We spend hours upon hours playing on our smartphone, but what if doing so actually helped someone or went towards a greater good? That's exactly what this new app aims to do, which helps users cure real-world cancer.
Genes in Space essentially uses real genetic data to build quests for the player, with the goal being to find faulty genes responsible for breast cancer. At the start of the game you basically take over a spaceship in order to collect as much as possible of the “Element Alpha” in space. Your map translates into real genetic data, and if enough gamers join in on the game the speed of cancer research will greatly improve!
Hit the break for a video about the app and for the Play Store link.
The idea for the app came from a hackathon in 2013 that brought scientists, game developers and designers together, including employees from Google and Facebook. The game has already had 200,000 people classifying over 2 million cancer images, reducing research time from 18 months to 3 months. The app is also available for both iOS and Android.
Play Store Link
