A technology licensing framework has been developed by Stanford University, Harvard University, and the Massaschusetts Institute of Technology. To address the global COVID-19 pandemic, these three institutions developed and are implementing technology transfer strategies to allow for and incentivize rapid utilization of available technologies that may be useful for preventing, diagnosing, and treating COVID-19 infection during the pandemic. The three original institutions have committed to a set of guidelines around patenting and licensing strategies to facilitate rapid global access, and several other institutions have also joined in their adoption of the framework since its release.

Combining two cutting-edge techniques reveals that neurons in the prefrontal cortex are built to respond to reward or aversion, a finding with implications for treating mental illness and addictions.