How Your Body Plays its Own Fortnite

Have you ever wondered how scientists figure out what is happening inside the human body? To explain that, imagine your body as a full game of Fortnite. Yes, Fortnite, the game where players collect resources, build structures, face challenges, and try to be the last person standing. Inside your body, things are just as busy, with different systems working together all the time. These systems are always active. Understanding the body is like watching every move in the game and trying to make sense of what each system is doing and why.

While you are reading this, your heart is pumping blood through your veins, almost like a resource station that never shuts down. Your lungs are pulling in oxygen, like restocking with supplies needed for your next move. Your stomach is breaking down the last snack you ate, similar to using a med kit to regain energy. And your brain is organizing all of these actions at the same time, just like a game server keeps the match running. While all of this is happening, you might also be hearing sounds around you, thinking about schoolwork, or planning which skin to use in your next Fortnite match.

Understanding the Game: How Do Scientists Study the Body?

The DNA in your cells is like the game’s code and the game’s rules. DNA gives instructions for how everything should work. Proteins in your body are like the players in the match. Proteins carry out the instructions by doing the work that keeps you alive. Blood in your body is like the transportation system in the game. It moves important materials like oxygen, nutrients, and signals to where they are needed. Tiny living creatures like bacteria and fungi also live in your body. These tiny creatures are like non-playable characters or special map events in Fortnite. Sometimes they help your body, and sometimes they make things harder, but they are always there.

If it is already hard for you to notice everything happening inside your own body, imagine how hard it must be for scientists who study the bodies of hundreds or even thousands of people. For scientists, understanding the human body is like trying to follow hundreds of Fortnite matches at the same time. Scientists want to know who is winning, who is struggling, and what is causing those outcomes. This is a huge challenge. To truly understand the body, scientists cannot look at just one part. They need to see how all parts work together, all at once. That is why scientists use a group of scientific tools called omics, and when they use them together, they call it multiomics [1].

Multiomics: Playing With the Full Combo

Each omics tool gives a different view of the body. Genomics studies the DNA, which holds the instructions for how the body works. Transcriptomics shows which of those DNA instructions, called genes, are being used at a given time. Proteomics studies the proteins created from those instructions, which do the actual work. Metabolomics examines the results of what the proteins do, such as how much energy is produced or what changes happen in cells. Microbiomics studies the tiny living creatures, like helpful bacteria, in your body and how they interact with you. Epigenomics looks at chemical signals that can turn genes on or off, like temporary game settings that change how the match plays out.

Using only one omics tool can give scientists part of the picture, but it does not show everything. Using multiomics is like having full access to the game replay, the map overview, player statistics, and future storm locations all at the same time (Figure 1). Multiomics lets scientists understand what is really happening in the body, not just what the instructions say should happen. This complete view helps scientists figure out what is going right, what is going wrong, and what might happen next.

What Has Multiomics Done for the Real World?

Multiomics has already helped scientists with many important challenges. During the COVID-19 pandemic, multiomics helped scientists understand why some people became very sick while others did not. Multiomics showed that even though people were infected with the same virus, their bodies responded in different ways [2]. This information helped scientists create better vaccines and better treatments. In cancer research, multiomics helps scientists find cells that are acting like bad players [3]. Scientists can study those cells to see what rules they are following, what damage they are causing, and how to stop them. This helps doctors plan the best treatments, just like building the perfect team to defeat a very hard boss.

Multiomics is also being used to diagnose rare diseases [4]. These are diseases that do not appear often and are hard to find—like hidden bugs in the game code that only show up in very specific situations. Multiomics can help reveal these rare problems by connecting information from different parts of the body. Scientists are also using multiomics to study exercise. They want to know how the body gains strength, how it uses energy, and when it needs rest. Multiomics shows what changes happen in the body during training, just like seeing how a player gains shields, uses materials, or builds faster after practice.

The Future of Gaming: What is Next?

In the future, scientists believe multiomics will help even more. Scientists may be able to use multiomics to detect diseases before any symptoms appear. That would be like knowing a storm is coming before the countdown even starts. Multiomics may also help create personalized treatments designed just for you, like building a custom skin and item loadout for your game style. It could help avoid side effects by showing which people will respond badly to certain medicines. Multiomics might even help track how your body changes with age, adjusting your needs as your body gains experience. Scientists may also use multiomics to study how food, sleep, emotions, and the places we live affect our health, like learning what helps players do their best in each type of map.

In the end, multiomics gives scientists a powerful view of the human body. Multiomics is like turning on full observer mode in the game of life. With multiomics, scientists can understand what happened in the past, figure out what is happening right now, and even predict what might happen next. Maybe one day, you will be the scientist joining the match, solving mysteries, and helping others reach their own Victory Royale in science.

Glossary

DNA: ↑ The instruction manual inside each of your cells.

Protein: ↑ Tiny workers in the body made according to instructions from the genes.

Omics: ↑ Tools that look different parts of the body.

Multiomics: ↑ The use of many types of omics together.

Gene: ↑ A part of the DNA that gives specific instructions.

Side Effect: ↑ An unwanted reaction to a treatment or medicine.

Conflict of Interest

The author(s) declared that this work was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

AI Tool Statement

The author(s) declared that generative AI was used in the creation of this manuscript. Illustration generated with help from artificial intelligence (ChatGPT, OpenAI) and edited by the author(s).

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