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Game On

Check out some of the games being used in serious scientific research, education, and treatment.

By | January 3, 2013

In the game Foldit, players solve protein structures by shaking, wiggling, and generally rearranging chains of amino acids into their optimal, lowest-energy configurations.

In the game Foldit, players solve protein structures by shaking, wiggling, and generally rearranging chains of amino acids into their optimal, lowest-energy configurations.

In the game Foldit, players solve protein structures by shaking, wiggling, and generally rearranging chains of amino acids into their optimal, lowest-energy configurations.
By switching each disc in the chain into one of four color-coded nucleotides, EteRNA players design RNA molecules, the best of which are synthesized in the lab.
The game Phylo takes a Tetris-like approach to multiple sequence alignment, challenging players to line up rows of colored blocks to help identify conserved DNA sequences.
Whale.fm players try to match up calls from whales across the world in a bid to help marine biologists better understand cetacean communication.
Downloaded by more than 500,000 people in 200 countries around the world, this game from the Minnesota Zoo allows players to learn about wolf behavior and ecology, while chatting with real wolf biologists.
The game Life Preservers by Gel Labs teaches the national science standards on evolution and the history of life as players try to thwart an alien invasion.
An online compendium of games and science simulations called Brain Pop is organized by math, science, social studies, and other topics, as well as by testing level.
In Electric Tunnels, a space-based game for the blind, players guide a spaceship through a twisting tunnel using auditory cues that shift between the right and left speakers, helping the visually impaired practice using auditory cures for spatial references.
In this patient-empowering exercise game called P.E., the superhero avatar must destroy the evil crabs (cancer).
As the player progresses through the levels of P.E., the strength of the avatar grows while the cruel crustacean shrinks, giving the player confidence and motivation to keep playing—and fighting cancer.

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Tags

video games, sequence alignments, rna, protein folding, disease/medicine and citizen science
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