The space race version 2.0 — the covid-19 vaccine dash: As of October, more than 190 countries worldwide were attempting to develop vaccines, with almost 50 vaccines now undergoing clinical trials, according to GAVI. In what is the contemporary version of the space race, the US and Russia are at the forefront of the vaccine dash with both countries attempting to be the first to release the highly-awaited shots. Just days after US’s Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech announced their covid-19 vaccine is 90% effective, Russia said that phase 3 clinical trials had shown the Sputnik V vaccine to be 92% effective. Again, a handful of days later US-based Moderna came out saying that their vaccine is 94.5% effective in preventing covid-19.

Regardless of the competition, we tip our hats to the scientists who are making leaps to develop vaccines in record time. In the history of medicine, rarely has a vaccine been developed in less than five years, according to the New York Times. One of the fastest vaccines created was the mumps inoculation, which took approximately four years. Otherwise, even antiviral meds can take decades to develop.

Scientists also put their best foot forward while developing covid-19 tests: In the few months since the pandemic started — granted they felt like years — covid-19 tests have become more widely available with faster results and higher accuracy. Scientists are currently developing tests with result times as low as a single minute, with 90% accuracy.

And the medical advancements aren’t just for covid-19: We got one step closer to curing HIV — after the second ever patient tested negative for the virus after stopping treatment, reported BBC. The patient, Adam Castillejo, was cured by a stem-cell transplantation which is now being studied as a possible treatment for other cases. However, due to it being high risk, HIV meds are probably here to stay for a bit, but have still developed enough that patients can live long and healthy lives.

Finland started generating sustainable food solutions that are beneficial for both the environment and humans, by changing up food ingredients as well as the packaging they come in, according to the appropriately named Good News from Finland. The Finnish are also looking into alternative sources of protein instead of poultry and meat products that cause environmental damage as livestock farming increases greenhouse gas emissions. Companies are creating natural protein alternatives that can be grown and harvested anywhere, even in space.

And of course, Elon Musk sent two rockets to space: The first SpaceX rocket was launched into orbit in May, marking the first time Americans went to space in a decade as well as the first commercialized space-bound aircraft, according to Vice. The two astronauts aboard the Falcon 9 rocket spent a historic two-month mission in the International Space Station(ISS). SpaceX also launched a second “space taxi” with four astronauts bound to the ISS in mid-November. CEO Elon Musk has said that he aims to “open up space to humanity” through the possibility of more commercial space flights in the future.