Look Who it Was Random video

MIT’s EyeWire: Crowdsourced brain game aids scientific research (Learning World: S5E16, part 3/3)

2,866 views · Published 14 January 2015 · 2:55 · Indexed 1 November 2026

Channel: WISE Channel · 2015 · Education

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EyeWire is an open source game that anyone with a computer and an internet connection can play. But while you play, you are actually helping scientists map the brain. In order to map just one cell, it would take 50 hours for a single person, but there are 85 billion cells in a human brain.

The MIT brain research institute in Boston came up with Eyewire. Amy Robinson, its creative director, says: "If you make a 3D puzzle game out of it, and you have hundreds of thousands of people playing it online, you can collect all the data in a relatively short time. And you just need a few administrators putting the final data together."

The more people play, the sooner the team can map the retinal neurons. That’s why Eyewire is now developing from a puzzle to a even more fun game, with characters and music included.

Eyewire proves that science can be fun and by connecting online, players are not just enjoying themselves but they are contributing to a scientific discovery, helping MIT scientists to understand how the brain sees movement.

Read more about EyeWire on their blog: http://blog.eyewire.org/about/

Imagine that all the academic books you needed were available for free. Watch our episode on Open Books: http://youtu.be/OF-Afm0b_js 
Ever thought of contributing to Wikipedia? These Egyptian students already do as part of their course assignment: http://youtu.be/43-LDglpvkc

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