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The Next Pandemic

COVID-19 has galvanized tech communities. The tens of billions we’re spending on vaccines, antivirals, tests, robots, and devices are transforming how we’ll respond to future outbreaks of infectious disease.
Illustration of COVID-19 moving around the globe.
BiomedicalThe Next PandemicFeatureSpecial Reports

Here’s How We Prepare for the Next Pandemic

If we keep developing the tech that has been supercharged for COVID-19, it never has to be this bad again

6 min read
Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
DIYThe Next PandemicFeatureSensorsSpecial Reports

The Great Ventilator Rush

Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, engineers launched extraordinary crash programs that produced scores of ventilator designs. What will happen to them now?

14 min read
Illustration of the COVID virus
Artificial IntelligenceThe Next PandemicFeatureSpecial Reports

What AI Can–and Can’t–Do in the Race for a Coronavirus Vaccine

The precious few molecules that could end the COVID pandemic are hidden by millions that can't. Can AI help find them in time?

13 min read
Illustration of robot arms and a pill that is also a clock.
Artificial IntelligenceThe Next PandemicFeatureSpecial Reports

Can AI and Automation Deliver a COVID-19 Antiviral While It Still Matters?

Researchers are betting that new tools can cut drug discovery from five years to six months

9 min read
Illustration of a magnifying glass showing COVID-19
BiomedicalThe Next PandemicFeatureSpecial Reports

Researchers Are Getting Close to a Here-and-Now COVID-19 Test

Fast, high-tech, use-anywhere diagnostic tests are key to battling pandemics

11 min read
Illustration of the article
BiomedicalThe Next PandemicFeatureSpecial Reports

Contact Tracing Apps Struggle to Be Both Effective and Private

Google, Apple, and governments are asking people to opt in to unproven technologies

8 min read
Illustration of criss-crossing arrows
Artificial IntelligenceThe Next PandemicFeatureSpecial Reports

Why Modeling the Spread of COVID-19 Is So Damn Hard


Too many of the COVID-19 models have led policymakers astray. Here’s how tomorrow’s models will get it right

11 min read
The streets of Manhattan stand nearly empty due to the coronavirus epidemic on April 10, 2020 in New York City.
BiomedicalThe Next PandemicFeatureSpecial Reports

How Control Theory Can Help Us Control COVID-19

Using feedback, a standard tool in control engineering, we can manage our response to the novel coronavirus pandemic for maximum survival while containing the damage to our economies

16 min read
The UV Cabin System from Dimer UVC and Honeywell is designed to disinfect an entire airplane in a few minutes.
BiomedicalThe Next PandemicFeatureSpecial Reports

UV Light Might Keep the World Safe From the Coronavirus—and Whatever Comes Next

If researchers can build better UV-C lights, they will be frontline weapons against the next pandemic

10 min read
A fully automated swab robot uses computer vision and machine learning to identify the perfect target spot inside the person’s throat; then a robotic arm with a long swab reaches in to collect the sample
RoboticsThe Next PandemicFeatureSpecial Reports

How Robots Became Essential Workers in the COVID-19 Response

Autonomous machines proved their worth in hospitals, offices, and on city streets

6 min read
Executives from the New York Power Authority observe progress on a transmission-line project.
EnergySpecial ReportsThe Next PandemicFeature

Powering Through the Pandemic

Electric utilities reveal what worked and what didn’t in COVID-19 responses

6 min read