Genomics Digital Lab is a browser based

Browser game

A browser game is a computer game that is played over the Internet using a web browser. Browser games can be created and run using standard web technologies or browser plug-ins. Browser games include all video game genres and can be single-player or multiplayer...

 series of educational games, simulations, and animations created by Spongelab Interactive. It is designed to teach high school students about biology

Biology

Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...

 including photosynthesis, respiration, transcription and translation. Genomics Digital Lab was released in 2009 and is available for purchase at home or school, or as a free 7 day trial.

Game play

The user takes on the mission to save a dying plant. This is first done in the introductory level, where the user must identify the correct light, gas, and liquid conditions to make a plant thrive and survive.

In the intermediate level, the user enters each of the organelles (chloroplast

Chloroplast

Chloroplasts are organelles found in plant cells and other eukaryotic organisms that conduct photosynthesis. Chloroplasts capture light energy to conserve free energy in the form of ATP and reduce NADP to NADPH through a complex set of processes called photosynthesis.Chloroplasts are green...

, mitochondrion

Mitochondrion

In cell biology, a mitochondrion is a membrane-enclosed organelle found in most eukaryotic cells. These organelles range from 0.5 to 1.0 micrometers in diameter...

, and nucleus

Cell nucleus

In cell biology, the nucleus is a membrane-enclosed organelle found in eukaryotic cells. It contains most of the cell's genetic material, organized as multiple long linear DNA molecules in complex with a large variety of proteins, such as histones, to form chromosomes. The genes within these...

) where they must pass a variety of challenges. Each lesson has 3-4 levels, each starting with a tutorial, then getting progressively harder. In Lesson 2, the user is taken to the chloroplast where their goal is to make sugar using CO₂ and sunlight by playing the Light Reaction

Light-dependent reactions

The 'light-dependent reactions', or light reactions, are the first stage of photosynthesis, the process by which plants capture and store energy from sunlight. In this process, light energy is converted into chemical energy, in the form of the energy-carrying molecules ATP and NADPH...

 and Calvin Cycle

Calvin cycle

The Calvin cycle or Calvin–Benson-Bassham cycle or reductive pentose phosphate cycle or C3 cycle or CBB cycle is a series of biochemical redox reactions that take place in the stroma of chloroplasts in photosynthetic organisms...

 games. In Lesson 3, the user is in the mitochondrion, where they have to convert the sugar into energy by playing the Glycolysis

Glycolysis

Glycolysis is the metabolic pathway that converts glucose C6H12O6, into pyruvate, CH3COCOO− + H+...

, Citric Acid Cycle

Citric acid cycle

The citric acid cycle — also known as the tricarboxylic acid cycle , the Krebs cycle, or the Szent-Györgyi-Krebs cycle — is a series of chemical reactions which is used by all aerobic living organisms to generate energy through the oxidization of acetate derived from carbohydrates, fats and...

, and Electron Transport Chain

Electron transport chain

An electron transport chain couples electron transfer between an electron donor and an electron acceptor with the transfer of H+ ions across a membrane. The resulting electrochemical proton gradient is used to generate chemical energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate...

 games. Finally, in Lesson 4, the user is in the nucleus, where they use the energy to build proteins by playing the Transcription

Transcription (genetics)

Transcription is the process of creating a complementary RNA copy of a sequence of DNA. Both RNA and DNA are nucleic acids, which use base pairs of nucleotides as a complementary language that can be converted back and forth from DNA to RNA by the action of the correct enzymes...

 and Translation

Translation (genetics)

In molecular biology and genetics, translation is the third stage of protein biosynthesis . In translation, messenger RNA produced by transcription is decoded by the ribosome to produce a specific amino acid chain, or polypeptide, that will later fold into an active protein...

 games. Once a user completes all 8 games, they become a Master of the Cell.

The Advanced level consists of 5 text based cases on real-world science topics.

Scoring

In each game, points are awarded in the biological currency relevant to that game. Both the current score and the overall high score

Score (game)

In games, score refers to an abstract quantity associated with a player or team. Score is usually measured in the abstract unit of points, and events in the game can raise or lower the score of different parties...

 (in number of sugars, ATP

Adenosine triphosphate

Adenosine-5'-triphosphate is a multifunctional nucleoside triphosphate used in cells as a coenzyme. It is often called the "molecular unit of currency" of intracellular energy transfer. ATP transports chemical energy within cells for metabolism...

, or proteins) are recorded.

Additional educational features

• Plant Anatomy Explorer - includes whole plant anatomy, leaf structure, leaf tissue structure, plant cells, and major cell organelles
• Particle Map - a glossary of all the molecules, indexed by their organelle location with a brief description
• Notepad - online notebook where students can record their observations
• Available in English and French
• Compatible with digital whiteboards

Supportive features for teachers

Genomics Digital Lab was designed to be easily used in the classroom, and provides teachers with lesson plans, curriculum alignments, quizzes, worksheets. Teachers can also monitor their students’ progress online, in real-time.

Reception

Genomics Digital Lab won first place in the Interactive Media category in both the 2008 and 2009 National Science Foundation's International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/scivis/winners_2008.jsp, http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/scivis/winners_2009.jsp. It was also published in the September 26, 2008 issue of Science http://www.sciencemag.org/vis2008/ and the February 19, 2010 issue of Science http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/327/5968/949.

In 2009, Genomics Digital Lab was awarded a World Summit Award for best e-content in the e-Science and Technology category http://www.wsis-award.org/news/article.wbp?article_id=fb796c8b-52e5-4b93-95a6-f7ba7322ca34 as well as a Parents' Choice Award http://www.parents-choice.org/product.cfm?product_id=26631&StepNum=1&award=aw and an Adobe Max Honorable Mention in the Education category http://2009.max.adobe.com/awards/honorable/