With COVID 19 (coronavirus) now sweeping the globe, it’s easy to forget that the first case was reported as recently as the 27th December1. Behind all the government announcements each nation is making there are labs around the world trying to understand the nature of the virus, how to prevent its transmission (through developing vaccinations, or via non-medical interventions), and the underlying pathology of the most severe cases. Sharing results as soon as possible is the a cornerstone of rapid scientific learning – so how quickly is this actually happening?

We’ve analysed the bioRxiv and medRxiv preprint servers to visualise the rate of COVID 19 articles being shared within the scientific community and the results are astonishing. Following a slow start during January, the rate of information-sharing has accelerated dramatically and consistently through to today. A cumulative total of 554 articles has been achieved, driving scientific knowledge in just a 2 month period. Well done everyone!

For information on the data analysis methods, as well as the code underpinning analysis, please see quantixed.org, our data analysis site.

  1. https://special.croi.capitalreach.com

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