EVE Online Saved Scientists 330 Years of Research
The third phase of Project Discovery in EVE Online is in full swing. As part of the action, the players have completed enough science-based tasks to spare the professionals over 330 years of coronavirus research.
EVE Online may be known primarily for its huge battles and equally huge monuments, but that's not the only reason why the game, celebrating its 18th birthday this year, enjoys great fame. The title also gained recognition thanks to Project Discovery or, to be more precise, the third edition of this initiative. EVE Online has been nominated to the 25th edition of The Webby Awards in the category of "public service, activism and social impact" for help in the fight against the coronavirus.
How does playing an MMORPG support scientists in the fight against COVID 19? Here's how - as part of Project Discovery, players take part in special mini-games based on scientific data and thus help analyze it. The third edition (launched in June 2021) boils down to outlining groups of cells depicted according to information gathered by flow cytometry. Studio CCP Games initially made around 707,000 such tasks available, and solving them brings scientists closer to understanding the impact of coronavirus on the human immune system.
Of course, making the tasks available is one thing, but ultimately it all comes down to completing them. That, however, proved to be no problem at all. IGN reports that more than 327 thousand EVE Online players have completed a number of quests in the third phase of Project Discovery corresponding to more than 330 years of scientific research. That's a significant improvement over the already impressive November 2020 result, when virtual pilots saved professionals 36 years of work.
This isn't the only initiative of this kind. Gamers are also helping scientists as part of the educational game Foldit, which for over a year has included tasks involving the neutralization of the "crown", to which the virus owes its name. Many Internet users have also contributed to the "largest supercomputer on Earth" in the Folding@Home project.
