How Supercomputing and Advanced X-Rays Helped the Government Fight COVID-19 Timofeev Vladimir/Shutterstock.com email Government-backed scientists spent countless hours in 2020 applying advanced research and sophisticated technological capabilities to help the United States better grasp and effectively fight COVID-19. Much of their efforts built on prior work that started unfolding long before the pandemic even posed a threat, but modern, real-world impacts hastened by the global emergency are now beginning to come to light. For instance, genetic mutations within and helping strengthen five potential vaccines—including those developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna—hinged upon more than a decade of research advanced by the Energy Department’s Advanced Photon Source, or APS.