Coronavírus 2019-nCoV: Informações para pesquisadores

A Fiocruz reuniu uma série de link referentes às fontes de informações mais importantes sobre a epidemia, para facilitar a circulação do conhecimento e ajudar toda a comunidade científica a ficar a par das últimas novidadessobre a doença.

Transmissão do novo coronavírus pode ter começado em novembro

Diante da emergência de agentes com capacidade para provocar doenças em humanos, como o novo coronavírus – Covid-19, cientistas de todo o mundo passam a atuar intensamente na busca por respostas sobre o comportamento do patógeno. Funciona como um grande quebra-cabeças: a cada nova pesquisa, um conjunto de dados cada vez mais robusto se forma, de modo a contribuir para elucidar características importantes para a resposta à emergência. Dentre elas, questões fundamentais como o tempo de incubação de um vírus, as formas de transmissão e a taxa de mortalidade, por exemplo.

Mitigating the impact of conference and travel cancellations on researchers' futures.

The need to protect public health during the current COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated conference cancellations on an unprecedented scale. As the scientific community adapts to new working conditions, it is important to recognize that some of our actions may disproportionately affect early-career researchers and scientists from countries with limited research funding. We encourage all conference organizers, funders and institutions who are able to do so to consider how they can mitigate the unintended consequences of conference and travel cancellations and we provide seven recommendations for how this could be achieved. The proposed solutions may also offer long-term benefits for those who normally cannot attend conferences, and thus lead to a more equitable future for generations of researchers.

Challenges and opportunities for China entering global research and development for emerging infectious diseases: a case study from Ebola experience.

BACKGROUND: China has emerged as a powerful platform for global pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) amid the 2014 Ebola outbreak. The research and development impact of developing countries on prevention and control of infectious disease outbreaks has long been underestimated, particularly for emerging economies like China. Here, we studied its research and development progress and government support in response to Ebola outbreak by timeline, input, and output at each research and development stage. This study will contribute to a deeper understanding of the research and development gaps and challenges faced by China, as well as providing evidence-based suggestions on how to accelerate the drug development process to meet urgent needs during future outbreaks. METHODS: Data were obtained from the National Nature Science Foundation of China database, PubMed database, Patent Search System of the State Intellectual Property Office of China, National Medical Products Administration, national policy reports and literature between Jan 1st, 2006 and Dec 31st, 2017. An overview of research funding, research output, pharmaceutical product patent, and product licensed was described and analyzed by Microsoft Excel. A descriptive analysis with a visualization of plotting charts and graphs was conducted by reporting the mean ± standard deviation. RESULTS: China has successfully completed the research and development of the Ebola Ad5-EBOV vaccine within 26 months, while the preparation and implementation of clinical trials took relative long time. The National Nature Science Foundation of China funded CNY 44.05 million (USD 6.27 million) for Ebola-related researches and committed strongly to the phase of basic research (87.8%). A proliferation of literature arose between 2014 and 2015, with a 1.7-fold increase in drug research and a 2.5-fold increase in diagnostic research within 1 year. Three years on from the Ebola outbreak, six Ebola-related products in China were approved by the National Medical Products Administration. CONCLUSIONS: China has started to emphasize the importance of medical product innovation as one of the solutions for tackling emerging infectious diseases. Continuing research on the development of regulatory and market incentives, as well as a multilateral collaboration mechanism that unifies cross-channel supports, would advance the process for China to enter global R&D market more effectively.

Commentary: Cancer research quality and tumour classification.

Cancer researchers require accurate diagnoses for the samples, cell lines, patients or populations that they study. These diagnoses are underpinned by an internationally accepted taxonomy - the World Health Organization Classification of Tumours. This is still largely based on the histopathological examination of biopsy specimens, but increasingly also molecular methods and radiological examination of patients. Classifications evolve as new evidence arises, and for tumours that evidence is available in a quantity that is both remarkable and daunting. Evaluating this deluge of new information and incorporating it into the World Health Organization Classification of Tumours is now the responsibility of an editorial board, and up to 200 editors and authors work on each system to update it within the new 5th edition. Just as cancer researchers depend on the classification for diagnoses, so too the classification depends on the generation of high-quality, trustworthy data by cancer researchers. It is not just a case of quantity but quality too. Scientific fraud is thankfully rare, but high-profile cases are damaging and standards need to improve, not least to ensure that accurate information enters the classification.

Gender differences in professional social media use among anaesthesia researchers.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies suggest that female researchers are less visible on social media. The objective of this observational work was to compare the use of professional social networks between male and female anaesthesia researchers. METHODS: Among four anaesthesia journals, we analysed the first/last authors (FA/LA) of the most frequently cited articles in 2016-2017 and the authors who published more than one article per year between 2013 and 2018 (prolific authors). We compared the use of the professional social networks Twitter, LinkedIn, and ResearchGate by the selected authors and analysed the proportion of women in FA and LA position. The variables are presented as median (inter-quartile range). RESULTS: The analysis included 260 FA, 232 LA, and 297 prolific authors. Despite similar declared skills and number of citations, women had lower scientific reputation scores on ResearchGate (RG score: 32.0 [24.4-41.1] vs 20.3 [15.1-29.2]; P<0.0001 in the FA group; 39.3 [34.3-43.4] vs 35.7 [30.3-39.5], P<0.01 in the LA group; and 41.5 [35.6-45.7] vs 36.8 [28.1-42.7], P<0.01 in the prolific group). In all groups, women were significantly less followed on ResearchGate than men. In the three groups, the Twitter (22.7%, 25.0%, and 23.6%, respectively) and LinkedIn (59.2%, 56.5%, and 62.3%, respectively) usage rate were similar with no difference between men and women in each group. Of the 260 articles included, 94 (36.2%) manuscripts had female FA, whereas 41 (15.8%) had female LA. CONCLUSION: In anaesthesia, the visibility of female researchers on the social network dedicated to scientific research is lower than that of male researchers.