The ScienceBoard.net began coverage of the global pandemic on January 29, 2020, and our top stories this year are reflective of how the biopharma and life sciences industries responded to the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The top 10 articles on ScienceBoard featured stories on the discovery and development of COVID-19 vaccines and therapies and more.

Many of our top stories covered various aspects of immunology related to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, including how the virus uses host cells to support its own replication. On the virology and genomics front, we followed research that explored the effect of viral mutations as they spread across the globe, and how those variations may affect disease in different populations.

Furthermore, ScienceBoard has provided extensive coverage on the discovery and development of COVID-19 vaccines and therapies. Two of our stories in April made our list of top 10 articles for the year. The first was an analysis of the progress and challenges from the very early development of COVID-19 vaccines. At that point in time, only a handful of candidates were in phase I trials. It's quite remarkable that in less than eight months there are two COVID-19 vaccines with emergency use authorizations in the U.S.

This is truly a testament to dedication of scientists and amazing foundational science. However, the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic has not been without its struggles. According to our in-house analysis, at the height of the first wave of COVID-19, nearly 50% of all research labs were completely closed down. With the implementation of public health measures and approved vaccines, we hope that by this same time next year, the scientific community -- and the world -- will return to some version of normal.

This year, we also began to focus on emerging cell and gene therapy technologies and products. From chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell-based therapies, innovative CRISPR systems, and various vector-delivered gene therapies, the number of advancements in these areas has been unprecedented. We expect the momentum to continue into 2021 and look forward to providing our readers with the latest news and insights in these fields.

Below is a list of the 10 most-read stories on ScienceBoard.net for 2020. We hope you enjoyed reading these articles and learned something from us along the way.

Top 10 ScienceBoard stories for 2020

1. SARS-CoV-2 hijacks lung cells for its own purposes (December 3, 2020)
2. COVID-19 vaccine candidates show progress amid challenges (April 23, 2020)
3. COVID-19 shuts down research labs as concern grows among scientists (April 7, 2020)
4. How are asymptomatic COVID-19 carriers different from symptomatic patients? (October 15, 2020)
5. Researchers investigate how a potent mAb blocks SARS-CoV-2 (May 4, 2020)
6. Researchers call for rapid drug repurposing to fight COVID-19 (May 11, 2020)
7. Are SARS-CoV-2 mutations more contagious than the original virus? (November 2, 2020)
8. New gene therapy destroys latent oral herpes in mice (September 4, 2020)
9. Will SARS-CoV-2 become an endemic seasonal coronavirus? (May 22, 2020)
10. SARS-CoV-2 causes immune paralysis in severe cases of COVID-19 (August 12, 2020)