Scientist here : Few good news and what's gonna happen next.

It's not a secret that there is currently a massive outbreak of the new COVID-19.The world is locked in and most of the stocks/cryptos are plunging.But, there are few good news out there:​i) The number of active cases in China is going doing pretty fast:https://ift.tt/2J036Rn peak is over and the situation is going back to normal.​ii) Most of the other countries are following the same path and should reach their peak soon:https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/​iii) Almost all the scientific journal are removing their paywall to share information:https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/journals-open-access-to-coronavirus-resources--67105​iv) First vaccine clinical trials begin in United States:https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00154-w​v) Spring is almost here. With it's arrival, cases will strongly decrease.​vi) Governments are organized : Food supplies are robust, water/food reserves are strong, plans to mitigate the damages are already settled, healthcare system will hold and situation will go back to normal step by step.https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-51921683https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51932403https://www.20minutes.fr/economie/2742007-20200317-coronavirus-bruno-maire-promet-mobilisation-totale-etat-precise-mesures-economiques-face-crise​vii) Finally, more than 95% of the people will recover and get immunized.We are currently facing the first wave which is always the worst. No matter what we say, governments dealt pretty well with it.​But, it doesn't mean that we are out of the woods yet:vaccine is not ready (and won't be before a year), most of the countries didn't reach their peak, and mutagenic potential of the virus needs to be carefully evaluated.Also, It is important to realize that it will be very likely that COVID-19 will be recurrent every year (like the flu). Each of us will have to learn to live with this threat.Moreover, most of the population is not yet immunized.Finally, even if it's help to prevent the spread of the virus, people can not be kept locked forever.​So, what's next.This crisis (that will last until most of the country will pass their peak (6-10 weeks)) will probably be 'the purge' that everyone called for since 2018. Many coins and with them many pairs will die. Hopefully, this will be a big cleanup for the crypto industry.The rebound for the remaining one will be strong. And if you doubt about it : don't forget that there is way too much cash involved in the crypto-industry to have it die 'just like that'. Money went away and will come back. Chose wisely your project(s).But until then, we will probably see more threatening news (more cases in some countries, more borders closed etc.) and with it, strong market crashes. We will have to hold pretty strong.​What can you do?For now, follow what your respective governments say. Stay at home and take care of yourself. Do all what you can to prevent the spread of the virus.Re-evaluate your investment. Maybe it's time to sell your shitcoin to reinforce the projects that you really judge worthy to succeed.​And I would like to take few lines to make you understand the problems that science encounter :I'm a scientist (virology/oncology) travelling between US and Canada, and I can tell you that we are desperately missing funds. To give you an idea : I'm doing 70+hours a week and my contract only remunerate 35h/w. For those 70h (counted as 35h), I'm paid 1.700$/month. And I have the chance to be paid (most of the undergrad or ph.D student are not paid or barely paid). I'm originally from France (sorry for Ze English) and it's even worst there.So, when a scientist is telling you that there is no money, he is not joking.You can donate to your favorite institution or directly to PIs like me. What we then do is to give back 100% of it to the CIHR (Canada) or (NCI) (USA) as a tax deduction. I'm then sure that 100% of the money will go to research (while paying less taxes!). So please, be careful while donating.The question that I'm getting the most : What is the money used for?Very briefly : All the money (if properly given) goes to public entities. When those entities (CIHR, NCI) get enough founding from donations, they open a grant program. Every scientist can apply by sending it's proposal (describing what he is trying to solve, how he will solve it, etc.). The committees then evaluate all the request and grant funding to the better one. We reached a point where only 7% of the applications are funded. So, many good applications are not and will never be funded (among them, probably many potential cures for new diseases). And, the few one that will receive money can use it to buy equipment, hire people. They usually have between 2 and 5 years to spend it all. After that, the cycle restarts. So, the more money is given at the beginning, the projects will be funded.If you consider donating, please use official websites or validated organisation. You can also contact me by private message.​As a conclusion, stay careful and optimist. Contagion is stabilizing, vaccine is on it's way and economy will go back to normal. The end is not for tomorrow.

Submitted March 18, 2020 at 03:01AM