5 Wins for Science in a Chaotic Year
/by KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd.
The past year has been eventful—to say the least—in the world of scientific research and academic publishing. Near constant crises, from the global pandemic to revelations about climate change to a turbulent presidential election all touched our daily lives and became the subjects of influential, fast-tracked journal articles. While much attention has been paid to an unfortunate proliferation of fake science due to current events, including our own previous blog post; peer-reviewed journals have persisted to make a positive and measurable impact, informing critical decisions about government, education, healthcare, and more. As a key partner in the scholarly information chain, we at KGL want to take a moment to spotlight some of the top (real) science stories since 2020 and how they have made an actual difference in our lives.
Debunking COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories
When media reports first emerged about the novel coronavirus, one popular theory of its origin was that it was created as biological warfare. This theory began circulating on the internet and became so popular that it even spread in the halls of the US Congress. In March 2020, Nature Medicine published “The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2,” disproving that idea and highlighting “analyses clearly show that SARS-CoV-2 is not a laboratory construct or a purposefully manipulated virus.”
Stopping the Spread
Though previous studies had already illustrated this point, in November 2020, 239 scientists from 32 countries supported or participated in the article “It Is Time to Address Airborne Transmission of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)” which was published in Clinical Infectious Diseases. In the article, these scientists claim the World Health Organization was downplaying the risk of airborne transmission of COVID-19 and asked the medical community and international governments to recognize the potential for airborne spread of COVID-19 and advocate “for the use of preventive measures to mitigate this route of airborne transmission.” By putting strict measures in place—mask wearing, social distancing, protective plastic to prevent interaction—the spread of the virus could be greatly reduced.
Promoting Climate Resilience
After the pandemic forced people to be confined to their homes, shuttered factories and other industrial sites, and greatly reduced airplane and car travel, a remarkable thing happened: the skies cleared and nature flourished. Published in Nature Climate Change, May 2020, “Temporary reduction in daily global CO2 emissions during the COVID-19 forced confinement,” illustrated how this change in human behavior and consumption patterns greatly reduced CO2 emissions and illustrated some government and economic incentives that could be implemented to continue the reduction.
Keeping Children Safe in Schools
Though children are often assumed to spread germs and disease, a study conducted in Sweden proved that might not be true when it came to the coronavirus. “COVID-19 Transmission and Children: The Child is Not to Blame,” published in August 2020 in Pediatrics, showed that in 79% of cases, the parents had suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 before the children, showing that children are usually infected from within the family. And, more importantly, in cases where children were infected and interacted with other children and adults, the transmission rate was very low, giving weight to the argument to cautiously reopen schools and daycares.
Advocating for Political Change
In “Dying in a Leadership Vacuum,” published in October 2020, the editors of The New England Journal of Medicine examine the infection and death rate due to COVID-19 in the United States, highlighting the lack of leadership by the federal and state governments and how an inability to provide clear information and safety measures likely led to an increase of transmission of the coronavirus. Published ahead of the presidential election, this article no doubt was intended to help voters understand what could have been done differently if other leadership was in place at the start of the outbreak, calling (for the first time ever by the Journal) for a change in administration.
Even in normal times, the world can be a messy place requiring objective evidence to help society understand what is happening and draw educated conclusions. If there was ever a year that demonstrated how scientific journals are not simply a vehicle for academics to talk to each other behind the ivory tower, this was it. What other empirical research can you point to over the last year that made a difference in society or the world?
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