Antibody Subtype Attacks Flu Viruses from Two Sides

The tips of an antibody’s two arms usually constitute the antibody’s “business end,” but sometimes the antibody’s tail matters, too. Both arm tips and the tail, it turns out, may engage the flu virus at once, so long as the antibody in question is immunoglobulin A. This discovery, recently announced by scientists based at the University of Zurich, suggests that a new front may be opened in the fight against the flu. To date, flu vaccines have focused on stimulating