Chandra Clarke

Award-winning entrepreneur. Author. Professional Optimist.

  • Home
  • About
  • Books & Shorts
  • Press & Awards
  • Citizen Science
  • Contact Me
You are here: Home / Level 3 - Web-based Citizen Science / Is there a doctor in the house?

Is there a doctor in the house?

January 19, 2015 By Chandra Clarke Leave a Comment

Photo Credit: Opensource Handbook of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
Photo Credit: Opensource Handbook of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Project: NanoDoc

Some video games want you to kill invaders from space. Others want you to blow up gems or fruit. NanoDoc wants you to help kill tumors.

As the name implies, NanoDoc is a game designed to have members of the public help design new “nanoparticle” strategies to treat cancer. A nanoparticle is a teeny-tiny particle, anywhere from 1 to 100 nanometers in size, and a nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. Nanomedicine is a newer branch of medicine that focuses on using nanotechnology to deliver drugs in a super-targeted way. A very rough analogy for nanomedicine might be this: instead of spraying your entire lawn with gallons of weedkiller and hoping for the best, you would use microscopic devices to seek out and individually destroy weed seeds.

NanoDoc is a nanoparticle simulator. In the first few levels of the game, you earn your “nanodoc licence”; that is, you get trained on how to play. After that, you’ll be given specific challenges to try. Current challenges include detecting a rare event and working on tumor imaging.

According to Sangeeta Bhatia, who runs a lab at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, “we don’t know what the best treatments are for these challenges, or even if there are any good solutions at all! We hope your drive to help in the fight against cancer and learn about nanomedicine will empower you to discover original, creative and efficient nanoparticle strategies we haven’t thought of in the lab.”

To get started, you can register at the site using your email, Facebook, Twitter, or Google+ account. You’ll then be able to take the training and have a go at the game. You can also learn more about nanomedicine and follow the new NanoDoc blog.

 

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Reddit
  • More
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket

Related

Filed Under: Level 3 - Web-based Citizen Science Tagged With: citizen science games, nanoparticles

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Your Host:

On Sale Now:

Search

Recent Posts

  • A Book for Entrepreneurs
  • Beware the Unusual Home . . .
  • Mirror, Mirror… er… in the Sky?
  • 2020 Awards Eligibility Post
  • Dinosaurs: Birds of a Feather?

Like My Work?

Want to put something in the tip jar?

Buy me a book! Bonus: You’ll be supporting another author when you do! Just click on the graphic below and make the purchase – it will send it to my (hidden) address or Kindle as a gift.

My Wish List: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1WL17UVY8T3OQ?&sort=default

Tags

advertising Android Astronomy Australia babies Bee biology books California canada children Christmas Citizen Science citizen science games climate change computer-based crowdfunding distributed computing dogs do it anywhere England environment funding game Garden gardening History insects iPhone NASA Parenting Pets pollution science science communication space spring technology ted Television trees USA weather Wildlife Zooniverse

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

You might also like...

  • A Proofreading Course
  • An Editing Course
  • Citizen Science
  • Learn English Grammar
  • Online Writing Courses
  • Proofreading Service
  • Writing Advice

Site Sponsor

  • Privacy
  • Terms

Copyright © 2021 Chandra Clarke. All Rights Reserved.