Every few months, I flip through the “Chemistry” category at
SourceForge – there are often some interesting new projects.
For example:
http://proteinshader.sourceforge.net/
By exploiting recent advances in programmable graphics cards, the
ProteinShader program can produce illustrative renderings of
proteins that approximate what an artist might create using pen and
ink. The custom texture mapping and lighting calculations for
rendering these images are implemented using vertex and fragment
shaders written in the OpenGL Shading Language, which is supported
on most new graphics cards for ordinary desktop and laptop
computers. Vertex and fragment shaders are also used for mapping
text labels and decorative textures onto the curved surfaces of
tubes and ribbons shown in color.