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About the challenge
- Challenge:
The challenge is to develop a de-extinction scenario explorer, which prompts the user to select an extinct species and a candidate species for de-extinction. The tool should then compute the similarity between the selected organisms and decide whether de-extinction is possible from the chosen candidate species. This decision should be made based on genomic similarity between species. The final product should take into account the ecological implications of de-extinction. Namely, based on trusted sources of evidence of the species' ecological niche, the tool should dictate whether de-extinction can occur in the wild, or if it should occur in a controlled environment. The challenge will have an additional cybersecurity component, which consists of accessing "confidential" genomic data for one of the approved species. Participants are not required to access this dataset, but it is a bonus challenge that, if they succeed, will be counted in their favour.
- Relevancy:
Deextinction has recently been in the news due to the work of genetics firm Colossal Bioscience, which claimed to have brought the extinct dire wolf back to life. In reality, they had modified a few genes in the living grey wolf to make them more like direwolves, so it was not a true deextinction success.
- Controversies/Discussion Points:
Discussion over the viability/realism of such projects
Discussion over funding projects and whether the money should go to conservation of living species instead
Get started
To get started, participants should familiarize themselves with the pre-approved list of extinct species (provided ahead of the challenge in resources) and their nearest living counterparts (not provided until the challenge. Participants have the chance to deduce these living relatives before the challenge takes place)
Schedule
Friday:
4:00pm - Check in
4:50pm - Check in closes
5:15pm - Challenge begins
6:00-8:00pm - Mentors will circulate and consult with teams
7:00pm - Dinner served
9:00pm - Execs wrap-up (teams may stay in the room if desired)
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Saturday:
9:00am - Breakfast
5:15pm - Submissions due
5:30pm - Submissions close
5:30-7:00pm - Judging
7:00pm - winners announced
7:00pm-8:00pm - in-person celebration
Requirements
What to Build
Participants are tasked with creating a de-extinction tool which will consider evolutionary history and ecological factors to determine the compatibility of an extinct species and potential living de-extinction candate species that would be used as template in the overall strategy. While data on nthe ecological niche occupied by living and extinct organisms are widely available, it is scattered and inconsistent. A tool such as this de-etinnction comparator would help evolutionary biology and eco-conservation practitions access relevant information in a single resource and processes in their field.
What to Submit
- Demo Video (5 - 6 min) - Consists of a verbal walkthrough of the final product, clearly mentioning the data source and all processing steps. Uses some time to discuss the ecological impact, relevance, scability, and the limitations of their solution. Example - Can their algorithm reasonably be applied to different species or a larger species list? Can it be expanded to use different types of data?
- Entire code respository or code used
- Enitre dataset collected or data used
Prizes
Non-coding Track
Coding Track
Devpost Achievements
Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:
Judges
Judges TBD
Judges TBD
Judging Criteria
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Questions? Email the hackathon manager
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