In the previous post, I examined the economical impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, and speculated some future implications that the pandemic may continue to bring. Although most statistics on economic growth pose numerous negative consequences, a silver lining of the pandemic can be seen when we examine the technology that was used and/or created in the midst of the pandemic. Such developments bring a sense of self assurance, and confirm that the current state of our world is in extremely capable hands. I will first examine the development of vaccines — one of the most important saving graces society has seen since the pandemic — and then explore more digital technology that has become more prevalent. Then, I will explore the role of nanotechnology in combating the pandemic. 

The mRNA, or messenger RNA, vaccines, such as Pfizer-biotech or Moderna, first started off as a laboratory experiment by a vaccine scientist Robert Malone in the late 1900s. Unlike vaccines which contain a weakened virus or other disease molecule, mRNA vaccines uses messenger RNA, which, in short, feeds instructions to the cell to produce a “spike protein”, one that is found on the surface of a Covid-19 molecule. This triggers your immune response, as the body will recognise the cell as a foreign object, preparing the body for what it should do in the case of an actual Covid infection. It is through this essential ingredient (mRNA) instead of traces of the actual disease that the development window from the vaccine, from development to approval took less than 1 year, while other vaccines needed to be trialled and tested for over 10. While some argue that these vaccines have become redundant due to the countless Covid-19 variants, it is still worth noting how quickly and efficiently these vaccines were developed. 

Additionally, let’s remind ourselves of the many pieces of digital technology that, although may not have been developed during the pandemic, became many times more prevalent and certainly improved the holistic state of our lives during it. Many digital meeting platforms such as Zoom, Slack, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams have made working remotely and online learning many times more convenient than simply communicating via email; in my next post I will elaborate much more on the changing attitude towards remote work. Other technology, such as remote Amazon deliveries (via drone), robots to help in restaurants (probably not as popular during the covid time) or hospitals, or even for everyday activities like walking your dog. Through the prevalence of these technologies, the human to human contact has been greatly limited, undermining the potential of the virus to spread rampantly around localities. 

If we’re looking forward though, I’m sure many of us curious individuals have wondered: “When is there going to be a cure, if there is one?”. Many ideas have since been thrown around; today, I would like to examine the role of nanotechnology in combating Covid-19. While it can be argued that vaccines are some sort of nanotechnology already, the predominant focuses of this topic are those that do not fall under the vaccination category, and instead have targeted approaches. In other words, these are the materials which target not only the virus itself, but can also shift its target to many properties that viruses and its mutations share. One example of this is to compromise the binding mechanism of a virus; in simple terms, the virus requires glycoproteins on its surface to access cells. However, technology has been made so that the binding points of the cells have been duplicated, meaning the virus can bind to this “bionic” cell, preventing the protein from binding to an actual host cell. These technologies, however, have to be tested under many rounds of research, development, and potentially clinical trials before we actually see them in practice. 

So now we’ve examined the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, and we’ve also seen the amazing technology that has been applied in the past, present and (hopefully) future. Next, I’d like to reflect on some changing global notions, from several social considerations to new ways of life. Essentially, what have we gained from this unique experience?

Image credit: Queensland Government