Last updated: 25 October 2026
These are the rules for using Break the Cell. By using the site or downloading its files, you agree to these terms.
What the site is for
Break the Cell helps you explore molecules and cells, learn about them, and download files for education and creative work.
It is not medical advice or a tool for diagnosis, treatment, or safety decisions. It does not replace the original databases or professional advice.
Using downloads
You may use our downloadable models and CIF loader in your personal or commercial projects, subject to the original sources’ licences. We can only give permission for material we have the right to share.
Follow any licence or credit requirements shown with a file or its source. Do not claim that Break the Cell or its data providers endorse your work.
Sources and credits
The site uses information from RCSB PDB, PDB-101, OPM, UniProt, PDBe SIFTS, and PubChem.
The Learn and home pages also use facts from textbooks, research papers, and other sources, each named in a footnote.
Their data and content remain subject to their own terms. Credit the original entry and follow the source’s licence when required. Our terms do not replace those licences.
Break the Cell is independent of these projects. Their names and trademarks belong to their owners.
Software libraries, including Mol* and OpenChemLib, have their own licences. OpenChemLib’s licence is also available here.
Accuracy and illustrations
We try to provide accurate information, but mistakes, missing data, and outdated records are possible.
Downloads may be rotated, centred, or filtered to match the site’s view. Surfaces, colours, membrane guides, and masks help with viewing and creative work.
Custom shapes are estimated by software, not measured. Motion is an illustration based on B-factors, not a scientific simulation.
The Learn page’s drawings are simplified illustrations, and some parts are not to scale. Sizes are typical values and vary between cells and sources.
Check important details against the original sources before relying on them.
Files and availability
The site and downloads, including the Houdini CIF loader, are provided “as is.” We do not guarantee that they are error-free, always available, or suitable for every project or software version.
Keep backups before using scripts or importing files. Features and files may change or be removed.
Responsible use
Do not try to damage the site, bypass its protections, or overload it or its data providers.
Responsibility
To the extent the law allows, Break the Cell and its operator are not responsible for losses or damage caused by using the site, scripts, or downloads.
Nothing in these terms removes rights that the law gives you and does not allow us to exclude.
Changes
We may update these terms. The date above shows the latest version.