I don't know what you're talking about specifically, but here's a quick thought:
The keys-under-streetlight joke is a metaphor. The point is that if we try and see something where sight doesn't work, the odds that our efforts will be fruitless go way up. It's true that science shifts when people think outside the box, as Thomas Kuhn has shown; but it's also true that among herds of scientists thinking outside the box, very few of them will produce anything of long-lasting value. In a time-crunch scenario like the one we're in, looking for solutions in darkness amounts to little more than toddlers throwing Nerf darts at a goal post.
I'm all for trying to see solutions in the dark; but when we're faced with high mortality rates (relatively speaking) and a small window of time, the responsible scientific thing to do is put its trust in the light (i.e. known and tested bodies of knowledge).