The Control of the Cell Cycle Game - Help

Aim of the game

The cell cycle is the series of events that take place as the cells grow and divide. In average this process takes about 24 hours for cells in mammals.

This game is rather easy to complete if you are familiar with the different phases in the cell cycle. If you're not, pay extra attention to the image of the cell cycle in the introduction. As "Cell Division Supervisor" inside the cell nucleus, your job is to control cell division to make sure each stage of the cell cycle occurs in the correct order. You also have to ensure the cell has successfully replicated its genetic material at specific checkpoints in the cell cycle. If you make more than three mistakes during one cell division, the cell will be destroyed and you will have to start again.

1.
Click "Enter" to start.

2.
Read the four short introductory pages. Click on the arrows to proceed.

3.
Click on the entrance to start the game.

4.
The computer monitor informs you that a cell has died - it is your job to initiate cell division by selecting the correct event in the cell cycle from the five options to your right. Use your mouse cursor to select an option - if you make the wrong choice, you will have 10 seconds to choose another option before the cell is destroyed. If you make three incorrect choices in a row, the energy level in the cell will be too low to proceed and you will have to start again. ("Cell growth" is the right answer.)

5.
To proceed through Checkpoint 1, click on the two options, one at a time. The order in which you perform these checks doesn't matter.

6.
You have now moved forward to the next stage in the cell cycle. Select the correct event from the five options to your right to continue through the cell cycle. ("Chromosome duplication" is the right answer.)

7.
Select the correct event from the five options to your right to continue through the cell cycle. ("Cell growth" is the right answer.)

8.
To proceed through Checkpoint 2, click on the three options, one-by-one. After selecting "All genetic material intact?", damage is detected. Click on "Repair chromosome" to proceed through the checkpoint.

9.
Select the correct event from the five options to your right to continue through the cell cycle. ("Chromosome separation" is the right answer.)

10.
To proceed through Checkpoint 3, click on "Chromosomes attached to spindles?".

11.
Select the correct event from the five options to your right to continue through the cell cycle. ("Cell division" is the right answer.)

12.
Read more about the cell cycle to complete the game.

13.
Finally, watch a short film clip of the final stage in the cell cycle.

14.
The end.

Copyright © Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2021