Meet GISAID, the open science database helping us make sense of Covid-19

The philosophy of open science is informed by the idea that research communities must share socially useful knowledge, including scientific research, freely and without charge

Covid-19 has changed many human enterprises, some permanently, and one of them is perhaps the way we do and publish science. There seems to be an increased awareness of the importance of collaboration, and while political leaders have locked their borders, scientists have been dissolving theirs, creating a global collaboration.

This fundamental change is sustained by enhanced scientific communication, fast-paced sharing of data and cooperation. However, to call these changes improvisatory and unprecedented would miss the wood for the trees.

Such collaborations are neither ad hoc nor unstructured. It is grounded in, and reflective of, a well-developed, long-standing and increasingly