Date: 11:00AM GMT 01 Mar 2013Source: The Telegraph   Facebook, Google and Amazon have teamed up with Cancer Research UK to design a mobile game that will allow members of the public to help the search for new cancer drugs.   Researchers are working hard to identify the genetic faults that drive cancer  Photo: ANDREW SHAW The project will allow smartphone users to play to investigate vital scientific data at the same time as playing a mobile game. The first step is for 40 computer programmers, gamers, graphic designers and other specialists to take part in a weekend "GameJam" to turn the charity's raw genetic data into a game format for future so-called "citizen scientists". "We're making great progress in understanding the genetic reasons cancer develops. But the clues to why some drugs will work and some won't are held in data which need to be analysed by the human eye - and this could take years," said Carlos Caldas at Cancer Research UK's Cambridge Institute. "By harnessing the collective power of citizen scientists we'll accelerate the discovery of new ways to diagnose and treat cancer much more precisely." After the GameJam, which runs in London from March 1-3, an agency will build the game concept into reality and the team plans to launch it in mid 2013.  CRUK's scientists are working hard to identify the genetic faults that drive cancer to try to find new ways of diagnosing and treating patients in a more targeted way based on their genetic profile [...]