Recently, EVE Online developer CCP has partnered with Swiss-based Massively Multiplayer Online Science and Reykjavik University to initiate Project Discovery, an image analysis mini-game which will provide real data to support and advance the Human Protein Atlas.
Announced in a recent EVE Online keynote speech in Las Vegas, players will be able to play this mini-game to recieve in-game currency ISK and Sisters From EVE Loyalty points. More importantly, players will be offering real data for the Human Protein Atlas which is a “publicly available database of microscope images showing protein distribution in human tissue and cells.” Researchers use the Atlas to better understand diseases like cancer as well as other medical conditions.
If Project Discovery can draw upon the interests of the enormous fan base of EVE Online for this crowd science effort, it might have a remarkable impact on the advancement of human well-being.
The relevant portion of the Keynote speech in relation to Project Discovery can be found at around the 54:40 mark.
