As of Wednesday morning, the 1 Day Sooner project had over 26,000 volunteers from over 100 countries who are willing to be exposed to the novel coronavirus as part of a push to speed up vaccine research in what’s known as a “challenge trial.” “It’s truly a remarkable outpouring,” said communications lead Abie Rohrig. “It makes me, to be honest, optimistic about human nature and our ability to come together during times of crisis.” 1 Day Sooner, a grassroots group of scientists and researchers, describes a challenge trial as a study that deliberately exposes “participants to infection, in order to study diseases and test vaccines or treatments.” Typically, testing involves giving human volunteers a vaccine or a placebo and then waiting for