Like me, you may be snuffling with a cold today. You’re infected–typically in your nose–with a virus. The dominant cold-causing virusers are known as rhinoviruses, and they’re quite lovely. Here’s I’ve embedded a video of one, which lets you orbit the virus like you’re visiting an alien moon:
How is it that rhinoviruses manage to infect so many of us? For my “Matter” column this week in the New York Times, I look at a new study that offers a clue: they may escape the reach of our immune system by lurking in the cool refuge of our noses. Check it out.
Originally published January 9, 2015. Copyright 2015 Carl Zimmer.