For the past few years Dr Kuhlen and his colleagues have been working on a computer model of the halo of dark matter in which the Milky Way (the Earth's home galaxy) is thought to be embedded.

ECONOMIST: The search for dark matter: Ethereal yet weighty | The

It was not until researchers at the University of Washington proposed converting the research model into Foldit, a Halo-like game that uses 3D visual icons.

FORBES: Practical Implications