The cold season is in full swing, throats are scratchy and noses are running. We feel ill and hope it is not the flu. The influenza virus continues to pose a threat to our health. It triggers seasonal ...

The death toll and economic damage associated with flu highlight its role as one of the most harmful viruses in history. Of all the pathogens that have plagued humanity, few are as notorious and ...

Influenza viruses are among the most likely triggers of future pandemics. A research team has developed a method that can be used to study the interaction of viruses with host cells in unprecedented ...

Influenza A virus particles strategically adapt their shape—to become either spheres or larger filaments—to favor their ability to infect cells depending on environmental conditions, according to a ...

Sporadic human infections with avian influenza A viruses have caused a wide spectrum of illness. As these novel influenza A viruses pose pandemic potential, timely detection and characterization of ...

In simple terms: a virus is a tiny package of genetic instructions with a delivery system. Outside a cell it is metabolically inert. Once inside a susceptible cell, it redirects the cell's machinery ...

Colorized transmission electron micrograph of influenza A/H3N2 virus particles, isolated from a patient sample and then propagated in cell culture. Influenza A virus particles adapt shape—as filaments ...

Influenza viruses are among the most likely triggers of future pandemics. A research team from the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI) and the Medical Center—University of Freiburg has ...