Alarm call for Germany as a location for innovation

"The success of BioNTech is the exception - and relentlessly shows what otherwise goes wrong in research and funding policy. 24 business and science associations are now calling for reforms.

The negotiators of the SPD, Greens and FDP are currently receiving catalogs of demands from almost all interest groups. However, the fact that more than 20 well-known organizations from science and business are calling together to the future government is a special case - the increased urgency underlines that Germany must be careful not to fall behind in the race for research success and innovative spirit.

Unfortunately, the success story of the BioNTech company does not provide any evidence that the research and innovation system is working well. It is time to remedy its deficits and "ignite the next expansion stage". This is the call, the leading forces of which are the German Research Foundation and the Federation of German Industry. The paper is in the F.A.Z. review in advance.

"Research and innovation must have the highest priority for the federal government," they warn in it - because that is a basic requirement for successfully shaping major upheavals such as climate protection and digitization. To this end, they also give the future government organizational advice: This general task must be a “top priority” in the Chancellery; and it must be anchored in the government's working structure through an “innovation cabinet”, warn the 24 organizations.

The spectrum ranges from Acatech to energy and water management to the Bitkom digital association; from the University Rectors' Conference to the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina; The major industrial sectors, from chemistry to mechanical engineering, are also represented.

Deficits in the German innovation landscape

The paper names a variety of individual tasks, but the core is clear: There is hardly a lack of programs and projects for more innovation. However, funding structures and application procedures are often too cumbersome to act as drivers. You need strong and solid financing, but also “agile framework conditions” with “lean, fast, digital and transparent processes”.

The paper outlines the gaps between aspiration and reality using BioNTech as an example: Research has been going on into the exciting mRNA technology for a long time, partly privately financed, partly publicly. The fact that such a useful vaccine became available at such short notice was also a consequence of the need in the pandemic - which led to a joint effort by science, business and politics. In the everyday life of researchers who might be able to create something similarly useful, however, such acts of strength are rare. "In fact, BioNTech is an exceptional example - and thus refers to deficits in the normal operation of the German science and innovation landscape", so the paper.

The spirit of research must not be restricted

It therefore demands better conditions for the transfer of research results into applications and products. This is about solidly financed start-up universe at universities and simpler rules so that researchers can more easily implement their knowledge in business. In addition, public procurement policy must become more innovation-friendly. 

 

Critics say: Normally, the state would have bought the Chinese vaccine instead of BioNTech.

 

The old government had already set 3.5 percent of gross domestic product for 2025 as the target for total research expenditure; most recently it was a good 3 percent, two thirds of which came from company coffers. Politicians, according to the call, are now primarily obliged to deliver their share despite Corona debts. At the same time, "the greatest effort" is required to "invest the funds in a targeted manner" in the future - which has probably been in question so far. To do this, it is necessary to “adapt funding measures to new developments in a much more variable manner”.

This is one of the reasons why they call for an innovation strategy that defines key topics with clear goals, but does not unnecessarily restrict the spirit of research. “Instead of specifying certain measures in advance, an open approach is required,” according to the appeal."

Germany will be the magnet for Lithuanian scientific talents for a long time.

 

Langas į patalpų orą

"Koronavirusas plinta per mažus ore esančius lašelius, žinomus, kaip aerozoliai. Patobulinus patalpų vėdinimą, sumažėja šių aerozolių koncentracija ir užsikrėtimo rizika patalpų viduje, tačiau visuomenės nariams nėra paprasto būdo išmatuoti vėdinimo greitį - jau nekalbant apie virusinių aerozolių kaupimąsi - bendrose patalpose.

    „Idealiu atveju būtų kokia nors mašina, kainuojanti 100 dolerių, ir ji pradėtų pypsėti, jei virusas būtų ore“,-sakė Jose-Luisas Jimenezas, Kolorado Boulderio universiteto aerozolių mokslininkas, siunčiantis į mokyklą jo sūnus su anglies dioksido monitoriumi. Tačiau nesant tokio prietaiso, jis sakė: „CO2 yra kažkas, kas suteikia prieinamą ir labai prasmingą nuorodą“.

