A new study led by Ronit Freeman, PhD, shows that the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant relies on sugars to increase its infectivity. A UNC College of Arts & Sciences article about the paper, “Evolving candy crush: New paper shows omicron relies more on sugars for infection,” can be read here. The paper itself, “SARS-CoV-2 evolved variants optimize binding to cellular glycocalyx,” was published in Cell Reports Physical Science and can be read here.