Scientists in Barcelona have today launched GENIGMA, a videogame that enlists players to solve puzzles while generating real-world scientific data that can detect alterations in genomic sequences and ultimately advance breast cancer research. The game, out today on iOS and Android and available in English, Spanish, Catalan and Italian, is the result of a two-and-a-half-year long citizen science project developed by a team of researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), the Centro Nacional de Análisis Genómico (CNAG-CRG) and game professionals.
The game was created to boost worldwide research efforts that depend on cancer cell lines, a critical resource used by scientists to study cancer and test new drugs to treat the disease. One of the limitations of cancer cell lines are a lack of high-resolution genome reference maps, which are necessary to help researchers interpret their scientific results, for example pinpointing the location of genes of therapeutic interest or potential mutation sites.
"Cell lines are responsible for the discovery of vaccines, chemotherapies for cancer or IVF for infertility. This makes them a pillar of modern biology," explains ICREA Research Professor Marc A. Marti-Renom, with dual affiliation at the CRG and CNAG-CRG and whose research underpins GENIGMA. "However, the lack of genome reference maps limits current scientific progress. It's like asking people to navigate modern cities using maps from the past. With the help of other people, we can update these maps, which will allow us to make fast progress in breast cancer research."
Professor Marti-Renom's research group has developed methods to create genomic reference maps by visualising the genome in three-dimensional space. However, this requires significant time and resources to train artificial intelligence, as well as vast computational power.
The researchers launched GENIGMA because they believe that data generated by players could be a more effective method of updating the reference maps compared to using AI alone. The 'herd intelligence' of players can also provide creative solutions in ways that AI might not be able to.
To play GENIGMA, players have to solve a puzzle involving a string of blocks of different colours and shapes. Each string represents a genetic sequence in the cancer cell line, and how players organise the blocks is a potential solution to the location of genes.
Players have to reorganise the blocks so that they attain the highest-score possible. The higher the number of players and high scores, the higher likelihood that researchers have found the correct sequence for this particular location in the reference map.
"Anyone with a smartphone from anywhere in the world can download GENIGMA for free and make a direct contribution to research, lending their logic and dexterity to the service of science," says Elisabetta Broglio, citizen science facilitator at the CRG.
"GENIGMA will analyze the solutions provided by the players as a collective and not as individuals, and will take advantage of creative solutions impossible to find with deterministic algorithms."
Via
Dr. Stefan Gruenwald
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