Disease outbreaks happen all the time, but...
At Los Alamos National Laboratory, to increase the accuracy of real-time models, we’re using anonymized, publicly available social media posts to understand how diseases like the flu spread. The model can tell us when a large number of people from a certain city are posting about flulike symptoms, which can then be used to quickly identify areas at risk of increased exposure instead of waiting for clinical data, which can take days or even weeks to receive.
We are also improving the tools and methods used to detect and diagnose infectious diseases—called biological assays. As diseases evolve, the accuracy of assays deteriorates because the biological signatures change, which could result in a misdiagnosis (either a false positive or negative). (Full Story)
New study shows coronavirus is twice as infectious than previously thought
Researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory looked at figures in Wuhan and discovered that the coronavirus passed from 1 person to another between an estimated 2.3 to 3.3 days. This was twice as quickly as previously feared. The study found that 82% of people would need to be immune to stop the spread of infection. Immunity could either be through receiving a vaccine or from recovering from already the disease.
Scientists discovered that the incubation period of the virus is 4.2 days, one day shorter than the previous estimates. The incubation period is described as the period starting from when a person is first exposed to the virus, to the time when they start showing symptoms. (Full Story)
LANL researchers developing coronavirus vaccine design
"When this outbreak happened, when the pandemic happened we had skills that were useful in general, both from a vaccine design perspective and from a database perspective," Korber said.
She's been working 12 to 18 hour long days, seven days a week since February trying to figure out how to stop the spread of the coronavirus. "In the last 20 years, we've had three really serious epidemics due to coronavirus hopping into humans and spreading," Korber said. All that time in the lab is paying off. (Full Story)
Amid uncertainty, NM health officials turn to statistics
Predicting how high the death toll will climb is incredibly difficult, scientists say. Changes in assumptions lead to an almost breathtaking difference in the potential outcomes.
“There’s so much uncertainty because this is a new virus and so there’s a lot of information we don’t know,” said Sara Del Valle, a mathematical epidemiologist at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The unknowns include the number of people who are infected but don’t have symptoms, how contagious those people are, and whether people who have survived the disease are immune from getting it again. (Full Story)
Thin-film perovskite detectors could enable extremely low-dose medical imaging
“Our materials, hybrid perovskites, contain heavy elements such as lead and iodine that can stop X-rays more effectively than silicon,” explains corresponding author Wanyi Nie from Los Alamos National Laboratory. “In this study, we hoped to demonstrate a much thinner layer of perovskite semiconductor than silicon that can still maintain detection performance.”
The thin-film perovskite detectors could enable medical and dental imaging at extremely low radiation dose, while also boosting resolution in security scanners and X-ray research applications. “The improved lower limit of detection will allow the same quality image to be generated using a much reduced X-ray dose, which is safer for patient,” says Nie. (Full Story)
Also from Inverse
Los Alamos National Laboratory and Santa Fe Community College announce new program for machinists
Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Thom Mason and Santa Fe Community College (SFCC) President Becky Rowley announce a collaboration creating a new training program for machinists.
“The Laboratory is pleased to work with partners like SFCC to help bring good-paying, technical job opportunities to workers in our local area,” said Director Thom Mason. “Building the regional workforce benefits both Northern New Mexico and the Laboratory and is one of the concrete ways that we support the people in our communities.” (Full Story)
Also from the Los Alamos Daily Post
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