Our guests are early career scientists active in opposite ends of the infection spectrum: one scientist is a virus hunter, tracking viruses in urban environments, while the other investigates how viru...

Coronaviruses use spike proteins to enter cells. This study shows these spikes can change shape, helping the viruses adapt to new hosts, including whales and dolphins. Understanding this flexibility may help predict and prevent future cross-species infections.

Tune in to the new ESWI podcast podcast series featuring Early Career Scientist featuring researchers who will help shape the next decades of influenza and respiratory virus research.

Our results demonstrate that neurotropic NPEVs lead to disruption of spontaneous neural activity in a virus-specific manner, which does not correlate with their replication efficiency.

The non-polio enteroviruses (NPEV) enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) and enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) are highly prevalent and considered pathogens of increasing h…

Nature Microbiology, Published online: 27 January 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-025-02257-4Reduced GC-related content in the influenza A virus genome may be a necessary condition for sustained mammalian transmission and should be included in risk assessment tools for pandemic influenza.

Nature Microbiology, Published online: 27 January 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-025-02257-4Reduced GC-related content in the influenza A virus genome may be a necessary condition for sustained mammalian transmission and should be included in risk assessment tools for pandemic influenza.

Structural studies reveal how influenza virus switches between making new RNA genomes and exporting them from the host nucleus.

In this Review, Fouchier and colleagues explore the evolution, spread and zoonotic risks of highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza viruses. They highlight recent unusual outbreaks, discuss future prepar...

Dead cat led to discovery, but officials stress no further spread of H5N1 has been detected

In this study, Dahmane et al use a method called cryo-electron tomography to uncover new details of how tick-borne flaviviruses transform cells into virus factories.

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Whale breath collected by drones is giving clues to the health of wild humpbacks and other whales.

Since 1997, more than 1000 cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) have been reported in humans.1 During this time, A(H5N1) viruses have evolved into dozens of clades, showing ever-expandin...

Host body temperature can define a virus’s replicative profile—influenza A viruses (IAVs) adapted to 40° to 42°C in birds are less temperature sensitive in vitro compared with human isolates adapted t...

Epstein–Barr virus infection generates a neuroinvasive B cell subset, which recruits activated T cells to the central nervous system, promoting multiple sclerosis.

The non-polio Enteroviruses enterovirus-D68 (EV-D68) and enterovirus-A71 (EV-A71) are highly prevalent and considered pathogens of increasing health concern. While most enterovirus infections are mild...

The non-polio Enteroviruses enterovirus-D68 (EV-D68) and enterovirus-A71 (EV-A71) are highly prevalent and considered pathogens of increasing health concern. While most enterovirus infections are mild...

Nature Reviews Microbiology - As anti-science sentiment intensifies — aggravated by the pandemic, driven in some parts of the world by political actors and amplified by social media —...

The mechanisms by which Enterovirus D-68 (EV-D68) infection leads to acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), a severe neurological condition characterized by sudden muscle weakness and paralysis, remain poorly ...

Dogs are susceptible to the currently circulating highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5 and human H1N1pdm2009 (pandemic H1N1) viruses, yet littl…

Liang et al. shows how contemporary H3N2 viruses reverted to bind sialylated di-LacNAc at the molecular level. Using complex symmetrical and asymmetric N-glycans, major epistatic interactions were rev...

Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) emerged as a pathogen of increasing health concern globally, particularly due to its association with outbreaks of severe respiratory diseases and acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) in children. Knowledge regarding the tissue tropism and pathogenesis of EV-D68 within the respiratory tract and central nervous system remains limited, primarily due to an incomplete understanding of the host factors that facilitate the entry of EV-D68 into host cells. Several cellular receptors involved in EV-D68 infections have been identified, including ICAM-5, sialylated glycoproteins, and heparan sulfate (HS). Here, we investigate the receptor requirement of a panel of EV-D68 strains covering all clades, focusing on HS and sialosides utilizing glycan arrays. We found that all EV-D68 strains binding to HS harbor a cell culture adaptive substitution in the structural protein VP1 at position 271, which changes the amino acid into a positively charged one. Glycan array analyses revealed that EV-D68 strains prefer α2,6-linked sialic acids presented on N-glycans, α2,8-linked sialic acids on gangliosides, or both. Inhibition of glycolipid biosynthesis or multivalent glycolipid mimics confirmed that ganglioside structures serve as entry receptors for certain EV-D68 strains. Lastly, we examined whether EV-D68 strains that bind to HS or glycolipids require different uncoating mechanisms. Bafilomycin A1 minimally affected the cell entry of HS-binding EV-D68 strains B2/039 and B2/947, and the ganglioside preferring B1/2013 and other viruses were strongly inhibited. Together, we identified that EV-D68 strains can use disialoglycolipids as novel receptors and that different EV-D68 strains show a promiscuous sialic acid binding repertoire.

There are no vaccines or antivirals available against enterovirus D68. Here, the authors report Jun6504 as a 2C inhibitor and show that it provides broad-spectrum antiviral activity against EV-D68, EV...