Nothing clever to say except that this is fascinating and it would be cool to see mmorpg-like environments for other studies of virality, social phenomena etc. Anyone know of anything else like this?

[–] bangsnooter@lemmy.zip 22 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Not exactly the same, but Borderlands 3 had a minigame that helped map the gut microbiome.

Developed in conjunction with McGill University, Massively Multiplayer Online Science, and The Microsetta Initiative, Borderlands Science is a puzzle game that benefits the real-world scientific community as you play. Borderlands Science presents you with simple block puzzles based on strands of DNA, and by solving them you're helping to map and compare the microbes contained therein. Completing these puzzles also earns you in-game currency.

In case you're curious about the practical applications for the raw data gathered through Borderlands Science, the human gut is linked to numerous diseases and conditions, including diabetes, depression, autism, anxiety, obesity and more. By mapping these microbes, the hope is that scientists will be able to better understand these ecosystems, which may help guide future research into novel treatments and interventions.

[–] j4p@lemm.ee 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Exactly the sort of thing I was looking for thank you!

[–] bangsnooter@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 day ago

My pleasure! The game was actually fun, so I love seeing more of this stuff.

The project site has occasional updates on what is becoming of this data.

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