Technology companies and cancer researchers are teaming up to come up with ways to let the general public hunt for cures for cancer.
Cancer Research UK is joining Amazon, Facebook and Google in an attempt to get people to search for mutations in DNA which lead to cancer.
The BBC reports it is an attempt to mirror some of the success using the public in the hunt for objects in space.
There has been rapid progress in working out the exact sequence of a tumour's DNA.
Combining this information from multiple tumours allows researchers to hunt for the critical mutations which turn a normal healthy part of the body into a deadly cancer.
But the amount of data involved is massive and computers cannot find the subtle differences which may give clues to the genetic causes of cancers, which in turn can lead to treatments.
To effectively analyse the data it needs to be done visually, but there are not enough scientists.
Researchers, computer programmers and games designers are meet this weekend to find ways of converting the dense raw data into something more "game-like".
"By harnessing the collective power of citizen scientists we'll accelerate the discovery of new ways to diagnose and treat cancer much more precisely," said Professor Carlos Caldas from the University of Cambridge.
They aim to have the project up and running by the summer.
