COVID-19, much like the rise of the digital era, has changed to way landscape of scientific research and publishing. As this pandemic continues to completely alter our daily lives, the need to quickly communicate findings about the virus to the greater scientific community has never been greater. Even before the pandemic hit, the demand for more accessible publishing options, such as open access journals and preprint servers, was loud and clear. For the greater good of all, research should be reliable, reproducible, and have the broadest impact possible.
In our current reality that is 2020, research is being published at record turnaround speeds. Even journals who had previously not offered any open access options have sped up their processes and are now making their content available to all. One silver lining of the pandemic is that it has really brought into focus the need for more efficient communication when it comes to scientific research findings (while still being appropriately vetted). While there is no way to truly know what the future of publishing holds, we can hope that preprint papers and open access journals become staples in scientific research - for the benefit of not just the biomedical communities but for global health.
Preferred Mount Sinai resources:
- COVID-19 papers by Mount Sinai authors
- Mount Sinai COVID-19 PlumX dashboard
- COVID-19 Research Collaborations by Elsevier
Further reading from external sources:
- Open access: how COVID-19 will change the way research findings are shared
- Science, Open Data and the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Past coronavirus: an open-access future for academics
- Open Access and Altmetrics in the pandemic age: Forecast analysis on COVID-19 literature
- Open science: after the COVID-19 pandemic there can be no return to closed working
Each month Levy Library showcases the achievements of Mount Sinai faculty and researchers by highlighting an article and its altmetrics. Altmetrics are alternative measures of impact that capture non-traditional data like abstract views, article downloads, and social media activity. Our altmetrics data is provided by the PlumX platform.
This month we highlight Imbalanced Host Response to SARS-CoV-2 Drives Development of COVID-19. This article was written in part by Daniel Blanco-Melo, Randy Albrecht, PhD, Jean K Lim, PhD, David Sachs, Benjamin Robert tenOever, PhD, David Sachs MS, and Benjamin Nilsson-Payant, PhD.
HIGHLIGHTS
SARS-CoV-2 infection induces low IFN-I and -III levels with a moderate ISG response
Strong chemokine expression is consistent across in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo models
SUMMARY
Viral pandemics, such as the one caused by SARS-CoV-2, pose an imminent threat to humanity. Because of its recent emergence, there is a paucity of information regarding viral behavior and host response following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here we offer an in-depth analysis of the transcriptional response to SARS-CoV-2 compared with other respiratory viruses. Cell and animal models of SARS-CoV-2 infection, in addition to transcriptional and serum profiling of COVID-19 patients, consistently revealed a unique and inappropriate inflammatory response. This response is defined by low levels of type I and III interferons juxtaposed to elevated chemokines and high expression of IL-6. We propose that reduced innate antiviral defenses coupled with exuberant inflammatory cytokine production are the defining and driving features of COVID-19.
View the PlumX article profile