--- description: Online video game streaming service Twitch is hosting a 24-hour Minecraft marathon to benefit the National Stem Cell Foundation. title: How Minecraft Players Are Funding Stem Cell Research image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57783797e1abc10d/698851c83c16399ede45813c/487545085.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How Minecraft Players Are Funding Stem Cell Research by [Benjamin Snyder / Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## Benjamin Snyder / Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 27, 2015 2:10 PM CUT  Bobby Craig, left, and Doogy Lee create worlds in Minecraft that parallel what they have bene reading in "The Hobbit" as part of their fifth grade class studies at Quest Academy in Palatine, Ill. Bobby Craig, left, and Doogy Lee create worlds in Minecraft that parallel what they have bene reading in "The Hobbit" as part of their fifth grade class studies at Quest Academy in Palatine, Ill.Chicago Tribune—MCT via Getty Images by [Benjamin Snyder / Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## Benjamin Snyder / Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 27, 2015 2:10 PM CUT Online video game streaming service Twitch is hosting a 24-hour Minecraft marathon to benefit the National Stem Cell Foundation. The Saturday, June 6 charity marathon, called Reason2Play, is slated to feature top Minecraft players. According to a release by the NSCF, the Minecraft players said they’d log 10,000 hours on the intensely popular video game in order to help fund stem cell science. During the marathon, Twitch will promote the Reason2Play effort and ask viewers to make donations to the NSCF. The foundation likens Minecraft’s use of blocks to create structures in-game to stem cells being the “building blocks of the human body.” “Mastering Minecraft requires a great deal of ingenuity, creativity, and social cooperation,” said Dr. Paula Grisanti, the chair of the National Stem Cell Foundation, in a statement. “Not only that, it has proven to be a highly successful educational tool all over the world.” “Reason2Play is a terrific opportunity to make the connection to stem cell research and treatment among gamers because they value skill, innovation, and dedication,” added Grisanti. The company behind Minecraft was acquired by Microsoft last year for $2.5 billion. At the time, the 10-year-old daughter of _Fortune’s_ Jennifer Reingold [penned a letter to CEO Satya Nadella](http://fortune.com/2014/09/12/dear-microsoft-dont-mess-up-minecraft/ "undefined") about the game. ### See The 15 Best Video Game Graphics of 2014  Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. 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Sucker Punch Productions  Monument Valley Escher-like at first glance, Ustwo's mind-bending puzzler was also inspired by posters, bonsai plants, arabic calligraphy and filmmaker Tarsem Singh's The Fall. Ustwo  Grand Theft Auto V Rockstar's remastered crime spree opus was crafted from an in-house engine first employed in a game that simulated table tennis. Rockstar  Titanfall Respawn Entertainment  Forza Horizon 2 Turn 10's Euro-racer actually models light refracted through drops of moisture, the render tech plausibly simulating something as intangible but essential as the earth’s atmosphere. Microsoft Studios/Turn 10 Studios  80 Days Inkle's anti-colonialist vamp on Jules Verne's famous novel uses crisp art deco imagery inspired by travel posters to unfurl 80 Days' tale of intrepid globetrotters Monsieur Fogg and his valet Passepartout. 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Square Enix ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3897728/minecraft-stem-cells/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3897728/minecraft-stem-cells/"},"headline":"How Minecraft Players Are Funding Stem Cell Research","datePublished":"2015-05-27T14:10:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:44:47.331Z","description":"They're logging 10,000 hours for the cause","url":"https://time.com/3897728/minecraft-stem-cells/","keywords":["Tech","Video Games","Minecraft","Healthcare","Microsoft","Gaming","pubdesk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57783797e1abc10d/698851c83c16399ede45813c/487545085.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Benjamin Snyder / Fortune"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57783797e1abc10d/698851c83c16399ede45813c/487545085.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Game Minecraft in education","caption":"Game Minecraft in education","creditText":"Chicago Tribune—MCT via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3897728/minecraft-stem-cells/","name":"How Minecraft Players Are Funding Stem Cell Research"}}]}] ```