Writing in The Economist, biochemist Jennifer Doudna explains how covid-19 will improve the world of scientific research and publication
I HAVE ALWAYS loved mystery stories. Maybe that explains my fascination with science, which is humanity’s attempt to understand the longest-running mystery we know: the origin and function of the natural world and our place in it. As a child, I had only an intuitive sense of science as an approach to understanding things, such as why people get cancer or how blind spiders came to populate the lava tubes I explored on weekend outings in my hometown in Hawaii.
The respect accorded to science is changing fundamentally because of the pandemic. The value of investing in science for both immediate discoveries and future preparedness has come into sharp relief. More students contemplating their careers may see scientific research as an exciting and rewarding profession.
But the publication process is shifting. The desire to get research out and freely available has motivated biologists to adopt “preprints” as an accepted form of publication. Findings are less likely to be kept under wraps for months, awaiting peer review in often pay-walled journals. Over late-night drinks at a conference several years ago, an editor at a prominent journal lamented this trend, wondering how long she might have her job.
Extensive and open collaboration is accelerating the scientific process. A team of Chinese and Australian researchers published the first genome sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in January, enabling researchers worldwide to access the genetic map for free. An openof nearly 4,000 novel coronavirus sequences now charts mutations and virus transmission, with new sequences added every day from researchers across the globe.
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