"Normally S. pneumoniae bacteria organize themselves there into a stable and highly structured slick, or biofilm, with other microbes, Hakansson says. "You'll see towers growing up," he says, "with channels coming down for water and nutrients," all layered atop the human cells.
But when the scientists added a pinch of flu virus to the mix – or in several other ways tweaked the little ecosystem to mimic what happens to the body when we catch the flu – the bacteria changed dramatically. "
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