Show HN: I built a biological network visualization tool
20 jmg421 9 7/25/2025, 11:38:19 AM nodes.bio ↗
I've been working on nodes.bio - an interactive tool for visualizing biological networks and systems thinking.
The tool features interactive network visualization powered by Cytoscape.js, with real-time graph editing and manipulation capabilities. It supports JSON import/export and provides a responsive design that works seamlessly on the desktop (mobile-friendly version coming later).
The tech stack combines modern frontend technologies with robust backend architecture. The frontend uses Next.js 14 with TypeScript and Cytoscape.js for the visualization engine. The backend is built with FastAPI and Python.
The featured demo showcases a Traumatic Brain Injury Nasal Spray mechanism of action visualization, demonstrating the tool's capability to handle complex biological pathway mapping.
You can explore the live demo at <https://nodes.bio> to see the TBI Nasal Spray visualization in action, along with other biological network examples.
I'd love feedback on the visualization capabilities or any suggestions for biological data integration. What do you think?
Comments (9)
8mobile · 37m ago
Hi, I'm interested in the tool but I get this error, 502 Bad Gateway.
jmg421 · 4h ago
I wanted to share why I built this - it's deeply personal. In 2020, my mother was diagnosed with glioblastoma. As I navigated her treatment, I found myself completely overwhelmed by the complexity of biological networks. The medical literature was fragmented across hundreds of papers, and I struggled to see how her specific genetic markers related to potential treatments.
cbracketdash · 59m ago
I'm getting a 502 error on laptop
throwaway127482 · 5h ago
The website has a little card that says "Interactive Mobile Experience" but your post says "mobile-friendly version coming later," which is confusing. I tried it, and it doesn't seem to work on mobile at all (Chrome/Android)
jmg421 · 4h ago
Thank you for the feedback! You're absolutely right about the mobile experience - I need to fix that "Interactive Mobile Experience" card. The mobile version is indeed broken right now, and I should have been clearer about that. Working on a proper mobile-responsive version.
puppycodes · 5h ago
Looks potentially cool but your mobile version needs work, currently looks like its broken
kvthweatt · 2h ago
I’m getting 502 on mobile
gibsonf1 · 5h ago
Thats a terrible ontology (the relations) - needs to be much lower level to understand anything important.
jmg421 · 4h ago
The current demo shows a simplified view, but the tool can handle much more granular relationships. I have some glioblastoma and pancreatic cancer networks with protein-protein interactions, phosphorylation events, and pathway cross-talk that show the lower-level detail. The challenge is balancing accessibility with scientific rigor.