People of the Year
Fighters with COVID-19 became people of the year according to the journal Nature
Sergey Kuznetsov, N+1
The traditional list of people of the year according to Nature this time almost entirely consists of the names of virologists, epidemiologists, politicians and officials who, according to the magazine, have made the greatest contribution to the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Only three of the seven nominees were awarded for achievements not related to the COVID-19 response.
Every year, Nature magazine publishes a list of ten people, which includes those who have shown themselves noticeably in various fields of science. Among them are the authors of important discoveries, as well as politicians, lawyers, environmental activists. In 2019, the list included experts on biodiversity, ecologists, astrophysicists, developers of quantum computers, activists (for example, Greta Thunberg). However, this year's list is almost entirely devoted to COVID-19.
The list of people of the year opens with the Director General of the World Health Organization Tedros Ghebreyesus, who had to coordinate the efforts of countries around the world to combat coronavirus infection under fire from critics. It was he who announced in early March that humanity was facing the first-ever pandemic caused by a coronavirus.
The list continues with Chinese epidemiologist Li Lanjuan — she quickly realized the threat posed by the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan and persuaded the authorities to introduce strict quarantine measures before the start of the Chinese New Year celebrations, which slowed the spread of infection. Virologist from Uruguay's Gonzalo Moratorio is included in the list for developing diagnostic tests for coronavirus, which helped his country avoid an explosive spread of infection. In addition, the list includes virologist Zhang Yongzhen, who in the first days of the outbreak of infection in Wuhan read the RNA of the virus and spread information about it.
Among the developers of coronavirus vaccines, the magazine noted Kathrin Jansen from Pfizer. This company carried out the entire cycle of development and clinical trials of a new vaccine in a record 210 days.
The journal Nature included Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for the Study of Allergies and Infections, who became the main public face of the coronavirus campaign in the United States, and provided verified information about the situation. Another person of the year is New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, whose quick response to the threat of coronavirus and decisive actions have made her country one of the least affected by the pandemic.
Three people are included in the list of people of the year for achievements not related to the coronavirus: this is the American cosmologist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, who together with colleagues organized a one-day scientific strike to protest racism in scientific organizations.
Indonesian researcher Adi Utarini (Adi Utarini) was awarded for achievements in the fight against dengue fever. She and her colleagues released mosquitoes infected with a bacterium from the genus wolbachia, which deprived the insects of the ability to carry the virus. As a result, they managed to reduce the number of cases of dengue fever by 77 percent in the areas of the large city of Yogyakarta, where this experiment was conducted.
In addition, the magazine noted Verena Mohaupt, logistics coordinator of the MOSAiC Arctic expedition, in which scientists spent about a year on the Polarstern icebreaker, which drifted along the Arctic Ocean with ice. Mohaupt taught her colleagues what to do when meeting polar bears, how to protect themselves from the cold and darkness of the polar night.
Last year, Nature's top ten included biologists and ecologists, physicists who achieved quantum superiority, scientists engaged in CRISPR-editing of the genome, "reviving" a pig's head and making plans to "correct" the genome of children.
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