The human eye is a powerful tool and in this case your eagle-eyesight could help scientists fight cancer – Reverse The Odds is a unique game commissioned by Channel 4 for Stand Up To Cancer, a joint national fundraising campaign from C4 and Cancer Research UK, where users will analyse images of real cancer cells to aid researchers extract vital information.
This game, available now, is completely free to download across iOS, Android, Amazon phones and tablets. Players will progress through different levels by answering questions around how bright the cells are or how many particular types of cell are present.
In the game, players are on a mission to use their cell evaluation to revitalise tiny creatures called “The Odds”. The game’s story tells of a girl who lives in a magical world populated by these creatures who become grey and lifeless when she becomes tired. Players must conquer each level and restore the world from a washed-out wasteland to an amazing colourful wonderland.
Data taken from the game will be used by Cancer Research UK and fed back to research teams to understand cancer and find new ways to beat cancer sooner. Individuals don’t need to worry about getting their analysis wrong however – as a crowd-sourcing application, the accuracy of the results comes from lots of people looking at each sample and no-one’s diagnosis or treatment can be affected by anyone’s actions.
Colin McDonald, Games Commissioning Editor for Channel 4, said: “It’s great to see an increasing number of “games for good” that support and aid a wide variety of issues, but the opportunity to let individual players make such a direct and positive impact on cancer studies whilst still having fun is absolutely incredible – I hope to be seeing more people contributing to cancer research then merely “killing time” on their commutes from now on!”
Hannah Keartland, Citizen Science Lead at Cancer Research UK , said: “We’re thrilled to have worked with Channel 4 to produce a truly unique puzzle game that’s not only great fun to play, but also allows gamers to make a direct impact on research to beat cancer sooner. With colossal amounts of data being produced by our scientists’ research, getting through the data can take years, especially as some can only be analysed by the human eye. That’s why we’re always looking at innovative ways to get the public involved in this critical process.
“Now, Reverse The Odds gives anyone the chance to help our scientists get through this data via their mobile devices. So no matter where you are, your gaming moment could start having a real impact.” Reverse The Odds is purely for research purposes and not for any clinical purpose. The game was developed in collaboration with Maverick Television’s Multiplatform team, Chunk and Cancer Research UK. http://www.channel4.com/reversetheodds
This October 17th, a host of stars from television, music and film will come together for Stand Up To Cancer, an epic night of fundraising hosted by Davina McCall, Alan Carr and Dr Christian Jessen on Channel 4. Join us in showing cancer – it’s payback time. www.standuptocancer.org.uk
For more information on SU2C
http://www.channel4.com/standuptocancer
Direct link
http://www.channel4.com/reversetheodds
Download links:
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/id915440727?mt=8
GP: http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.channel4.hardcell
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/mas/dl/android?p=com.channel4.hardcell