Cancer Research UK has teamed up with Google, Facebook and Amazon to develop a mobile game that could aid in search for cancer cures.
Confused?
40 programmers, gamers, graphic designers and other specialist are attending a weekend gamejam sponsored by the charity Cancer Research UK to design a smartphone game that can let gamers help with cancer research. And Amazon, Facebook and Google – three of the world’s largest technology company – will be assisting.
The resulting aim of the event code named ”GeneRun” is to convert complex cancer mutation graphical data into cleverly disguised game that is fun and engaging.
The aim of the game will be to spot minute differences in the data, but the final game and gameplay will be more like a traditional game and players will not even be aware that they are actually spotting genetic mutations.
“We’re making great progress in understanding the genetic reasons cancer develops. But the clues to why some drugs will work and some won’t, are held in data which need to be analyzed by the human eye–and this could take years,” Professor Carlos Caldas, senior group leader at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge, said in a statement.
“With the collective power of hundreds of thousands of people across the globe helping our scientists to analyse this data we could drastically speed up research.”
The event is being hosted on the Google campus near Old Street, east London from March 1-3. An agency will then build the game concept into reality, which is to be officially launched this summer.
Amazon is supplying the event participants with free resources and technology expertise. It will also be providing the technology platform on which the final game will be hosted. Facebook UK will be contributing experts from its London-based engineering team, while Google will be providing financial support.
What do you think of the approach? Would you play the game?