Supercomputers Are a New Line of Defense.

As winter closes in, you seem to know more people who are sick, have been sick, or worse, slowly are becoming sick. Indeed, the colder months signify that seasonal bugs are in full flux.

The flu ranges from an inconvenience for some to life-threatening for others. For elderly people, pregnant women, and young children, the spread of the flu is ominous. The best hope today is to wash your hands regularly and get a flu shot.

However, if we knew more about these viruses, researchers believe we could learn their weaknesses and stay ahead of them. Now, scientists across the nation are using supercomputers at the Advanced Computing Center at the University of Texas, Austin, to find ways to stop viruses in their tracks.

Peter Kasson, associate professor of molecular physiology and biomedical engineering at the University of Virginia, is one of those researchers. His work combines computer science and biology to understand viral infections such as influenza and Zika.

"Viruses are these really tiny packages that encode a lot of complexity," Kasson notes...