Okay this is definitely a lot more exciting and interesting than water birth delivery games or other pregnancy related video games. A Standford researcher has begun developing biotic video games. Ingmar Reidel-Kruse has developed a game where living micro-organisms, for example, paramecia which are commonly found in the scum of freshwater environments, are the characters that the player controls. The researcher hopes that the games will lead to increases in education and awareness regarding bio-related topics as well as the crowd sourcing of laboratory work.
So what exactly are the games that have been developed, well for example, in one game PAC-mecium the paramecia are guided around to eat little balls, obviously this is based on the classic video game PacMan. In another game called Ciliaball which is a play on cilia, which are tiny hair like structures on the paramecia that allow them to move. In this game the cilia are used to kick a virtual football.
The player uses a controller that is similar to a conventional controller only the controls are rigged to do things a little differently. For example in the game PAC-mecium, the player can change the polarity of an electrical field that is applied across a fluid chamber, this can be used to influence the direction that the paramecia move. In the game Biotic Pinball a chemical is injected into the mix and this causes the paramecia to swim in a specific direction. A highly sensitive video camera and microprocessor tracks the paramecia's movements and keeps tabs on the score.
In another game PolymerRace, which is similar to horse racing people can bet on a process called polymerase chain reaction, a laboratory technique where researchers can develop copies of an organisms DNA on a very large scale in a matter of hours. Several compartments carry out the process and people can bet on which compartment will produce the most DNA and cross the finish line first. Now Obama and Clinton will have even more to gable on, hopefully taking their eye off the macro-stage.
The researchers ultimately hope that this will inspire a better understanding of biological processes and biology in general in lay people, citing the increasing influence that biotechnology has in our lives as something society at large should better understand. Reidel-Kruse predicts that other disciplines will adopt similar tactics in a bid to increase understanding and awareness in their respective fields. Having had a chance to play PAC-mecium I highly recommend to all you gamers and readers in general that you get out there and buy yourself a biotic video game.
So what exactly are the games that have been developed, well for example, in one game PAC-mecium the paramecia are guided around to eat little balls, obviously this is based on the classic video game PacMan. In another game called Ciliaball which is a play on cilia, which are tiny hair like structures on the paramecia that allow them to move. In this game the cilia are used to kick a virtual football.
The player uses a controller that is similar to a conventional controller only the controls are rigged to do things a little differently. For example in the game PAC-mecium, the player can change the polarity of an electrical field that is applied across a fluid chamber, this can be used to influence the direction that the paramecia move. In the game Biotic Pinball a chemical is injected into the mix and this causes the paramecia to swim in a specific direction. A highly sensitive video camera and microprocessor tracks the paramecia's movements and keeps tabs on the score.
In another game PolymerRace, which is similar to horse racing people can bet on a process called polymerase chain reaction, a laboratory technique where researchers can develop copies of an organisms DNA on a very large scale in a matter of hours. Several compartments carry out the process and people can bet on which compartment will produce the most DNA and cross the finish line first. Now Obama and Clinton will have even more to gable on, hopefully taking their eye off the macro-stage.
The researchers ultimately hope that this will inspire a better understanding of biological processes and biology in general in lay people, citing the increasing influence that biotechnology has in our lives as something society at large should better understand. Reidel-Kruse predicts that other disciplines will adopt similar tactics in a bid to increase understanding and awareness in their respective fields. Having had a chance to play PAC-mecium I highly recommend to all you gamers and readers in general that you get out there and buy yourself a biotic video game.
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