Nature’s 10: Ten researchers who helped shape science in 2021 (Part 2)

by Giuseppe Scarlata, Antonino Napoleone  | January 08, 2022.
edited by Ivy Rose Sebastian.

As we draw a recap of the past year, we can see a very tumultuous and intense year, especially from a scientific point of view, filled with novelties, innovation, and discoveries of undeniable social impact. While the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 continues to keep televisions, newspapers, and scientific studies constantly engaged, because of the high number of cases being reported, we look to the future with optimistic anticipation, hoping for more effective and perhaps even permanent scientific solutions to complement the vaccination strategy (read also Vaccine options available and Can the transmission of the virus can be stopped?). Certainly, the COVID-19 vaccines can be considered the most important scientific discovery of the past year, but this should not overshadow other research carried out by scientists who have left an indelible mark with distinguished work. As already reported in the first part of this two-part series (read also Nature’s 10: Nature’s ten most influential scientists of 2021, part 1), Nature magazine looked at ten scientists who helped shape science in 2021 and the respective focus, importance and impact of their individual research.

So, let’s look at the final five renowned scientists who were included in Nature’s 10 list.

John Jumper: Protein predictor

A team led by this AI researcher released a tool that is transforming biology.

At the start of the year, John Jumper and his colleagues at DeepMind in London released AlphaFold, an artificial intelligence model capable of predicting the intricate structure of proteins with astonishing accuracy and incredible ease, almost as if it were just a Google search. The whole system is based on a real neural network that is almost infallible in its predictions (effective in two-thirds of cases when compared to already known protein structures). For Jumper, such applications are the highest compliment. “To see the amount to which AlphaFold has changed the work of experimentalists has been really, really incredible,” he says. “The dream is to do something really useful”. Perhaps a new era for structural biology is just about to begin. 

Victoria Tauli-Corpuz: Indigenous defender

A former revolutionary helped Indigenous peoples to gain international recognition for protecting biodiversity and the climate.

Tauli-Corpuz, an indigenous leader in the Philippines, has managed to secure $1.7 billion to help indigenous peoples around the world to preserve forests, protect biodiversity and prevent global warming by keeping carbon locked up in plants and soils. This was the first time that help in such an unprecedented form was obtained from several developed nations and philanthropic organisations, recognising Indigenous rights. Despite its success, however, Tauli-Corpuz has not stopped there; in fact, she continues to work with indigenous communities around the world, helping them to understand their rights and strengthen their governance systems. “It’s really about helping indigenous peoples empower themselves. Hopefully, we can strengthen their capacity to do what they need to do,” she says firmly.

Guillaume Cabanac: Deception sleuth

This computer scientist helped to uncover a new kind of fabricated paper.

Guillaume Cabanac is a computer scientist, and by updating an existing software called SCIgen and using a search engine for academic literature called Dimensions, last year he found hundreds of articles written without any logical sense or scientific rigour, published in pre-print journals. Of course, the journals were promptly alerted by e-mail, but as if that wasn’t enough, he also set up the Problematic Paper Screener, a website for flagging and reporting highly questionable manuscripts. So far, Cabanac and colleagues have identified almost 400 nonsensical phrases in more than 2000 scientific articles, including those in journals from well-known publishers such as Elsevier and Springer Nature. All of this is certainly of great help to the entire scientific community and plays a vital role in tackling misinformation, but even so, as he says: “I’m afraid of new techniques that would help scammers publish papers containing errors that would be less detectable,” he says. “It’s a whack-a-mole game. We need to be prepared.”

Meaghan Kall: COVID communicator

A government epidemiologist went against norms to tweet explanations of UK Coronavirus data.

On 8 January 2021, following the publication of a technical briefing paper about a new variant that was spreading in south-east England, government epidemiologist Meaghan Kall decided to share the highlights of this newly released documentation on her Twitter account, without permission and sparking several debates via ‘Tweets’. Thanks to her ‘going against the rules’, she became a pivotal information source and the human face for a government team that was engaged with combating the pandemic in the UK. This was the start of a series of explanations made easily comprehensible to the public over dozens of briefings by the UK task force, continuing to disseminate information about the ongoing pandemic in a simple but effective way. “One of my main aims”, she says, “is really just to try and make sure people are empowered and have agency to understand the data to make their own decisions, from a reliable source.”

Janet Woodcock: Drug chief

This career administrator led the US’s premier drug agency through a challenging year.

Only a few days after becoming the US president in January 2021, Joe Biden appointed Janet Woodcock as acting commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), attracting contrasting scientific and political opinions. According to her detractors, she was blamed for the opioid crisis in the US, followed by further criticism of the FDA over the approval of the Alzheimer’s drug aducanumab, although it seems she was not directly involved in this decision. As if this was not enough, in the summer, President Biden prematurely declared that a further dose of the COVID-19 vaccine would be administered, again putting Woodcock and her close communications with the White House under a bad light. Despite these remarks, Dr Woodcock, in her 35 years of service at the FDA, has advocated for the modernisation and evolution of the US regulatory agency, implementing clinical trial design, and always putting the central role of patients in new drug approval processes at the forefront. In November, Biden appointed cardiologist Robert Califf, a former FDA commissioner, to return to lead the agency. Despite his critiques, he said, “I think the FDA makes the right decision most of the time and continues to serve as a gold standard for drug regulation around the world.” Woodcock, he adds, “deserves some recognition for the way the FDA has evolved with the times”.

Conclusions

With the last five big names revealed, Nature’s 10 list for 2021 is complete. In doing so, research and work of considerable merit and undeniable social impact have been highlighted. Too often, news of such great importance is simply kept under the radar or passed over in silence. This leads to the blatant ignorance of the people who have dedicated themselves entirely and invested all their energy and passion to bring about innovation and improvement to our society. More research and scientists are in the sights for this year that has just begun, with the hope of continuing to talk about new original and fascinating stories or discoveries.

References

• https://www.nature.com/immersive/d41586-021-03621-0/index.html