SCHOOLGIRLS from across Oxfordshire helped teach computers how to identify viruses at a world-first event.
The teenagers were being challenged at Diamond Light Source lab in Harwell on Friday to spot viruses on a screen.
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Dozens of girls who happened to be visiting the site anyway had a go, and each one helped teach an artificial intelligence bot how to spot viruses itself a bit better.
The launch of the 'Science Scribbler Virus Project' took place simultaneously in Oxfordshire and in Washington DC.
It is the first project of its kind that members of the public can help with in such a big way.
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Mark Basham, project coordinator at Diamond said: “We simply need as many people as possible to view images and locate what they recognise to be virus particles. This is screen time we can all advocate."
Anyone can also have a go at spotting viruses on a computer or phone at diamond.ac.uk/zooniverse
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