Let the Games Begin!

The EyeWire Games have begun at 3 pm US EST on Feb 13, 2013. Here’s what you need to know.

The EyeWire Games are a competition between Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, Google+ and Team X (Veterans). Your team is the network where you discovered EyeWire. The winning team is the group that maps the most neuron volume by Feb 20 at midnight.

Winner take all — an epic all: neuron naming rights. 1st place team gets to name a J Cell (the first neuron ever mapped by citizen scientists) plus gets a neuron named in their team’s honor.

Here’s how to get started:

Declare your team here

Map for your team by selecting the blue “Change Cell” button at the top right corner of the cell description box. Next, select “Explore Cell” next to the team name of your choice and start playing! You have until midnight on Feb 20.

Advertise your team in chat by changing the color of your username. Type the approptiate team-specific text into the chat dialogue box:

The EyeWire Games are a public beta of EyeWire competitions. Know what that means? You’re trailblazing the future of scientific discovery in ways the world has never known. Pat yourself on the back, Epic EyeWirer.

The Science of EyeWire

Learn why we’re mapping neural connectomes and explore the relevance of EyeWire as a game changer (literally) in neuroscience.

Every person is unique. You know this, of course, but it has been surprisingly difficult to pinpoint where, precisely, your uniqueness resides. Scientists have speculated that the properties of your mind, from memories to mental disorders, are encoded in the unique pattern of connections between your brain’s neurons. This hypothesis is plausible, but solid evidence has been lacking, because we have never been able to see the brain’s “wiring” clearly. Fortunately, revolutionary new technologies are starting to provide the right kind of images, but in torrents that are so overwhelming that no single person can comprehend the data.

To achieve this goal, we’ll need an army of citizen scientists playing EyeWire. Just think — if people spent as much time playing EyeWire as they do playing Angry Birds, we could map an entire brain and move much closer to man’s ultimate quest to understand himself. We’re thrilled that you are trailblazing the future of neuroscience as a part of the EyeWire community.

Now, without further adieu, it’s time to let the games begin. May the best EyeWirers win!