Researchers from All Over the World Pitch In to Fight COVID-19

Scientists are lending their expertise—whatever it may be—to help develop tests, medical devices, and other tools to try to save lives during the pandemic.

Written byThe Scientist
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From engineers in Colombia to virologists in India, researchers worldwide have come up with ways to contribute their expertise to the effort against COVID-19. Click on an entry in the table below to learn more about a particular project.

1. LOW-COST VENTILATORS: Many hospitals in low- and middle-income countries lack adequate supplies of ventilators for severe COVID-19 cases but can’t afford buy more of the machines, which cost tens of thousands of dollars each. Engineers in Colombia have designed low-cost equivalents, and will soon be testing their performance in coronavirus patients.

2. WASTEWATER SCREENING TOOLS: Wastewater epidemiology—specifically, the idea of looking to sewage to detect and quantify infections in local populations—has become a popular approach for tracking the pandemic. A team in the UK is working on a simple, paper-based device that could be used onsite at wastewater treatment plants.

3. VOLUNTEER NETWORK: As businesses and universities across Europe began ...

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