Virtual Worlds, Real Science

Epidemiologists, social scientists flock to online world

Skeletons paved the cobblestone streets. Thousands had succumbed to the blood plague quickly, but others lingered—only to infect everyone they met. No one was safe. Warriors, mages, and healers all fell. Word spread, urging everyone to flee, but still the plague ripped through the world, creating a holocaust.

VIRTUAL PLAGUE. Bones of characters killed by the viruslike “corrupted blood” epidemic litter the floor of a dungeon in the World of Warcraft.