What were you doing on 10 January 2020? It was a Friday, so chances are you were arranging to meet up with friends. The days of completely unrestricted normality seem a distant memory. But it’s the date that the race to create a coronavirus vaccine began. That day, the Chinese government released the genetic sequence of the virus – SARS-CoV-2 – responsible for the pandemic. It enabled researchers around the world to start building bits of the virus in their labs, with the aim of developing a vaccine that will make us immune.
There are around 35 research teams around the world now working on a vaccine. Millions are being pumped into vaccine development by organizations and wealthy individuals, including Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates, who has pledged to build factories for the seven (as yet unannounced) leading candidates. Meanwhile, a handful of teams, including US biotech businesses Novavax and Moderna, and a team at the University of Oxford, are supported by a foundation called the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI).
The University of Oxford’s team is one of the furthest along the path to a vaccine. “I got the sequence on 10 January and then we spent the weekend deciding what to put in our vaccine,” says immunologist Dr. Teresa Lambe, who is one of the vaccine team leaders at the university’s Jenner Institute. Since then, the work has been intense. “I haven’t had a weekend off. I’ve worked through gastro [a stomach bug]. I’ve worked through birthdays. I haven’t seen my children. It’s been exhausting.”
“Given how widespread the virus is, it seems unlikely that it will just disappear. The sooner we have a vaccine, the sooner certainty can return to our lives.”
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July/August 2020 من Very Interesting.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July/August 2020 من Very Interesting.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
TAKE IT SLOW
Slow running is a fitness trend with some hard and fast science behind it
Physics, AI and music share a common thread. You just have to know where to look
Studying science can lead you in many directions and open doors to unexpected possibilities along the way
BED BUGS VS THE WORLD
When bloodthirsty bed bugs made headlines for infesting Paris Fashion Week in 2023, it shone a spotlight on a problem that's been making experts itch for decades: the arms race going on between bed bugs and humans
Kids are the key to understanding obesity. But we need more of their genes...
We can unravel the role that bodyweight plays in disease, but we need a bigger, more diverse, sample of genetic material to do so
COVID inquiry: What did we learn and what can we do better in future pandemics?
Masks, social distancing, lockdowns... how effective was the UK's response to the COVID-19 pandemic?
One hormone could be the key that unlocks a cure for morning sickness
The nausea and vomiting that, in extreme cases, can endanger mothers and babies might soon be just a memory
THE WORLD'S WEIRDEST CREATURES
Under the sea and upon the land, some animals look - to us - pretty strange...
WHEN MIND AND MACHINE COLLIDE
First, Elon Musk wanted to make electric cars ubiquitous, then he wanted to make space exploration a private enterprise. Now, with Neuralink, his newest venture, Musk hopes to merge humans and artificial intelligence. Turns out, it might not be such a crazy idea...
COME OUT OF YOUR SHELL
Social anxiety is more than just being shy. It's a phobia born out of our evolutionary past. But that raises a puzzling question: why do so many of us fear human interaction when we're supposed to be the most sociable species on the planet?
SPACE ODDITIES
Take a tour of the weirdest spots in the universe, where the 'normal' rules don't apply. Places that squeeze time, blow bubbles and even rain glass... sideways