Playing Games to Advance Cancer Research (Image Credit: Cancer Research UK)

In Discover Magazines November print issue the article Trial and Error talks about the many reasons why progress in cancer research is slow. This article details how citizen scientists can speed up cancer research by playing games that crowdsource analysis of cellular and genetic data.

Gene duplication or gene amplification is characteristic of many cancers, the result of errors during cellular replication. When a cell replicates, a process called mitosis, the genetic material of the cell needs to be duplicated. While there are built in check pointsduring the replication process, errors can sometime sneak in. Some errors are subtle such as a switch of a single nucleotide, for example a guanine (G) to an adenine (A). Other times the errors are duplication or omission of a part of a chromosome, several parts or even the whole chromosomes. When parts of a chromosome are duplicated or omitted, the genes residing on those pieces of chromosome are also duplicated or omitted. This is a phenomenon called copy number variation. Researchers have observed that certain cancers are associated with increases in copy numbers of genes.

Researchers can use DNA microarrays to identify if genes are amplified in cancer. The fluorescently tagged genetic material of cancer cells are washed over silica or glass chips that have known gene fragments stamped on them. The genetic material of the cancer cell binds with the arrays gene fragments. The more copies of a gene present in the sample, the more material bound to the microarray. This translates into a brighter fluorescent signal when the arrays are analyzed, indicating genetic amplification.

But doing the DNA microarrays is the easy part. The hard part is searching through all the results to find patterns.This is where citizen scientists can help.

Researchers have a wealth of DNA microarray data. Unfortunately computers simply arent good enough at understanding patterns or spotting things that look a bit unusual. The most effective tool for analysing cancer data is often the human eye. This means that scientists have to analyse a massive amount of data by eye, which delays their search for new cancer treatments, explains Hannah Keartland Citizen Science Lead at Cancer Research UK.

To tackle this, the team at Cancer Research UKlaunched a game calledPlay to CureTM: Genes in Space, a mobile app in which players help scientists identify genes that might contribute to cancer. The game which has players traveling through space in search of the precious Element Alpha is really an interface for analyzing gene duplications in DNA microarray data.

Our game Genes in Space gets every day citizens to help analyze genetic data. By incorporating this analysis into the gameplay of an action-packed mobile game, we can get thousands of people involved in cancer research, greatly accelerating the time it takes to classify data.

In the game, the actual the microarray data takes the form of Element Alpha, a valuable substance that players can trade for ship upgrades. Players plot their path through the areas of space where the Element Alpha is denser. This increased density is a visualization of DNA duplication, whereas the sparser areas, which players avoid, show gaps in the DNA. So while players are having fun they are simultaneously identifying variations in the gene data which give researchers clues about the causes of cancer.

Microarray data (Top) being represented as a route on Genes in Space (Bottom). (Image Credit: Cancer Research UK)

See original here:
Cancer Research is Rocketing into Space and You are Invited to Take the Pilots Seat

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