Gamers are again offered to help geneticists
Geneticists offered casual game lovers to play against viruses
The virus has infected many trees over the past two decades and poses a threat to forests both in the UK and in Europe. Details with reference to the application itself to the Facebook social network are provided by BBC News (Computer game added to armoury in ash dieback fight).
The essence of the game Fraxinus is to search among the colored figures on the screen for a certain sequence, which is shown at the very top of the playing field. The more accurate the correspondence of the assembled chain to the reference sample, the more game points the player receives. Outwardly, it resembles many casual games, but the developers have introduced an important feature into their game.
The sequences of chains, both reference and filling the playing field, are not random. They are sequences of ash tree DNA, which for clarity were presented not in the form of a nucleotide chain of the GCGGAATTC type (each letter denotes one nucleotide), but in the form of a series of colored rhombuses of four colors.
The researchers emphasize that the task of finding the right sequence is solved by humans faster than computers, and it is much easier to find players than volunteers who would manually view the data collected by scientists. Comparing the sequences will allow scientists to understand how infection-resistant ash trees differ, and this will facilitate both the search for remedies against the virus and the creation of new varieties.
Scientists from the United States also reported on a similar, but much less spectacular program in early August 2013. The researchers, whose article was published in the journal PLoS One, decided to build a medical-genetic database. In order to link the genes known to scientists with certain diseases, they came up with an online quiz, the participants of which are invited to answer questions like "What type of cancer is this gene associated with?" for a limited time. The authors of the game Dizeez decided that if, in addition to the correct answer, users will often indicate some other options, then they will probably do it based on the data that is not in the database: and therefore the developers have provided a feedback option. If the players think that their option was rejected by mistake, they can refer to scientific publications in their favor.
The Dizeez game is certainly designed for professionals who want to spend some time after work on a text quiz instead of a more colorful game or something with primitive graphics, but a more diverse gameplay. Unlike the American development, the British Fraxinus is made for ordinary users, as well as a number of other applications that use the advantages of the human brain over computers to solve certain tasks. An example of a successful "scientific game" is, for example, FoldIt, where players had to fold protein molecules in a certain way. In addition, gamers have already tried to attract to genetic analyses, only not for virology, but for work in the field of the theory of evolution.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru13.08.2013