The AbleGamers Foundation has given the 2011 Accessible Mainstream Game of the Year Award to Star Wars: the Old Republic. The charity dedicated to encouraging accessibility of games for players with disabilities says that Star Wars: The Old Republic deserved this year's award because it provided a lot of options for players.

Oh, you wacky scientists.  What are you up to now?

Well, Informatics research scientists at the University of California, Irvine have built an Outrun arcade cabinet that can be driven on the road.  For real.

Phaedra Boinodiris, serious games program manager at IBM, writes a guest editorial on Forbes exploring the way that games can be used to energize and enhance other things besides research projects. The point of her editorial is that researchers have been helped greatly by games created to solve problems that take advantage of "collective intelligence," and global participation.

A teen from Cupertino, California has won a $100,000 science prize for research on cancer stem cells and two teens from Oak Ridge, Tennessee won the top team honor for using a video game to conduct research on the science of walking to benefit amputees who rely on prosthetics. The 17-year-old, Angela Zhang, won the top honors at the Siemens Foundation’s annual high school science competition. The top team prize went to two students from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, for their research using gaming technology to analyze motion while walking.

While those who don't know anything at all about video games are quick to use them as an excuse for many of society’s ills (crime, violence, obesity, attention deficit and a myriad of psychological disorders), now everyone thinks they are bad. In fact a growing number of academics see the value in video games as teaching aids. For example, a Yale professor is trying to use them to teach sex education.

Parents with children suffering from amblyopia (referred to by some as "Lazy Eye") frequently have trouble with kids refusing to do vision correction exercises. Since these exercises are important to correcting this type of vision problem, parents need tools to make the activity more fun and engaging for youngsters. Correction of amblyopia typically involves some sort of repetitive coordinative exercise, such as navigating a maze on paper, drawing lines on paper, etc. The problem is that some kids find these activities to be tedious and unchallenging.

Red Hill Studios is using the motion technology found in the Xbox 360 and Wii consoles to help people with Parkinson's disease improve their gait and balance. Researchers have used the technology to help stroke victims in a similar fashion, so aiming the technology at other afflictions makes perfect sense. Red Hill is collaborating with the UCSF School of Nursing to develop the game.

A new video game called Focus Pocus hopes to help children suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) by having them control their game characters with their brain waves through 12 mini-games. The game incorporates a real-time electroencephalography (commonly referred to as EEG, or defined as "recording electrical activity along the scalp") headset to measure and improve impulse control, memory, attention and relaxation in children.

New research published online in the Journal of Critical Care from Johns Hopkins researchers claims that video games are a good supplement to traditional physical therapy for patients in intensive care units (ICU).

Video game developer Brain Plasticity is seeking approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a cognitive training game because it wants to market the game as a therapeutic drug. The company has been working on a game to help people who suffer from schizophrenia improve attention and memory deficits that are often associated with the disorder. The company plans to conduct a study with 150 participants at 15 sites across the country. Participants will play the game for one hour, five times a week over a period of six months.

Researchers at the University of Utah have developed a motion-controlled game that helps children with cancer cope with their illness by promoting good mental health and physical fitness. The game, which was developed by chemistry professor Grzegorz Bulaj, is called PE Interactive (PE stands for "patient empowerment").

A research paper published Sunday by the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology details how the online game Foldit successfully mapped a protein-cutting enzyme from a particular AIDS-like virus found in rhesus monkeys. This enzyme apparently helps the virus spread and to counteract it, its exact molecular structure had to be mapped. This task had been impossible until crowd sourcing came along.

A new research project from the University of the Fraser Valley (Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada) uses video games to help test the motor skills of children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (or FASD). UFV has been running the after-school program, FAST Club, for children with FASD for the past three years. But this year brings a new element to the program - video games. The after-school video game program called BrainGamers Club helps children with FASD work on their motor skills and gaming skills, and measures whether the impact of these activities cross over into other areas.

A new survey commissioned by PopCap Games and conducted by University of Massachusetts Amherst psychology researcher Susan K. Whitbourne, Ph.D. that compared the gaming habits of older and younger players who play Bejeweled Blitz regularly felt mentally "sharper." The findings of the survey of 10,000 U.S. adults were presented at the American Psychological Association's (APA) annual convention in Washington D.C. The survey investigated the feasibility of Bejeweled Blitz as a cognitive training tool for older adults.

Dr. Maureen Becker, director of clinical education for the Willowbrook college’s Physical Therapy Doctoral Program, is using three New York City-area students (Rachel Pollack of Willowbrook, Emily Cochran of Grasmere and Shirley Coffey of Brooklyn) — to study the most effective ways in which young people can get a real-world workout with Nintendo's Wii Fit. The study began in June, and focuses mainly on tween girls, because, Dr. Becker says, girls tend to have a higher obesity rate than boys in the same age range.

Organizers of the Gamification Summit announced this morning that they have finalized the agenda and speaker program for the September 15-16 conference occurring in New York City. That agenda includes keynotes, featured talks, design intensives, panels, and workshops that (they hope) teach and inform attendees on the subject. GSummit promises to bring together experts from advertising, healthcare, education, government, media, e-commerce, startups and academia to share knowledge and improve engagement with consumers and employees by using gamification techniques.

A new report from The Behemoth development blog brings news of a new title update for Castle Crashers on Xbox Live Arcade, along with some great news for the Keep A Breast Foundation. First, The Behemoth is offering the Pink Knight DLC for Xbox Live Arcade for free and for every time it is downloaded the developer will give $1 to the Keep A Breast Foundation - until it hits the 50,000 download mark.

Researchers at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in Sydney, Australia, are building a virtual heart to study the fatal effects that electrical disturbances can have on patients. This virtual heart, a real-time computer simulator, will allow medical researchers to study how structural changes to the body's most vital organ can interfere with its beating.

