The Lifecycle of a Breakthrough
Many experts suspect that the Covid crisis is finally beginning to recede. It is, of course, hard to know for sure. There will continue to be debate and we will still need to have measures in place for some time now. Still, for the most part, people are back at work, kids are in school, and relatively normal routines have returned.
Generations from now, historians will most likely still question what lessons are to be gleaned from the past few years. Should we strengthen our multilateral institutions or have they become so sclerotic that they need to be dismantled? Is the rise of populist nationalism a harbinger for the future or a flash in the pan?
One thing I don’t expect to be hotly debated, in fact seems perfectly clear even now, is that science saved us. Untold thousands, working mostly anonymously in labs around the world, created a vaccine of astonishing efficacy in record time. It is these types of breakthroughs that change the course of history and, if we can embrace their power, lead us to a better future.
A Seemingly Useless Idea
The MRNA technology that led to the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines have the potential to revolutionize medical science. It can rapidly reprogram the machinery in our cells to manufacture things that can potentially cure or prevent a wide range of…
