Scientific Discovery Games for Biomedical Research

Rhiju Das, Benjamin Keep, Peter Washington, Ingmar H. Riedel-Kruse

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

Over the past decade, scientific discovery games (SDGs) have emerged as a viable approach for biomedical research, engaging hundreds of thousands of volunteer players and resulting in numerous scientific publications. After describing the origins of this novel research approach, we review the scientific output of SDGs across molecular modeling, sequence alignment, neuroscience, pathology, cellular biology, genomics, and human cognition. We find compelling results and technical innovations arising in problem-oriented games such as Foldit and Eterna and in data-oriented games such as EyeWire and Project Discovery. We discuss emergent properties of player communities shared across different projects, including the diversity of communities and the extraordinary contributions of some volunteers, such as paper writing. Finally, we highlight connections to artificial intelligence, biological cloud laboratories, new game genres, science education, and open science that may drive the next generation of SDGs.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)253-279
Number of pages27
JournalAnnual review of biomedical data science
Volume2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 20 2019
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • citizen science
  • cloud laboratory
  • crowdsourcing
  • interactive media
  • scientific discovery games
  • video games

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (miscellaneous)
  • Genetics
  • Cancer Research

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