Online Gamers Could Help Vaccinate Billions
Groups of humans are better than artificial intelligence at designing stable RNA structures.
Sinovac’s potential Covid-19 vaccine.
Photographer: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images AsiaPacThis article is for subscribers only.
Quickly vaccinating billions of people around the globe against Covid-19 is going to be an endeavor like no other in human history. What could make it even more difficult is that some of the leading contenders — mRNA1 vaccines — have a very short shelf life: They have to be stored and shipped at temperatures as low as minus 80 degrees Celsius (minus 112 degrees Fahrenheit).
The private sector, as well as the U.S. military, is trying to figure out how to manage that feat. But there’s another possibility — and it relies on thousands of people playing an online game.