Leveraging Video Game Playing to Improve Computational Biology Research

Abstract

Many problems in computational biology, such as predicting the native structure of proteins, are so computationally difficult to solve that even the most powerful supercomputers today cannot produce an exact solution within a reasonable amount of time. As a result, heuristic algorithms are used to approximate solutions to these problems. However, such algorithms often produce inaccurate solutions that do not hold up when tested in the laboratory. Recently, scientists created an approach that crowdsources solutions to these complex problems by providing video games called "games with a purpose" (GWAP) to the general public. Using GWAPs as a means of problem solving has been shown to be more efficient and accurate in solving computational biology problems, such as protein folding prediction, inverse RNA folding, and multiple sequence alignment. By finding ways to entice more people to play GWAPs, we can more effectively solve more problems, truly unlocking the potential of GWAPs.