The common–and fairly awesome–cold virus

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:

(The video is based on this 2014 study of the structure of the rhinovirus shell.)

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.