Covid-19 Changed How the World Does Science, Together
– New York Times, April 1 2020, Matt Apuzzo and David D. Kirkpatrick
Using flag-draped memes and military terminology, the Trump administration and its Chinese counterparts have cast coronavirus research as national imperatives, sparking talk of a biotech arms race.
The world’s scientists, for the most part, have responded with a collective eye roll.
“Absolutely ridiculous,” said Jonathan Heeney, a Cambridge University researcher working on a coronavirus vaccine.
“That isn’t how things happen,” said Adrian Hill, the head of the Jenner Institute at Oxford, one of the largest vaccine research centers at an academic institution.
While political leaders have locked their borders, scientists have been shattering theirs, creating a global collaboration unlike any in history. Never before, researchers say, have so many experts in so many countries focused simultaneously on a single topic and with such urgency.
Through the WI lens
For politicians, Covid-19 represents a stark domestic challenge, and the immediate need is to defend their record in tackling the virus to their electorate. Some, inevitably, can’t help perceiving an opportunity to boast about their own country’s prowess, whether that be in manufacturing ventilators or developing vaccines and tests. The New York Times highlights that, for scientists, coronavirus is viewed through a very different lens: as a threat to humanity that knows no borders, and for which the solutions must by necessity be global and discovered through collaboration.
The scale and ferocity of the pandemic is such that it has led to an unprecedented level of openness in sharing research and breaking down any vestige of secrecy within the scientific community. From a wellness perspective, it is to be hoped that when the dust settles, the latter viewpoint holds sway, and people increasingly recognise their shared humanity and reject a retreat to a narrow nationalism. You can’t experience true wellbeing at the expense of other people, whether that’s the hotel staff in your luxury resort or the workers who make your clothes or pick your fruit on the other side of the world. Globalisation has always had dangerous negative impacts in economic terms; but globalisation of endeavour to make the world a better place, and a truly globalised empathy would be worthy goals in a post-pandemic world.
Pluses (and minuses) Of Positive Thinking
What this article goes on to explain is how positive thinking – described here as ‘thriving’ – can counter the effects that come from the negativity outlined above, from reduced memory to diminished performance. Based on studying people in a series of organisations in different industries, one of the authors has found that people who attain this state are more resilient, experience less burnout, and are more confident in their ability to take control of a situation
Working With Nature
“Behind the jargon what this is really about is how we address the challenge of biodiversity under threat, move away from fossil materials like plastic and concrete, and use nature in a sustainable way, all of which could be summed up by “living in harmony with nature”.”
Resetting Company Culture
“In the new ‘consensual contract’ between employer and worker, what’s required is a commitment from the employer to safeguard the wellbeing of their people, and a commitment in return from employees to take personal responsibility for their performance of their job.”
Countering Loneliness
“Could loneliness not only be damaging our mental and physical health but also be making the world a more aggressive, angry place? And if so, what are the implications for a cohesive society and democracy?”
Staking The Moral High Street
“On such fragile foundations are built the first steps towards a more ethical kind of business, and who knows what virtuous circles might result?”
Breathe Easy
“Scientific evidence recently emerged that, contrary to earlier beliefs, Covid-19 can be spread by tiny droplets that we breathe out when we respire, called aerosols.”
Why Obesity Needs Weighty Solutions
“Economic wellbeing is part of the story, but it is also about finding less stressful lifestyles, in which healthy diet figures as a meaningful measure of success.”
Pulling Together Out Of Lockdown
“The industry has every asset needed to be a guiding light in the shift toward personal health priority. Will that become a prevention legacy, a ‘phoenix rising’ from the Covid-19 ashes?”
Opening The Right Doors
“Looking at the bigger picture, putting the measures in this order represents a lost opportunity that the pandemic could have offered for a cultural pivot pivot towards getting people more focused on their health, a powerful statement of intent.”
Home (working) Truths
“Employment is necessary to fulfil our most basic human needs such as food and shelter. Any significant increase in long-term unemployment will spell a retrograde step for human wellbeing like no other.”