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FROM VIDEO GAMES TOWARDS A NEW
TO SCIENTIFIC MODELLING UNDERSTANDING OF LIFE?
These digital tools that borrow from video game design The three-day workshop was attended by around 20
have already gained attention in the medical imaging researchers from 8 countries working in a variety of
sector and are beginning to inspire researchers in fields, including microbiology, molecular biology, (bio)
ocean science fields such as geology and physical geochemistry, bioinformatics, geomorphology and law.
oceanography. New technologies like this could Their wide-ranging discussions centred on defining
overcome the limitations of mathematical models, mineral-microbe interfaces, choosing key parameters
whose ability to simulate ocean environments using and which digital modelling and visualisation tools
scientific data is often limited by the vast range of could provide a detailed picture of these marine
spatio-temporal scales and variables that are more environments by filling the missing data gaps.
or less interlinked.
The conclusions reached during this extended
round-table workshop are encouraging. Researchers
EXPLORING EXTREME left with a blueprint for developing the new ‘video
ENVIRONMENTS game’ that will help them visualise the secret world
of microbes in extreme ocean environments. The
Keen to expand their knowledge, researchers at workshop concluded with the hope of improving
the CIESM, IHO and Monaco Scientific Centre knowledge about microbial processes in these hostile
ventured deep into the most incomplete, therefore environments. This could change our understanding
least explored, oceanographic datasets, which of how life first appeared on Earth, provide clues to
nonetheless hold clues to the origins and limits of life. the existence of life on other planets and advance
This data was collected at deep-sea mineral-microbe knowledge in biotechnology, which uses micro-
interfaces, where microscopic living organisms organisms to perform chemical transformations.
interact with minerals on and below the ocean floor.
These interfaces are particularly enlightening in so-
called ‘extreme’ environments, which are affected
by ocean floor tectonics and hostile to most known
lifeforms. There, micro-organisms transform mineral INSIGHT
matter, meticulously shaping the Earth’s surface and
contributing to biogeochemical cycles that make life “Competitive data analytics are based on the best
on our planet possible. IT technologies, but only data science pipelines
But the study of these geo-microbiological processes can bring reliable insights.”
in extreme environments is still in its infancy. Scientific Laura Giuliano, Director General of the CIESM
data is beginning to emerge, but it is often patchy and
obscure. Harnessing 3D visualisation software could
help fill the gaps and advance our knowledge.