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From KQED.

Welcome to Forum. I'm Mina Kim.

In a new book called Planning Miracles, John Cohen, senior correspondent for Science magazine, brings us to the labs and caves where scientists are working to prevent the next pandemic. By some estimations, Cohen says, there are more viruses on Earth than stars in the universe, but only a tiny fraction pose any threat

to humans.

And Cohen has found that we do have the knowledge and tools to protect ourselves from the

most dangerous pathogens as long as we maintain the political will to keep funding the programs

that can keep us safe.

John Cohen joins me now.

Welcome to Forum.

Much for having me. So John, remind me, what are the most dangerous types of pathogens among the many, many

viruses out there?

There are 111 families of viruses. Only 25 of those families make humans sick.

And you can prioritize in those 25 families, which are the most

likely to cause harm to humans. And there have been a lot of analyses recently of, let's say, a

dozen of those that pose the greatest risks. We know some of them very well. Coronavirus are on the list. Influences on that list. They get more exotic, but they're familiar to a lot of people. And the idea now is let's just focus, laser focus, on those most dangerous families.

...