In a groundbreaking study published in Nature Biotechnology, gamers demonstrated their ability to be a significant force in scientific research. Using a minigame in the popular video game Borderlands 3, millions of players contributed significantly to mapping the evolutionary history of gut bacteria.
As part of the initiative, gamers participated in the Borderlands 3 minigame Borderlands Science. The objective of the particular interface was for users to match tiles that represented strands of microbial DNA. Surprisingly, gamers did better at identifying patterns and interactions among bacteria than even more advanced AI algorithms.
“We didn’t know whether the players of a popular game like Borderlands 3 would be interested or whether the results would be good enough to improve on what was already known about microbial evolution,” said Jérôme Waldispühl of McGill University’s School of Computer Science in response to the unexpected success. Thanks to the quick data collecting that gamers did, scientists could track the interactions between over a million different microbial species found in the human gut.
The project is an example of how science and gaming may be linked. It is a joint effort involving McGill University, Gearbox Entertainment Company, Massively Multiplayer Online Science (MMOS), and the University of California, San Diego. The CEO of MMOS, Attila Szantner, stressed the value of utilizing the enormous knowledge pool among gamers globally. CEO of Gearbox Entertainment Company Randy Pitchford took pleasure in using gaming communities to produce insightful scientific research.
Deciphering the dynamics of human health requires an understanding of microbial populations. Rob Knight of UC San Diego emphasized how information gathered by Borderlands Science may be utilized to link bacteria to aging, food, and a range of illnesses.
The Microsetta Initiative’s Scientific Director, Daniel McDonald, appreciated Borderlands Science for involving citizen scientists in critical scientific issues. In addition to expanding our knowledge of microbial evolution, the research opens the door for future cooperation between scientists and game developers to solve problems related to the natural world.
