EXCERPT

"We inherit two gene copies and cancer cells disrupt these two ways," explained Carlos Caldas, senior group leader at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge. "They either gain copies to accelerate cells to divide, or lose them when they are the 'brake' of the cell – losing the brake means it can grow faster. We need to effectively count at each of the gene spots whether a gene has gained or lost copies."

What the team hopes to get from the game are "more refined definitions of these accelerators and brakes". A computer could recognise general peaks and troughs; a human will spot the fragments, the minor iterations and recognise emerging patterns.

SOURCE

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-02/04/genes-in-space-cancer-research