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Structural Basis for Senior Immunity to the Current H1N1 Flu summary written by Raven Hanna http://www-ssrl.slac.stanford.edu/research/h1n1_summary.html    Stanford [University] (USA) Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource Date Published: May 28, 2010 The above was a lay summary for: Primary Citation Xu, R., Ekiert, D.C., Krause, J.C., Hai, R., Crowe, J.E. Jr, Wilson, I.A. Structural Basis of Preexisting Immunity to the 2009 H1N1 Pandemic Influenza Virus. Science 328, 357-360 (2010). Structural Basis of Pre-existing Immunity to thé 2009 H1N1 Pandemic Influenza Virus The emergence of the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, also known as the swine flu, marks the first human flu pandemic in 40 years and has caused significant human infection and mortality globally (1). The emergence of the 2009 H1N1 flu marks the first time that an influenza pandemic was triggered by a virus carrying the same hemagglutinin (HA) subtype as circulating seasonal strains. In contrast, all prior pandemics were caused by the rise of a novel influenza strain with a different hemagglutinin subtype. And unlike seasonal flu that usually affects the elderly most severely, swine flu has been primarily targeting people under the age of 65, implying some age-related pre-existing immunity (2, 3) … … READ MORE at http://www-ssrl.slac.stanford.edu/research/highlights_archive/h1n1.html.