For the last couple of years, we heard that Gearbox, McGill University, The Microsetta Initiative and the MMOS were working together to integrate a citizen science puzzle in the video game Borderlands. Today, Borderlands 3 was released and the mini game to help map the human gut microbiome was revealed. It’s called Borderlands Science, and can be played on the arcade game in the corner of Doctor Tannis’ infirmary.
Players are shown colourful blocks based of strand of DNA, and by re-aligning them, they help map and compare microbes in the gut and help spot mistake in computer analysis. Microbiome is linked to many diseases like diabetes, depression, obesity etc. Mapping microbes help scientists better understand the diseases, and can guide research for treatment.
You can read Gearbox blog post about Borderlands Science here and see some more information about the science on DNApuzzles website.
