Wednesday, February 5, 2014
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Mobile game aids cancer researchers by ella pickover
Smartphone users will be able to help scientists beat cancer using the world’s first app designed to unravel genetic data. ‘Citizen scientists’ playing the spacebased game can help highlight flaws in the genetic make-up of breast cancer patients. the game play to Cure: Genes In Space is set 800 years in the future, with players challenged to steer their spaceship to collect a valuable material, called element alpha. Gamers map out their route with the aim of collecting as much element alpha as possible. as they navigate their craft through space they are actually mapping out genetic data, later to be analysed by scientists. the app is free to download from the apple app Store and Google play. hannah Keartland, who is in charge of the citizen science project at Cancer research UK, said: ‘our scientists’ research produces colossal amounts of data, some of which can only be analysed by the human eye – a process which can take years. ‘every single second gamers spend playing our smartphone game directly helps our work to beat cancer sooner. ‘What we know is that cancer cells have faults in their genes and what our scientists are able to do is produce a map of the genetic make-up of cancer cells.’ If the app is a success it could be rolled out to include data from patients suffering from other cancers. Speaking at the app’s launch, broadcaster Dara Ó Briain said crowdsourcing used on his BBC2 show Stargazing helped discover planets and galaxies and map the moon’s surface. ‘It’s astonishing the enthusiasm for this and how powerful it is as a technique.’
Canoe believe it? Basie Olivier from CIT Kayak Club takes a field trip during heavy flooding on Grand Parade, Cork city last night. The south and east coasts were again battered by storms yesterday, with transport routes, homes and businesses flooded PICTURE: PA
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