Could AI predict the next pandemic?

Most of the emerging infectious diseases that threaten humans – including coronaviruses – are zoonotic, meaning they originate in another animal species. And as population sizes soar and urbanisation expands, encounters with creatures harbouring potentially dangerous diseases are becoming ever more likely. Identifying these viruses early, then, is becoming vitally important. A new study out today in PLOS Biology from a team of researchers at the University of Glasgow, UK, has identified a novel way to do this kind of viral detective work, using machine learning to predict the likelihood of a virus jumping to humans. According to the researchers, a major stumbling block for understanding zoonotic disease has been that scientists tend to prioritise well-known zoonotic virus families based on their common features.