Saudi Ministry of Education to showcase innovations at 2025 Geneva International Exhibition    7,523 violators of residency, labor, and border security laws deported in a week    Video contradicts Israeli army account of deadly March 23 strike on Gaza paramedics    Saudi Arabia spends over $241 million to implement de-mining projects in 3 countries    Italy's Meloni government approves controversial security decree expanding police protections and penalties    Egypt submits new Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange proposal: Report    'Everything is possible' — Ronaldo focused on titles, not 1,000-goal milestone after Riyadh Derby win    Saudi, US military leaders discuss enhanced defense cooperation in Riyadh    King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language launches program with Indiana University    Ronaldo brace powers Al Nassr past Al Hilal in Riyadh derby thriller    Ed Sheeran weaves Persian music into new song, Azizam    Al-Jadaan: Crown Prince's directives confirm government's ability to bring back balance to real estate market    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Foreign investors are allowed to engage in real estate business outside Makkah and Madinah Commercial speculation should not be the purpose of real estate transaction    Aubameyang fires Al Qadsiah into King's Cup final with stoppage-time winner over Al Raed    Musk's X is suing India, as Tesla and Starlink plan entry    Tesla sales plunge after backlash against Elon Musk    Danilo Pereira fires Al Ittihad into King's Cup final with dramatic stoppage-time double    Screen time in bed linked to insomnia, study finds    Mexico bans junk food in schools to fight childhood obesity epidemic    Sweet sales surge ahead of Eid as Saudi chocolate imports top 123 million kg in 2024    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Dealing with the global crisis through open science and innovation
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 21 - 08 - 2020

The outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has affected nearly every country in the world since it first emerged in late 2019. According to the United Nations, it is the biggest health crisis of the recent time and considered as the greatest challenge being faced after World War II. In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic as it continued to spread globally with increased fatality and devastating political, psychological, economical, and social consequences.
As of today, this deadly virus has infected over 21.9 million and killed more than 774,000 people worldwide. In this shattering situation, governments around the world have no other option except extending collaboration with international organizations e.g. WHO, scientific communities, healthcare, pharmaceutical, and tech industries to take significant, urgent and aggressive actions in monitoring, containing and mitigating the effects of COVID-19. Through strong cooperation and experience-sharing, the international community could save lives, protect livelihoods and enhance the resilience of all inhabitants, especially the chronically vulnerable populations.
A global crisis, e.g. COVID-19 pandemic or any other health emergency, raises awareness and puts a spotlight to reinforce collaboration for open science and innovation in the global policy agenda to address the challenges faced by the world. Currently, scientists and researchers around the globe are working tirelessly to find effective treatments, solutions and vaccines. Almost all well-known scientific publishers have responded positively to address the challenges of COVID-19. They have freely provided temporary open access to the related research publications, books, datasets, and information for the global community, which is indeed a commendable step. It is pertinent to mention that the current situation has undoubtedly shone a light on the need and importance of open science to our society.
Openly available scientific literature provides opportunities for science to grow, especially during the severe economic crisis and with the limited R&D grants. Though, the above-mentioned generous gesture by the publishers is temporary, but still valuable and crucial to address the current global crisis. This endeavor could have profound impact not only on the developed nations to explore the scientific ways in addressing the implications of COVID-19, but also on the underdeveloped and developing countries, which have scarcity of resources for research, innovation and development.
The concept of open science and innovation is not new. In 2012, Jack Andraka, a young cancer researcher, invented a promising early detection testing kit for pancreatic cancer that cost only 3 cents and takes 5 minutes to test with a very high accuracy. This discovery was made possible due the availability of open access publications. Similarly, during the current unprecedented times, the openness in science and innovation may enable scientists around the world to invent appropriate methods, techniques, and vaccines for the treatment of COVID-19. The tenacious shortage of safe and inexpensive ventilators faced by hospitals is also a global concern. Fortunately, some manufacturers and inventors have come forward and publicly shared their designs and source code, which are being used to develop low-cost ventilators.
One the other hand, the availability of open datasets is imperative in furthering the scientific discoveries and experimentations. The pandemic has enabled the global community to openly share data through initiatives such as COVID-19 Open Source Dashboard by Johns Hopkins University, World Bank Open Data, and the COVID Tracking Project. To expedite and strengthen the efforts, more institutions should come forward to share their research with FAIR (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability) guiding principles to address the impact of pandemic.
Furthermore, it has become indispensable to create, promote and support a global open innovation ecosystem with distributed, more participatory, and more decentralized approaches. This endeavor could facilitate the translation of knowledge into impactful values for socio-economic prosperity. The COVID-19 pandemic is an advocacy test case to promote and harness the potential of openness in science and innovation for greater impact on our society. If the practice of open science and innovation is continued on a regular basis to address the most pressing challenges of the world, it would inevitably help to drive novel discoveries and untap new knowledge, solutions, and services for the benefit of mankind.
— The writer is a professor of Cybersecurity at King Saud University as well as founder & CEO of Global Foundation for Cyber Studies and Research in Washington D.C. Twitter: @khurramcyber


Clic here to read the story from its source.