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In contrast to other forms of media, video games likeBorderlands 3are usually frowned upon, especially by parents who have kids always glued to their screens. Likewise, there have been many arguments over the years stating why the world of gaming is not what people usually perceive it to be, but none might be as convincing as this recent one, where gamers were able to assist a science research, thanks to a minigame.
Borderlands 3was released for players to enjoy back in 2019, and soon witnessed the addition of a new mini-game mode called “Borderlands Science“. For those who have not played it, the minigame allows players to contribute to the study and research of microbes, something that we will dive deeper into later.
Borderlands 3– Are Players Scientists Of The Modern Era?
Borderlands Sciencewas a unique way of implementing the concept of microbe study to a completely clueless player base. The minigame was firstintroducedback in 2020 by Dr. Mayim Bialik, a real-life neuroscience PhD holder and an actress known for her role as Amy in The Big Bang Theory.
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Coming back to the present times, McGill University, the establishment responsible for leading the stated study, has recently published apress releasefor everybody to see, revealing how the game has helped in achieving the impossible.
“By playing Borderlands Science,”the press release said, “-players have helped trace the evolutionary relationships of more than a million different kinds of bacteria that live in the human gut, some of which play a crucial role in our health. This information represents an exponential increase in what we have discovered about the microbiome up till now. By aligning rows of tiles which represent the genetic building blocks of different microbes, humans have been able to take on tasks that even the best existing computer algorithms have been unable to solve yet.”
The release revealed how the players who participated in the research helped get to know more about the evolutionary traits of different bacteria that are found in the human gut. Additionally, an exponential increase in what was known as microbiome till now was witnessed, achieved by just handing a mini-game to a huge player base and awarding them in-game items in return as an incentive.
What Exactly IsBorderlands ScienceAnd How Does it Help?
Available as a virtual arcade game found in the infirmary on Sanctuary 3, the minigame is essentially a puzzle where strands of DNA are represented as blocks and need to be sequenced/ solved by the players. While looking flashy on the surface, the game essentially helps scientists compare the data of different microbes, allowing for a deeper understanding of how they work. This minigame also helps make the game more fun than it already is, thanks toMatthew Armstrong who took the right feedback at the right timeand managed to save the franchise from its eventual doom.
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The aforementioned press release also unveiled howBorderlands Sciencewas able to gather five times more data in half a day than what one of their previously released title,Phylo, was able to collect in over 10 years, being another testament to how gamers can help once in a while for the greater good, if an idea is implemented correctly.Borderlands 3is available to purchase on Steam.
Aaditya Chugh
Senior Gaming Writer
Articles Published :778
At Fandomwire, Aaditya has been covering the world of multiplayer and RPGs in the gaming industry for the last 2 years. He writes on anything AAA, like Elden Ring and Starfield, to Indie hits like Stardew Valley, which even got him a place at the table as one of the official reporters at M. Comic Con 2025. Sony, Xbox, Nintendo, you name it, and he will be here to provide you with whatever you might need to stay in the loop.
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Borderlands 3
