Coronavirus means science is suddenly being done differently – and so is politics | Paul Nurse
The Nobel prize-winning scientist on how the pandemic is bringing dramatic shifts in medical research
If we are to return to our normal lives, we need answers to many questions and they will only be delivered by science and medicine and their applications. In fact, the speed with which the virus has spread around the globe has been matched by the speed with which many scientists have mobilised themselves to take on this pandemic.
The British science community has responded rapidly. The government's funding agency, UK Research and Innovation-Medical Research Council (UKRI-MRC), has created new funding schemes, the Wellcome Trust has partnered with the Gates Foundation to speed up research and Cancer Research UK is supporting work into how Covid-19 is disrupting cancer treatment. In the last weeks, Oxford University and Imperial College London have reported on their plans for new vaccines and on more modelling of the impact of the virus. Companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and Sanofi have put competition behind them and are working closer together to develop drugs and new vaccines. Mega-labs" have been set up to undertake virus testing, supported by small-boat" laboratories in research institutes and commercial testing facilities.
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