Gaming for Solutions

Game development is emerging as a creative way to find solutions to problems as .

The online title , developed by the University of Washington, illustrates one way games can be used to find real-life solutions. The gamer's mission is to find new ways to fold proteins. The researchers then use the data to gain a better understanding of protein design and structure prediction, which they say can be applied to conquering dreadful diseases, such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, and Alzheimer's.

If you have ever thought about developing games as a hobby or even professionally, you may be able to use the creative pursuit to not only find answers to work problem, but to discover ways to better the world--or even both.

Bruce covers tech trends in the United States and Europe and can be reached through his Website at .