Tracking Influenza Virus Epidemics over the Past Century: Can We Predict Next Year's Epidemic?

Arnold J. Levine, Professor, The Simons Center for Systems Biology, School of Natural Sciences
Influenza viruses are unusual because we can become infected by a similar virus almost every year during our lifetime and occasionally there are worldwide pandemics that can cause many fatalities. Why does our usually excellent immune system fail us? How does this come about?