The next time you’re looking to kill some time with a good game, consider leaving the Wii remote in its cradle—choose a different game your pastime could be helping humankind.

Phylo – A Human Computing Framework for Comparative Genomics is a new interactive game developed by researchers at McGill University as a way to harness people’s spare time to help decipher genetic sequences.

Genetic Code (Credit: RambergMediaImages)

In order to better understand the structure of genes, researchers compare genetic sequences to each other to try to identify common regions. This comparison, called multiple sequence alignment, is traditionally carried out through complex computer algorithms. However, because people are naturally inclined to solve puzzles, they are to recognize and correct gaps in patterns more efficiently than computers.

Capitalizing on human abilities to optimize genetic sequences, McGill researchers—led by researcher Dr. Jérôme Waldispuhl—have developed the Phylo game.

People who play the . . . → Read More: This Ain’t No Atari: McGill Researchers Want You to Play Genetic Games