    Kiekvieną kartą iškvėpdami išmetame ne tik aerozolius, bet ir anglies dioksidą; kuo blogesnė ventiliacija, tuo daugiau anglies dioksido kaupiasi užimtoje patalpoje.

    „Jei matome, kad CO2 didėja, tai taip pat reiškia, kad aerozolių koncentracija didėja“, - sakė daktaras Huffmanas. „Net ir atnešę jutiklį vienai ar dviem dienoms, galite pamatyti tikrai įdomų ir naudingą langą į tos erdvės vėdinimo pasaulį“.

 

    Ponia Norris ir jos vyras yra gamtos mokslų mokytojai, ir kol kas jų duomenys rodo, kad vėdinimas yra puikus abiejose jų klasėse. Tačiau CO2 lygis jos sūnaus klasėje kartais viršija 1300 milijono dalių. C.D.C. rekomenduoja, kad patalpose anglies dioksido kiekis liktų žemiau 800 milijono dalių.

 

    Vaikai vis dar gali užsikrėsti virusu patalpose, kuriose yra mažas CO2 kiekis ir gera ventiliacija. Aukštos kokybės oro filtrai gali sulaikyti virusinius aerozolius, tačiau neturi įtakos anglies dioksido kiekiui. Taigi mokyklose, kurios įdiegė šiuos filtrus, vien CO2 rodmenys gali pervertinti viruso perdavimo riziką.

    Tačiau net ir nesant viruso, anglies dioksido kiekio patalpose sumažinimas gali būti naudingas. Tyrimai rodo, kad net vidutiniško dydžio šių dujų kiekis gali sutrikdyti mąstymą ir kad, pagerinus vėdinimą, gali pagerėti pažintinių užduočių atlikimas.

    Žinoma, daugelis šeimų negali sau leisti 100 dolerių vertės oro kokybės monitoriaus - ir to neturėtų daryti, sakė tėvai ir mokslininkai."

 

A window into indoor air

 

"The coronavirus spreads through tiny, airborne droplets known as aerosols. Improving indoor ventilation reduces the concentration of these aerosols and the risk of infection in an indoor space, but there is no easy way for members of the public to measure the ventilation rate — let alone the accumulation of viral aerosols — in shared spaces.

“Ideally there’d be some machine that cost $100 and it starts beeping if the virus is in the air,” said Jose-Luis Jimenez, an aerosol scientist at the University of Colorado Boulder, who is sending a carbon dioxide monitor to school with his son. But in the absence of such a device, he said, “CO2 is something that provides an affordable and very meaningful shortcut.”

Every time we exhale, we expel not just aerosols but also carbon dioxide; the worse the ventilation, the more carbon dioxide builds up in an occupied room.

“If we see the CO2 rising, then that also implies that the concentration of aerosols are rising,” Dr. Huffman said. “Even just bringing sensor for a day or two can give you a really interesting and useful window into the world of the ventilation of that space.”

 

Ms. Norris and her husband are both science teachers, and so far their data suggest that the ventilation is excellent in both of their classrooms. But CO2 levels in her son’s classroom sometimes surpass 1300 parts per million. The C.D.C. recommends that indoor carbon dioxide levels remain below 800 p.p.m.

 

Children can still catch the virus in spaces with low CO2 levels and good ventilation. And high-quality air filters can trap viral aerosols, but have no effect on carbon dioxide levels. So in schools that have installed these filters, CO2 readings alone may overestimate the risk of viral transmission.

But even in the absence of the virus, reducing indoor carbon dioxide levels can have benefits. Studies show that even moderately high levels of the gas may muddle thinking and that improving ventilation can boost performance on cognitive tasks.

Of course, many families cannot afford a $100 air quality monitor — and they should not have to, parents and scientists said."

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