How EVE Online players helped COVID-19 researchers

More than just gamers.

EVE Online is a massively multiplayer online game where players can compete and cooperate in a variety of activities, including space combat, mining, and trading. In 2020, EVE Online developer CCP Games partnered with the Francis Crick Institute, a biomedical research center in the UK, to launch Project Discovery.

Project Discovery is a citizen science initiative that allows EVE Online players to help researchers study the COVID-19 virus. Players are shown images of blood cells and asked to identify cells that are infected with the virus. This data is then used by researchers to learn more about how the virus works and how to develop new treatments and vaccines.

Over 300,000 EVE Online players have participated in Project Discovery, and they have helped to generate over 330 years of research data. This data has helped researchers to make a number of important discoveries, including:

• The identification of new biomarkers that can be used to diagnose COVID-19 infection earlier and more accurately.

• The discovery of new ways to target the COVID-19 virus with drugs.

• A better understanding of how the COVID-19 virus damages the lungs.

The work of EVE Online players has made a significant contribution to the fight against COVID-19, and it is a testament to the power of citizen science.

How to participate in Project Discovery

If you are an EVE Online player, you can participate in Project Discovery by following these steps:

• Open the Project Discovery window (Neocom > Project Discovery).

• Select a project to work on.

• Follow the instructions on the screen to identify infected cells.

• Submit your results.

Your results will be combined with the results of other players and sent to researchers. The more players who participate, the more data researchers will have to work with, and the faster they will be able to make new discoveries.