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  • TECHNOLOGY FEATURE

Open science takes on the coronavirus pandemic

Data sharing, open-source designs for medical equipment, and hobbyists are all being harnessed to combat COVID-19.
  1. Mark Zastrow

    1. Mark Zastrow is a writer based in Seoul, South Korea.

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A young woman wearing a surgical mask assembles a 3D printed protective mask with finished masks piled on a table in front

A student in Warsaw assembles 3D-printed protective masks. Credit: Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto/Getty

When reports emerged in late 2019 of an outbreak of a new coronavirus centred in Wuhan, China, researchers at the virological-analysis website Nextstrain were ready. The open-source project tracks the spread of viruses through genetic variations in the sequences that scientists find. After five years of development and operation, Nextstrain had team members on three continents who could continuously refresh the analysis, 24 hours a day.

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Nature 581, 109-110 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-01246-3

Additional reporting by Abdullahi Tsanni in Abuja, Nigeria.

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