2. EteRNA: Hours of molecule building fun…
If you studied chemistry at school then perhaps you remember those metal and plastic molecule building kits? It’s a bit like spiky Lego and is designed to help students understand how atoms fit together to form molecules – although most of the time it was more fun just to make groovy-looking shapes! ‘EteRNA‘ is an online game that sets you challenges to build molecules of using a virtual molecule building kit – but scientists may actually end up making the molecules you design!
The theme of EteRNA is to design and build molecules of RNA – a mysterious breed of molecule that is present within all our cells. Called “The Dark Matter of Biology”, RNA seems to help control the inner workings of all living cells. Biochemists are able to make RNA fairly easily in the lab but they suspect that if they can design and synthesis RNA molecules of the right shape and size, they may be able to correct faults within our cells – and so possibly treat conditions such as HIV and cancer.
This kind of RNA design is still in its early days, and the EteRNA game was devised so that the public could give scientists suggestions for better molecule design. As a reward, the highest scoring molecule of the week actually gets made in the test tubes of a biochemistry laboratory to see what it does!
Is it any good? The game is simple to learn and good fun to play, because at its heart EteRNA is just a puzzle game. You don’t really need an interest in science or biology to enjoy the game: By using four different coloured pieces you just try to build a ‘molecule’ that is the same as the ‘challenge’ shape.
Playability: 8/10 – After registering, you’ll be up and running in minutes. You can even link your achievements to your Facebook profile!
Fun Factor: 8/10 – Essentially a puzzle of logic using four coloured building blocks – simple to learn but challenging…
Value to Humanity: 8/10 – Synthetic RNA technology is a rapidly developing field in science. By playing EteRNA, you are helping develop the first large scale library of synthetic RNA designs. Watch this space for exciting discoveries in the months to come…
Good For: Fans of Logic Puzzles or Chemistry Geeks
Click Here to play EteRNA online!
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