The great project: how Covid changed science for ever

The emergence of a novel coronavirus prompted a wave of global collaboration that has led to vaccines, treatments and the promise of new discoveriesShow your support for rigorous, independent Guardian journalismCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageFor scientists, 5 January was a turning point in the fight against the coronavirus. That day, a team led by Prof Yong-Zhen Zhang at Fudan University in Shanghai sequenced the genetic code of the virus behind Wuhan ’s month-long pneumonia outbreak. The process took about 40 hours. Having analysed the code, Zhang reported back to the Ministry of Health. The pathogen was a novel coronavirus similar to Sars, the deadly virus that sparked an epidemic in2003. People should take precautions, he warned.The Chinese government had imposed an embargo on information about the outbreak and Zhang and his co-workers were under pressure not to publish the code. The blackout couldn ’t hold. On 8 January, news broke about the nature of the pathogen and was confirmed a day later by Chinese authorities. To sit on the code now seemed ridiculous.Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Coronavirus Vaccines and immunisation Infectious diseases Medical research Microbiology Health Science Society World news Source Type: news