Chinese team cracks Zika secret

Research shows a link between the virus, poor brain development

A research finding by Chinese scientists that was published in a leading academic journal identified a direct link between the Zika virus and microcephaly - a disorder in which the head is small due to a defect in brain development.

The research was a collaboration between Xu Zhiheng, principal investigator at the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Qin Chengfeng, a professor of virology at the Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology under the Academy of Military Medical Sciences.