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If there was ever a time to embrace openness in research culture , it is surely now .
Open access
Bringing the best minds together in COVID fight .
By Wade Zaglas
A new inter-disciplinary database will enable researchers across the world to keep abreast of COVID ’ s latest developments , while also allowing them to contact lead investigators in their fields and seek resources and funding .
Created by University of Birmingham experts in computer science and medicine and the Institute for Global Innovation , the user-friendly and open access COVID CORPUS , as it ’ s been named , “ will allow researchers and funders around the globe to coordinate , collaborate and network to help shape the most effective and efficient response to COVID-19 and its many impacts ”.
The COVID CORPUS is interdisciplinary in its nature , collating information on fields such as health-related , behavioural , socioeconomic , cultural , educational , science and technology .
“ Fighting COVID-19 requires the academic community to share ideas early in the research process and avoid duplication . If there was ever a time to embrace openness in research culture , it is surely now ,” Professor Tim Softley , pro-vice-chancellor for research and knowledge transfer at the University of Birmingham said .
“ COVID CORPUS will play a vital role in reducing duplication of effort and allow researchers from around the world create new partnerships and better understand the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic .”
Among its many practical features , the COVID CORPUS portal includes “ research funded both by external agencies and resources at the University of Birmingham ”. Portal users can also search for projects that might align closely with theirs , as well as search for resources or funding calls “ in a specific discipline or topic or keyword ”.
In dealing with the wealth of COVID-19 information coming to light every day , the COVID CORPUS was seen as essential in bringing together the sheer breadth of research to a single database , and ensuring gaps in research activity are identified early .
“ This is the only online database to capture all research projects related to COVID-19 , regardless of academic discipline , funding or location . It will also map the evidence – identifying and publishing gaps in research activity to help direct future research and research funding ,” Professor Hisham Mehanna , director of the Institute for Global Innovation and Institute for Advanced Studies , said .
The COVID CORPUS is currently being run by volunteer experts from academic and clinical global communities . When a researcher uploads a potentially vital piece of COVID-19 information , the volunteers are charged with approving it and delegating the curating team to publish it immediately .
COVID CORPUS used a range of analytics to advance its capacity , including “ statistical , advanced AI based text & data , and visualisation tools ”. These features make networking with other researchers across the world a lot easier and more effective .
“ Until now , similar databases have been restricted to a specific discipline , such as medicine , or limited only to research funded by the database owner . COVID CORPUS amalgamates data from these databases to provide a broad and comprehensive resource for all COVID-19 research ,” portal developers and University of Birmingham researchers Mohammed Bahja and Gibran Butt said .
So far , the COVID CORPUS has links to databases such as the Academy of Medical Sciences and The UK Collective for Development Research ( UKCDR ), equating to over 2,500 projects registered at the point of going live .
Meanwhile , CSIRO research led by Professor Trevor Drew found that the COVID-19 virus can remain on some surfaces for up to 28 days , with common offenders being mobile phones and bankcards – basically any non-porous surface .
“ Touchscreen devices such as mobile phones , bank ATMs , supermarket self-serve checkouts and airport check-in kiosks are high-touch surfaces which may not be regularly cleaned and pose a transmission risk ,” he said .
Worryingly , the research , which was published in the Journal of Virology , concluded that the virus lived longer in cold weather .
“ We found temperature has a very profound effect on the virus , so if you reduced the temperature to around 6 degrees Celsius , you could extend the life 10-fold ,” Drew added . ■
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