When a lethal metamorphic virus strikes a Starfleet medical conference, Doctors Beverly Crusher, Julian Bashir Katherine Pulaski and the EMH join forces -- with assists from Dr. Leonard McCoy and Dr. Phlox -- to save the day. That’s the plot of Star Trek Special: Flesh and Stone, a comic-book adventure coming in July from IDW Publishing in tandem with CBS/Paramount and XPRIZE.

The story, in fact, is inspired by real-world, $10 million Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE international competition that’s underway now. As previously reported, 30 teams are vying to develop a consumer-friendly mobile device capable of diagnosing and interpreting a set of health conditions and vital health metrics, a la Star Trek’s legendary Tricorder.

Star Trek: Flesh and Stone is written by veteran Star Trek scribes Scott and David Tipton. “There aren’t very many ‘firsts’ left in the world of Star Trek,” Scott Tipton said in a statement. “So when IDW and XPRIZE came to us with the opportunity to team up all six of Trek’s doctors for the first time, how could we say no?” Added David Tipton, “The tricky part is how to get them together, since some of them are separated by about two hundred years. How does it happen? You’ll just have to wait and see…”

Commenting on behalf of XPRIZE, Rob Hollander, Vice President of Brand & Content for XPRIZE, said, “While XPRIZE is currently catalyzing a future where a Tricorder-like device is a common household item, we are thrilled to have inspired this parallel Star Trek story centered around the use of the Tricorder, further blurring the line between science fiction and reality.”

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Visit www.qualcommtricorderxprize.org to learn more about the Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE competition. And keep an eye on StarTrek.com for additional details about Star Trek: Flesh and Stone.