DOE/LANL Jurisdiction Fire Danger Rating:
  1. LANL Home
  2. media
  3. news
April 22, 2025

Can we forecast viral outbreaks like we forecast the weather?

2025-03-22
Workers collect a wastewater sample at the Bioscience Lab Office, Operations, and Management building in Los Alamos.

Early warnings allow us to prepare for the unpredictable. We are notified when the weather turns ugly, if there’s a traffic jam on the drive to work, or if the airport changes our departure gate. But one of the most widespread, unpredictable moments everyone will experience is sickness—even if it’s only the common cold—and yet, we have practically no early-warning system to alert us as a virus spreads through the community.

We’ve all learned how to help keep illness at bay: washing hands more frequently or choosing to stay home. But knowing when to take these precautions requires forewarning, which is why Los Alamos National Laboratory is developing technologies that could alert a state, a city, even a specific airport, of disease outbreak.

Read the column.

Contact

Public Affairs | media_relations@lanl.gov

Related Topics
  • Science, Technology & Engineering
Share
Explore More Topics
About the LabArtificial IntelligenceAwards and RecognitionsCommunityComputingEnergyHistoryOperationsScience, Technology & EngineeringSpaceWeapons

More Stories

All News
2025-09-25

Scientists unravel the atomic secrets of alpha plutonium

2025-09-23

Exploration of the solar system’s outer edges has New Mexican roots

2025-09-17

Los Alamos National Laboratory seeks commercialization partners for Plasma Liner Experiment

2025-09-15

AI tensor network-based computational framework cracks a 100-year-old physics challenge

2025-08-27

New findings reveal the cause of potentially damaging electrical discharges on satellites

2025-08-14

Energized Watershed project could boost New Mexico economy, increase water security

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Sign up to receive the latest news and feature stories from Los Alamos National Laboratory