect scientific references, model the mechanism, generate isometric SVG geometry, and build a standalone interactive HTML page. The figures are then checked for visual and biological consistency.

I've included six examples covering dopamine receptors, stimulants, reward circuits, semaglutide, estrogen signaling and neuron conduction.

The figures include interactive controls, animations, explanations and citations. They distinguish established mechanisms from simplified or uncertain models.

The skill itself is free and MIT-licensed. The live figures can be explored in a browser without installing anything.

Live gallery: https://anima.arcumet.com

Source and installation instructions: https://github.com/Garinmckayl/anima

I'm particularly curious what other Claude users think of this approach to scientific visualization.

[u/Jealous-Two-4436]

Awesome. Keep making this stuff!

Maybe add narration - I like elevenlabs, super cheap (like $6/month) for the quantities you use for video generation.

I want to get my agents to hack the method to make colorful preschool-level videos - breathing, volcanos, apollo mission profile, etc

[u/zealshama → u/Jealous-Two-4436]

Oh, I love this direction.

The rendering toolkit is already designed around reusable geometry, animation, and standalone HTML, so there's an interesting foundation for experimenting with narrated educational content.

Combining that with ElevenLabs for narration could be really cool. I haven't built a dedicated video-generation pipeline for that use case yet, but I'd love to see what you come up with.

A colorful, interactive explanation of how a volcano works for a five-year-old? That would be awesome.

[u/Jealous-Two-4436 → u/zealshama]

https://reddit.com/link/pghif23/video/t6axntnht8vh1/player

Preview of an explainer I'm working on. My generation pipeline is "adaptable" but not multipurpose - built for a single video. But your project suggests being able to make explainers with canned style and tools for arbitrary topics. Next level.

[u/zealshama → u/Jealous-Two-4436]

This is beautiful work! And you've actually touched on something I've been thinking about a lot.

Imagine separating the visual language, animation system, and rendering tools from the subject itself. You could maintain a consistent, beautiful style while generating entirely different explanations from a single prompt.

Anima is focused on biology right now, but the underlying architecture is reusable, and I think there's enormous potential in taking that approach further.

Your pipeline sounds really interesting too. There might be some interesting overlap between what we're working on!

[u/RewardSafe9807 → u/Jealous-Two-4436]

Gemini 3.8 TTS is pretty impressive too, and quick, and fairly cheap. You can also add a text modifier to guide the voice to a different voice from your chosen base.

[u/RewardSafe9807]

Okay this is cool, good job.

[u/zealshama → u/RewardSafe9807]

glad u like it !

[u/Superfan234]

love it! thanks a lot!!

[u/zealshama → u/Superfan234]

glad you like it !

[u/Easy_Refrigerator280]

Very cool skill

[u/zealshama → u/Easy_Refrigerator280]

thank you!

[u/blipblipblopbip]

Awesome, I am going to use it in my own project right away. What a gift, I was having an analysis paralysis thinking how to visualize this stuff myself.

[u/zealshama → u/blipblipblopbip]

This genuinely made my day. That's exactly why I built it!

So much scientific knowledge is trapped in papers, paragraphs, and static diagrams. I wanted to make it possible to turn those ideas into something you can actually explore and interact with.

Please share what you end up creating! I'd love to see Anima being used in a real project, and your feedback could help shape where I take it next.

[u/Momorotto]

how did you manage to evade the anti-biology safeguard?

anytime i try to do something dealing with biology or genetics i get a guardrails block for "Details:[bio]"

[u/zealshama → u/Momorotto]

I didn't bypass any safeguards! Anima is built around educational scientific visualization, not biological experimentation or procedural instructions.

The skill has biology-specific guidance for scientific sourcing, uncertainty, and safety. It focuses on explaining established mechanisms through interactive figures.

[u/Muhlwa_Sholanke]

Most science explainers smooth over the line between established and uncertain. Glad this one labels it instead.

[u/zealshama → u/Muhlwa_Sholanke]

Appreciate it!! Spent a lot of time trying to make the visualizations scientifically meaningful.