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[Mista]

Publisher 2K Games and developer Gearbox Software have launched Borderlands Science, an arcade puzzle minigame within Borderlands 3 developed in conjunction with McGill University, Massively Multiplayer Online Science, and The Microsetta Initiative that lets players earn in-game rewards while also helping advance medical research by mapping the human gut microbiome.

Randy Pitchford:

We see Borderlands Science as an opportunity to use the enormous popularity of Borderlands 3 to advance social good. Borderlands Science is the vanguard of a new nexus between entertainment and health: an innovative game-within-the-game, complete with scores, progression and rewards, where your playtime actually generates tangible data that will be applied toward improving research, helping cure diseases, and contributing to the broader medical community

Massively Multiplayer Online Science CEO and co-founder Attila Szantner added:

We are always looking for new partners in the field of gaming, and this is a perfect fit for us. We created Massively Multiplayer Online Science to connect scientific research and video games as a seamless gaming experience, and that is exactly what this has become. I believe that Borderlands 3 players advancing microbiome research will change how we think about video games.

McGill University professor Jerome Waldispuhl said:

It was a simple choice to join Gearbox and its partners in making Borderlands Science a reality. Working to help align the gaming community with the biomedical field allows these two passionate groups to work together toward a result that we might not realize without the collaborative effort.

Gematsu

Borderlands Science | Borderlands Games

Play Borderlands Science inside Borderlands 3 to earn unique rewards and help map the human gut microbiome.

borderlands.com

 

[Kagey K]

This makes me want to fire up Borderlands, in the name of science of course.

I was so very confused for most of that video.

 

[Mista]

I find it a nice thing to do. Weird it came from Randy Bitchford

 

[CatLady]

Nice idea, but am I the only one that finds Borderlands and science kind of an odd partnership?

 

[Mista]

Nice idea, but am I the only one that finds Borderlands and science kind of an odd partnership?

Yeah I feel you.

 

[diffusionx]

Protip: it's actually a bitcoin miner that goes straight into Randy's account

 

[desertdroog]

Protip: it's actually a bitcoin miner that goes straight into Randy's account

Seriously, though, I am glad to see this kind of partnership and would like to see more in the future. Stuff like Folding at Home and now this may be helpful. Has Folding at Home helped out in any meaningful way? Honest question as I have not looked deep into it outside of, this stuff will use your unused computer cycles to offload some of the computational work that is helpful.

 

[Krappadizzle]

Nice try Pitchford. Not gonna get me this time.

 

[PhoenixTank]

What do gut microbiomes and Randy Pitchford have in common?
They're both full of shit.

I'm kidding but shocked nobody has made that joke yet.

Seriously, though, I am glad to see this kind of partnership and would like to see more in the future. Stuff like Folding at Home and now this may be helpful. Has Folding at Home helped out in any meaningful way? Honest question as I have not looked deep into it outside of, this stuff will use your unused computer cycles to offload some of the computational work that is helpful.

Helped out ever? Or helped out recently?

New COVID-19 small molecule screening simulations are running on full Folding@home! – Folding@home

foldingathome.org

CAPTURING THE COVID-19 DEMOGORGON (AKA SPIKE) IN ACTION – Folding@home

foldingathome.org

I think some of the previous researched has enabled new drugs or something along those lines.

 

[Mass Shift]

Is there an option that helps the butt microbes take out my in-game enemies? And I know I'm not the only one who wonders what firing a shit projectile would be like. .