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Play Borderlands Science to map the human gut microbiome, for science

A mini-game within Borderlands 3 called Borderlands Science, which you can play right now to help the real-world scientific community.
Play Borderlands Science to map the human gut microbiome, for science

Gearbox Software has announced and released Borderlands Science, which you can play inside Borderlands 3. Yes, it is a game within a game, and by playing it, you will earn rewards all while helping the real-world scientific community.

Playing Borderlands Science will help map the human gut microbiome. It is a puzzle game found on Sanctuary III in Doctor Tannis's infirmary, in the shape of a newly-installed arcade machine.

Dr Mayim Bialik, who you might recognize from The Big Bang Theory, explains Borderlands Science in the announcement trailer below.

Borderlands Science presents block puzzles to the player, based on strands of DNA, which you need to solve for rewards.

This mini-game was developed in conjunction with McGill University, Massively Multiplayer Online Science, and The Microsetta Initiative.

Completing these puzzles will earn you in-game currency, which you can redeem for unique Vault Hunter Heads and Skins. There are also boosters you can grab, which buff your stats, experience gain, and even loot quality.

So why was Borderlands Science created? Can't computers easily do the puzzle-solving on their own? As it turns out, computers aren't perfect. The announcement post explains:

"Borderlands Science exists in part because computers aren't perfect at organizing this data and make lots of small mistakes that can corrupt subsequent analysis, but the game you play to solve this complex task is easy to understand and play.

Coloured tiles representing different nucleotides appear on a grid; by nudging them up within their columns, you attempt to organize them into the correct rows. It's not always possible to line up all of the tiles correctly, but attempting these puzzles is still helpful as you're identifying errors in real-world computer analyses."

Borderlands Science Gearbox Software Borderlands 3
What Borderlands Science looks like (Picture: Gearbox)

If you hit a puzzle's target score, you don't have to move onto the next one. There might be additional moves you can make, and high scores to beat.

If you attempt to beat the high scores posted by Tannis, you will contribute even more important data to the microbe initiative. 

Gearbox explains the practical applications of mapping the human gut microbiome:

"In case you’re curious about the practical applications for the raw data gathered through Borderlands Science, the human gut is linked to numerous diseases and conditions, including diabetes, depression, autism, anxiety, obesity and more.

By mapping these microbes, the hope is that scientists will be able to better understand these ecosystems, which may help guide future research into novel treatments and interventions."

Borderlands Science is available to all owners of Borderlands 3 on all platforms right now, for science!