Did you ever dream of becoming a scientist when you grow up or did you just want to play video games? Well, now you can do BOTH! McGill University in Montreal has developed a new on-line game called Phylo. With this game, players can contribute to genetic research while having fun. Scientists at McGill developed the game because there are some calculations which the human brain does more efficiently than a computer. One of the things the human brain does better is being able to recognize and sort patterns in the human genetic code, which is what the game of Phylo is all about. Players match parts of a genetic code represented by coloured blocks. Players even have the option of choosing which genetic disease they want to help decode. The game was just launched a few weeks ago and already players have contributed 200,000 solutions! People can use their free time to contribute to important medical research. The McGill team is hoping to soon integrate this game into Facebook as an application. What a way to contribute to science! You can try playing at http://phylo.cs.mcgill.ca . Cracking genetic codes and playing a video game at the same time . . . it’s a good thing!
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