The University of Washington in Seattle and Allen Institute have created Mozak, a video game that lets ordinary individual into a neuroscientist in a fun way. The game is a proof that humans are much smarter than computers.

Even the scientists are still unable to fully untangled the brain cells, but with the help of individuals who play Mozak religiously, they can now map it out. Mozak has just recently left Beta version and the game is surprisingly helping neuroscientists to reconstruct neurons more than three times faster than their usual method.

The common tricks in Mozak

The developed game traces lines with dreamy music as the backsound in a relaxing pace. There is no rush in playing Mozak in viewing images of neurons. Hundreds of ordinary people have played Mozak. The game's simple steps of leveling up and collecting points could actually help an individual to create a model of neurons in a fun way, GeekWire reported.

To keep players excited with the game, Mozak uses scoring board to make it a fun competition whilst giving bonuses for players who reach certain levels. According to the game's developer, 200 people log in daily to play the game.

How Can They Help Neurons Study?

When tracing is done in the same way, scientists said that the rate of accuracy is high. Thus, by playing Mozak, people are actually contributing to the study. There is also a chat room that enables players to talk to each other and get socialized while the scientists check in. According to one player, Mozak is like a meditation when all else failed.

The Scientists' Notes

According to the creator, Mozak enables humans and computing machines to 'do what they are good at'. The video game has proven that humans can be smarter than any computer with their abilities to trace 3D objects. In return, this ability helps scientists to regenerate structures of neurons and build the systems for further discoveries, NYTimes reported.

Read more
Tags University of washington