Here we have another experience about doing research during the COVID-19 emergency. Samaneh Najafi, INVITE fellow in Biotechnology, tells us a delicate story about a crowned prince to be dethroned together with a caricature.
By the way, today is Nowrūz, the Iranian New Year. Therefore, all the best to Samaneh, who comes from Iran, and to all of you!

On a cold winter day, the 7^th Crowned Prince of the Coronavirus Kingdom invaded the East of the world!

Not long after the beginning of the Red Dragon people’s struggle against this sinister enemy in China, the news of the invasion of the Western World was also published!

This ardent army seemed to conquer the world’s oldest ancient civilizations: Chinese Empire, Iranian Empire and Roman Empire!

So, quickly, China, Italy and Iran became the biggest battleground!

Was it just the wrath of nature against the reckless man? Or was it a conspiracy of human against human? Did natural selection make this powerful virus or intelligent selection was behind the scenes? No one knows the truth yet.

The only thing that matters is the fight now!

As an Iranian living in Italy, I am concerned in several ways:

• All my compatriots in Iran as well as all my friends in Italy are at risk for virus infection.
• A simple shopping is hard to do these days.
• Outdoor entertainment has been canceled. Even have a drink at a local bar with friends has been impossible.
• The university is closed, and my PhD project has stopped.
• My experiments are focused on Grapevine and I need deferent developmental stage of this plant such as flowers, leaf etc. in order to culture them in vitro. Unfortunately, at the moment it is not possible to be in the vineyard and in the laboratory, so I will miss the most important part of the project in spring and during grapevine flowering!
• Several symposiums that I had planned to participate are canceled.   

As biologists, we are aware of the complexities of this epidemic. We also know how difficult is to make a medicine or vaccine in such a short time.

Now is not the time for panic, which will only get in the way of what we need to be doing. While it’s completely understandable to be worried, our best bet to getting through this unscathed is to channel that anxious energy into doing what we can to stop COVID-19 from spreading.

From an optimistic point of view, this is the best time for me to stay at home and do things that I never had the chance to do!

My library and e-book reader are always full of books waiting to be read!

Large amounts of data and photos of my experiment results are stored on my hard drive and need to be classified!

Also, a long list of home-cooked foods and pastries I’ve always wanted to make, and a long line of good times at home and with my family.

Together, with love and power, we will remove the crown prince from his head and once again make the earth a safe and loving place to live.