IBM is lending a helping hand in the battle against a potential flu pandemic, or breakout of another infectious disease, by offering some of its computer technology and expertise to the United States’ public health community, The Wall Street Journal reports.Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM is expected to announce on Monday plans to construct a huge diagram of how a flu pandemic could spread on an epidemiological modeling framework called STEM, based on health information from hospitals, geographic data from road maps, airline travel routes and flight times, the Journal reports. IBM plans to offer that framework to the public health sector in an open-source format, allowing for regular changes and updates, according to the Journal.The deadly H5N1 strain of avian flu has caused human deaths in countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, China, Egypt, Turkey and Iraq, and scientists and health officials fear it may transform into a state that is more easily communicable by human beings, sparking a global pandemic.IBM will also employ supercomputers to create models meant to detail how influenza viruses could spread, to help officials predict possible mutations, according to the Journal. Those models could help researchers create effective vaccines before viruses could spread, saving officials and the public at large time, effort and potential deaths. Typically, a virus needs to be examined and studied before a working vaccine can be derived. IBM will work on the initiative with Scripps Research Institute of La Jolla, Calif., a biomedical research entity, according to the the Journal.Check out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content brandpost Sponsored by DataStax Ask yourself: How can genAI put your content to work? Generative AI applications can readily be built against the documents, emails, meeting transcripts, and other content that knowledge workers produce as a matter of course. By Bryan Kirschner Dec 04, 2023 5 mins Machine Learning Artificial Intelligence feature The CIO’s new role: Orchestrator-in-chief CIOs have unique insight into everything that happens in a company. Some are using that insight to take on a more strategic role. By Minda Zetlin Dec 04, 2023 12 mins CIO C-Suite Business IT Alignment opinion Fortifying the bridge between tech and business in the C-suite To be considered a tech-forward company today, there has to be a focus on tech fluency across the C-suite, which creates a unique opportunity for CIOs to uplevel their roles and expand their footprint across the enterprise. By Diana Bersohn and Rachel Barton Dec 04, 2023 7 mins CIO Business IT Alignment IT Strategy brandpost Sponsored by G42 Understanding the impact of AI on society, environment and economy By Jane Chan Dec 03, 2023 4 mins Artificial Intelligence Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe