Science & Technology - Posted by William Raillant-Clark-McGill on Monday, November 29, 2010 13:50 - 7 Comments 
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(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...Later, Farmville! A new game’s in town
A new computer game allows players to do more than just pass the time—they can actually contribute to ongoing genetic research. Above, a screen shot from the online tutorial that preps players to participate. (Credit: McGill)
MCGILL (CAN) — A new online game that launched today allows players to contribute in a significant way to genetic research.
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The text of this article by Futurity is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License.
“There are some calculations that the human brain does more efficiently than any computer can, such as recognizing a face,” explains lead researcher Jérôme Waldispuhl of the School of Computer Science at McGill University.
“Recognizing and sorting the patterns in the human genetic code falls in that category. Our new online game enables players to have fun while contributing to genetic research—players can even choose which genetic disease they want to help decode.”
The game, called Phylo, has been tested within the scientific community to ensure its accuracy and was officially launched today.
“We’re hoping that people will enjoy playing the game and that many participants will sign up,” Waldispühl says.
“This is an opportunity for people to use their free time to contribute in an extremely important way to medical research.”
Many human diseases are caused by defects in the DNA code, and researchers are only just beginning to unravel this link.
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 precise genetic cause of most diseases is not known, but thanks to Phylo gamers, this research could be significantly improved,” says Alain Denise, a Bioinformatics and Computational Biology researcher at the University of Paris-Sud 11.
The researchers have their sights set high for the future of the game. “We would like to integrate this game directly into Facebook as an application. Farmville, move over!”
More news from McGill University: www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/
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7 Comments
Celia
On behalf of McGill University and the researchers involved, please accept our apologies for the difficulties you may currently be experiencing. The game is currently overloaded but the issue should be resolved shortly.
Thank you,
Willliam Raillant-Clark
William Raillant-Clark
Communications Officer – Scientific Research, Media Relations
Agent de communications – Recherche scientifique, Service des relations avec les médias
McGill University – Université McGill
MONTRÉAL
william.raillant-clark@mcgill.ca
514-398-2189 (office/bureau)
http://www.linkedin.com/in/raillantclark
Jill
I guess the game looked fun and interesting so it’s actually sort of a positive that it was overwhelmed. I think maybe it was underestimated how many people read this newsletter. Congrats folks – both at McGill and Futurity
All I get is a blank white screen, not even an ‘eternal spinning phylo’.
Kevin
To Celia:
Hit Enter on your keyboard.
Celia
Thanks Kevin, that worked now… and I discovered that I’m absolutely useless at Phylo!
Practice makes perfect! Please continue to play Phylo as we refine the design and functionalities – your comments and suggestions are very welcome at Phylo’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=127713783941517
Thank you,
Willliam Raillant-Clark
William Raillant-Clark
Communications Officer – Scientific Research, Media Relations
Agent de communications – Recherche scientifique, Service des relations avec les médias
McGill University – Université McGill
MONTRÉAL
william.raillant-clark@mcgill.ca
514-398-2189 (office/bureau)
http://www.linkedin.com/in/raillantclark
Oh dear. The launch must have been overwhelmed. Just get the eternal spinning phylo when I try to register and there’s no “enter” button when I try to launch the tutorial…. A bit discouraging to the early adopters…