Video Games + Biology= Awesomeness!




This post is presented by SBE, the Society for Biological Engineering--a global organization of leading engineers and scientists dedicated to advancing the integration of biology with engineering.

Although most of us do not like to admit it, we are in fact gamers! Some of us grew up with Atari, others (including myself) grew up with SNES, and now Gen Y's definitely have a lot more options when it comes to video games. In addition to the newer consoles such as the Wii, Xbox, and PS3, new gamers have access to online gaming, mobile devices, and the latest gaming craze--the iPad!

Video games are here to stay. Whether you are a hardcore gamer, perhaps even addicted to WoW, or an occasional player of Suduko, BrickBreaker or Solitaire, we are all gamers! In fact according to industry statistics, U.S. sales of computer and video games have grown from $7.0 billion in 2005 to well over $10.0 billion today.

Phylo--genetic gaming

There are many reasons why we game. Some game to escape, others to compete, and my personal favorite, to learn. Now, gamers have another--and even loftier--goal behind their time in front of the screen: contributing to science. Thanks to a new game developed by a team of bioinformaticians at McGill University, players can contribute in a fun way to genetic research. Gamers can even choose which genetic disease they want to help decode. The game has even been tested within the scientific community to ensure its accuracy. This fun and scholarly invention is called Phylo and can be played here. Try it today!

Many human diseases are caused by defects in the DNA code, and researchers are only just beginning to unravel this link. "We're hoping that people will enjoy playing the game and that many participants will sign up," explains lead researcher Dr. J?r?me Waldisp?hl. "This is an opportunity for people to use their free time to contribute in an extremely important way to medical research."

Beyond offering the general public an opportunity to get involved in this research, the game is also useful for teaching the next generation of genetics researchers about their field. The researchers behind the game have set their sights set high. "We would like to integrate this game directly into Facebook as an application. Farmville, move over!"

What do you think about this new game and its scientific goal?

For more information:

Phylo
McGill's School of Computer Science
Computational Structural Biology Group
McGill Centre for Bioinformatics

Related articles