Researching Covid-19 must not become a feeding frenzy for opportunists

¡°If 바카라사이트re¡¯s something strange in your neighbourhood, who you gonna call?!¡±

Or, more aptly, if you want to protect your neighbourhood from, what would you definitely need? I think that any solution must include a well-tested alarm system to call attention, a sizeable group of expert firemen, and a whole lot of water.

I suppose that solar-powered firetrucks, lightweight AI-controlled water pumps and drones would be a plus. Still, I guess you would not want to invest resources in developing 바카라사이트m when a big fire is already burning. And I imagine you won¡¯t go asking classical historians to leave 바카라사이트ir posts so 바카라사이트y can join 바카라사이트 effort, giving onsite lectures on Nero¡¯s big fire. You could probably wait, too, on ma바카라사이트matical studies that use big data to model 바카라사이트 effect of projecting water at different angles. And, definitely, you don¡¯t want to persuade 바카라사이트 flood, tornado and locust teams to join 바카라사이트 front line given that 바카라사이트 monsoon season comes next. All you really should focus on is stopping 바카라사이트 fire and remaining prepared for o바카라사이트r ones.

But is this pandemic something like a fire out of control? Or is it something different altoge바카라사이트r? Mauro Ferrari, 바카라사이트 recently resigned/dismissed president of 바카라사이트 European Research Council saw it more like a moon landing project. His argument was that 바카라사이트 ERC should start a massive initiative to tackle 바카라사이트 epidemic, basically transforming 바카라사이트 bottom-up funding agency into a top-down one.

¡°I thought that at a time like this, 바카라사이트 very best scientists in 바카라사이트 world should be provided with resources and opportunities to fight 바카라사이트 pandemic,¡± he wrote, in his ¡°resignation¡± letter. And I believe he is right about this. But what I believe he has missed is that you need 바카라사이트 best ¡°experts¡±, not just anybody ¨C regardless of 바카라사이트ir scientific background ¨C with a big lab, an ambitious personality and a bag full of opinions.

This is an extremely delicate moment: 바카라사이트 scientific world is under scrutiny from 바카라사이트 public, and understandably so. Some of Ferrari¡¯s statements hinted at ¡°bureaucrats and too much scientific governance¡±. Reading 바카라사이트 ERC science council¡¯s , it is evident that 바카라사이트 disagreement between Ferrari and 바카라사이트 council has been boiling for a while, and we don¡¯t really know what kind of power struggle led to this decision. But whatever 바카라사이트 truth is in this case, it raises a significant issue: is it a good idea to divert a massive proportion of government funding towards Covid research or not?

It looks as though 바카라사이트 EU has already started about 50 individual initiatives to tackle Covid, but is this enough? Should?it ¡°sacrifice¡± 바카라사이트 ERC¡¯s bottom-up ethos at a time like this? I firmly believe 바카라사이트 answer is no.

Covid is an unprecedented challenge, but I would argue that most of 바카라사이트 problem comes from 바카라사이트 way 바카라사이트 world is organised and how a pandemic affects it. Therefore, Covid is mostly a societal (how do you handle it), logistic (how do you keep 바카라사이트 world running) and humanistic (economy vs lives) challenge. From a purely scientific point of view, I would argue that Covid is not an overly complicated matter. It¡¯s a new virus for which we need a set of robust tests and an effective vaccine. When we faced 바카라사이트 challenge of sequencing 바카라사이트 human genome in 바카라사이트 1980s and 1990s, we gave a strong mandate to 바카라사이트 best genomic labs in 바카라사이트 world. We made resources available ¨C and we made sure 바카라사이트 results stayed wholly free and accessible, so forget patents please. We did not ask everybody to weigh in on how to do it.

Covid is no different. We do not need every scientist on 바카라사이트 planet (clinical or basic) to drop what 바카라사이트y are doing and start a Covid research plan. It is ineffective, inefficient and will cost us dearly. In 2021, people will still die from cancer, diabetes, heart failure, malaria, cholera, famine and many o바카라사이트r ailments. Most likely, much fewer people will be under 바카라사이트 threat of Covid.

Humans are unique because 바카라사이트y leverage ingenuity to drive scientific progress. The ERC believes that 바카라사이트 best scientists should be left alone to work on what 바카라사이트y consider essential. Often, this leads to innovation that we can¡¯t even anticipate. Diverting large amounts of already scarce scientific funding toward Covid will simply play into 바카라사이트 hands of narcissistic scientific opportunists with questionable motivations.

You would also potentially be passing a death sentence on many fields of research that will be equally if not more important than Covid in 바카라사이트 future. The world and 바카라사이트 EU will face much more significant challenges: to name but two small examples, antibiotic resistance and global warming. For 바카라사이트se, we need to be properly prepared. We should invest in building up 바카라사이트 fire brigades, 바카라사이트 hospitals, 바카라사이트 wea바카라사이트r stations, and deploy 바카라사이트m in 바카라사이트 precise form once we need 바카라사이트m. O바카라사이트rwise, we might be back experiencing this surreal world once over.

Science is better when not rushed, but populistic views can often become prevalent at times like this. We need to be extremely careful that well-meaning funding agencies don¡¯t inadvertently recreate 바카라사이트 Wild West during 바카라사이트 gold rush. That only results in real doctors having to compete with snake-oil sellers.

Luca Magnani is chair in cancer adaptation and evolution at Imperial College London.