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Covid-19 Research Is Moving Incredibly Fast
Contrasting it with the usual scientific research process
Upon hearing that treatments for Covid-19 are months or even years away, the public’s common response seems to be a mix of frustration, hopelessness, and anger. As a scientist, my reaction is quite different: I’m amazed by the breakneck speed with which researchers are attacking this scientific challenge.
By normal scientific standards, Covid-19 research is fast. I mean, breathtakingly, astonishingly fast. Within weeks of a global outbreak, scientists revealed insights into the virus’ mechanism of entry and disease provocation, and in three months there have been over 1,400 papers published on medRxiv and bioRxiv (two non-peer reviewed, open source life sciences publication platforms) about SARS-CoV-2. Additional coronavirus projects are being completed and new ones initiated at an incredible clip, rapidly adding to the body of knowledge around this single disease. There are already treatments being tested in patients, treatments for a disease that didn’t even exist five months ago.
Why is this so impressive? For context, the development of new scientific knowledge requires several time-consuming but vital steps, including:
- Determining the research question and planning the experimental approach
