Project Discovery: Could computer games help find a cure for COVID-19?

In a previous episode of the Science Focus Podcast, we discovered how a team of scientists harnessed the combined power of hundreds of thousands of players of the massively multiplayer online game Eve Online to help in the search for exoplanets.

Now, the next phase of this programme, called Project Discovery, is turning its sights from the stars to the coronavirus pandemic.

This week we speak to scientists Ryan Brinkman and Jerome Waldispuhl, and Project Discovery’s creator Atilla Szantner about why they intend to turn gamers into citizen scientists to help find a cure for COVID-19.

Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.

• Subscribe to the Science Focus Podcast on these services: Acast, iTunes, Stitcher, RSS, Overcast
• Read the full transcription [this will open in a new window]

This podcast was supported by brilliant.org, helping people build quantitative skills in maths, science, and computer science with fun and challenging interactive explorations.

Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast:

• Sonia Contera: How will nanotechnology revolutionise medicine?
• Chris Lintott: Can members of the public do real science?
• Dr Erin Macdonald: Is there science in Star Trek?
• Jim Al-Khalili: Why should we care about science and scientists?
• Dr Tilly Blyth: How has art influenced science?
• John Higgs: Are Generation Z our only hope for the future?