We've entered a forever war with bird flu

Avian influenza is "evolving in ways we haven't seen before," says Martha Nelson, a computational biologist and staff scientist researching pathogen evolution at the National Institutes of Health — one of many scientists who have been monitoring the global H5N1 outbreak. Bird flu "is adapting to mammals, and it continues to show new tricks," Nelson tells The Verge. The virus is spreading widely in domestic and wild animals, while exact transmission routes remain unclear. Confirmed human cases are rising, particularly among farmworkers. More than two years into the US outbreak, we're stuck with H5N1 for the long haul. The risk…