When you read about games and education, you think about kids using games as learning tools, but Kognito Interactive's At Risk for High School Educators is an educational game aimed at preventing suicide amongst high school teens - and it is meant for teachers.

The AbleGamers Foundation and Evil Controllers will unveil the Adroit Switchblade, the first in a series of controllers for gamers with disabilities, during the PAX Prime panel "Gamers Doing Good, How Video Games Change People's Lives."

The panel will feature three charities, who will detail ways that video games can improve the quality of life for those who are depressed, hospitalized or severely disabled, or find themselves homesick while deployed in a warzone.

Neuroscientist Stuart Smith of Neuroscience Research Australia in Sydney is using video games to make rehabilitation exercises for stroke patients less boring. Smith says that the biggest problem with rehabilitation exercises for stroke patients is that most participants find that they are about as exciting as watching paint dry. Many of Smith's stroke patients find the traditional exercises associated with rehabilitation repetitive and frustrating. Traditional rehab improves motor control and reduces sensory and intellectual impairment.

The National Science Foundation has awarded a grant to GA Tech Research Corporation at the GA Institute of Technology for an innovative technology that lets the user move wheelchairs and mouse cursors with their tongue. A team of engineers at the GA Tech Research Corporation has developed a wireless and wearable assistive technology that can convert the user's tongue motions to specific commands such as moving a mouse cursor or a powered wheelchair.

A South Yorkshire man whose son died after playing video games for 12 hours straight due to complications with Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), is now campaigning to create a greater awareness about the condition and how it can be exacerbated with the excessive use of video games.

Video game-focused research being conducted by students and researchers at Champlain College in Vermont may prove to be an effective way of helping children with cystic fibrosis better deal with sticky mucus that can clog their lungs and make breathing difficult.

Chicago-based technology firm ImmersiveTouch has been working in consultation with the Memphis-based Medical Education & Research Institute (MERI) on surgery simulator technology that looks and feels like a next-generation video game. The inventors say that while it might be video game-like, it has far more serious implications for medical training and surgery.

MERI does not have a financial stake in the company or in the simulator, but many of the doctors and surgeons who pass through the training center have offered their input in developing the product.

"We are engineers. We are not physicians," said Cristian Luciano, Sensimmer's co-inventor and ImmersiveTouch vice president. "The needs that are coming from the physicians and surgeons drive the (product development) efforts as we produce solutions for them."

Launching sometime this fall, a new "peer-reviewed" academic journal on the positive effects of video games on health will be launched. The sole purpose of this journal is to publish research from various sources such as the New Jersey-based Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which has been studying and supporting games for health for the past six years.

"Games are fun," said Paul Tarini, a senior program officer at the foundation. "If what you're interested in doing is helping someone manage a chronic disease that needs daily maintenance, or helping yourself develop a habit to help yourself feel healthier, you can do it the old-fashioned way. Or if games really work, you can do it and have fun at the same time."

Tarini added that he sees the launch of this new journal as proof that interest is growing in this particular field of research, even though it is still in its infancy.

Konami, along with health professionals, policy makers, students, parents, and teachers, across West Virginia are heading to Charleston later this month to address childhood obesity. Konami is spearheading an event - the Childhood Obesity Summit - to discuss the best ways to deal with the issue. The company will also host the second annual DanceDanceRevolution West Virginia State Championship Tournament at the same time.

The West Virginia University Extension Service, West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA), and Konami organized the summit to promote collaboration and develop a referral base for coordinated prevention and treatment of childhood obesity statewide.

A team of Swedish researchers have conducted a study about drugs, alcohol and the effects of video games on teens. The research (unearthed by C&VG) concluded that boys who play games tend not to get involved in drinking alcohol or taking drugs.

The team of researchers from the Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other Drugs (CAN) surveyed 46,000 teens in the country, asking them about their drug and alcohol usage. Researchers discovered that the percentage of Swedish 15-year-olds who drink alcohol has dropped to the lowest level in decades.

The level of 15 and 16-year-old boys who have at least tried alcohol in the past year also declined to 55 percent - the lowest since CAN began investigating teen habits in 1971. A decade ago, that figure stood at 77 percent. Figures for smoking and drug-usage also showed a decline.

UK videogame trade group UK Interactive Entertainment Association (UKIE) has given its endorsement to the DNA Conference, which takes place on July 14 at the 1 Victoria Street Conference Centre, in London. The DNA Conference focuses on the "Digital Out-of-Home Interactive Entertainment" (DOE) industry, which includes video amusement, interactive digital attractions & simulators, digital kiosks, exergaming, digital hospitality, retailtainment and edutainment, and other services in the pay-to-play sector.

"UKIE’s remit is to support all aspects of the Interactive entertainment industry," explained Sam Collins, Commercial Manager for UKIE. "We are delighted to be supporting the DNA conference and the exciting work they are doing within the out of home sector. Many UKIE members are already actively engaged in this area and we expect more to enter this developing market."

The 8th annual Games for Change Festival kicks off today in New York City. The event, which runs until June 22, is taking place at the NYU Skirball Center. The event is dedicated to using games to deal with the most pressing social and political issues that affect the world today by breaking down cultural barriers, shifting perspectives and driving actions in the real world.

This year's event features several sessions addressing games from an international perspective including one focusing on Games For Change in Europe.

In May 2011 the Chamber of Commerce in Valenciennes launched the first European Games for Change Festival. Highlights from the first event will be shared with the audience, including some of the new games and European award winners. The session will be presented by Jean-Michel Blottiere, Owner, NX Publishing; Sandra Faggioni, Digital Creation Project Manager, CCIV / POLE IMAGE NPDC and several European award-winners.