Since the very beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic it has become clear that the only way to defeat it properly is finding a vaccine. This conclusion has brought all the attention on scientists, almost pressurizing them to find a cure as fast as they can. However, like experts keep repeating, science needs time, attempts and verifications. All the rest of the world can do is to provide them with the best environment and instruments to make their work easier.
Following this need, the European Commission launched a “European Covid-19 Data Platform” to enable the fast collection and sharing of available research data. The President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, explained how it will work on her social media accounts. «Scientists around the world have already produced a wealth knowledge on Coronavirus – she clarified – but no researcher, lab or country could find the solution alone. And this is why we want to help scientists to access data and share with the others across boarders, disciplines and healthcare systems».
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The new platform will provide an open global space where researchers can store a wide variety of useful data. «From genomic data to microscopy and clinical data – the Commission president said – within a few days we expect thousands of DNA sequences to be uploaded and ten of thousands research articles». Sharing datasets such as protein structures, epidemiological data and results of pre-clinical research and clinical trials will «make science respond even better and faster to what society needs».
This decision and the development of the platform is part of the “ERAvsCorona Action Plan”, which covers short-term actions based on close coordination, cooperation, data sharing and joint funding efforts between the Commission and the Member States. The project also marks a milestone in the building of a “European Open Science Cloud” which aims at the realization of a “no boarders” data archive.
The platform is already active and available and shows, on the homepage, the project’s motto: “Accelerating research with data sharing”. «I have the deepest admiration for those who spend their days and often their nights in labs for the benefits of all of us – concluded Von der Leyen in her presentation video – and I invite all researchers to take up our offer and to join the European platform. Together we will find ways to defeat this virus».
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