Today, the CRG launched GENIGMA with CNAG-CRG. This video game challenges players to solve complex puzzles while generating real-world scientific information that can detect genetic sequence changes and advance breast cancer research.

The game is available today on iOS and Android. It results from a two-and-a-half-year-long citizen science project developed by a team of scientists at the Centre for Genomic Regulation, the Centro Nacional de Analisis Genomico and game professionals.

This game was designed to increase worldwide research efforts on cancer cell lines. These cells are a crucial resource for scientists who study the disease and develop new treatments. A lack of high-resolution genome reference maps is one of the major limitations of cancer cell line research. These maps are essential for scientists to interpret their scientific results. They can help pinpoint the locations of genes of therapeutic importance or potential mutation sites.

Professor Marti-Renom’s research group developed methods to create genome reference maps by visualizing the entire genome in three-dimensional space. This requires a lot of computational power and time to train artificial intelligence.

Researchers created ENIGMA because they believe data generated from players can be more efficient than using AI to update the reference maps. Players ‘herd intelligence can provide creative solutions that AI may not be able.

ENIGMA is a game where players must solve a puzzle involving a string block of various shapes and colors. Each string is a specific genetic sequence within the cancer cell line. Players can solve the puzzle by arranging the blocks in a way that will help locate the genes.

The game’s goal is to arrange the blocks to give the players the highest score. Researchers are more likely to find the right sequence in the reference map if there are more players and higher scores.

Researchers will first attempt to solve the genome reference map for the T-47D cell line of breast cancer, which is one of the most used resources in cancer research. The ENIGMA research team estimates that 30 000 players would solve an average of 50 games per game to generate enough data for the reference map of 20.000 genes within this breast cancer cell line.

The #GenigmaChallenge campaign lasted three months and was launched on January 27, 2022. For three months, the ENIGMA Team will introduce new genome fragments from T-47D cells to players every Monday. The first genome fragments to be organized are those from chromosome 17, which contains many genes that may be linked to breast cancer. BRCA1 mutations have been linked to about 40% of inherited breast carcinoma.

ENIGMA was created over two-and-a-half years and involved more than 500 people in 13 workshops. The game was developed and tested by various people, including students, researchers, doctors, nurses, artists, bioethicists and journalists. It is funded by ORION, a 4-year grant under grant agreement No 741527. This project responds to the Horizon 2020 call for “SwafS-04-16” under the Science with and for Society Work Programme. ENIGMA was also created with Arima Genomics and the ‘Fondazione ANT Italy Onlus’.