New research suggests the Zika virus may damage some cells in adult brains. Until now, scientists mainly worried about Zika’s effects on the brains of babies whose mothers were infected with the virus during pregnancy. The Rockefeller University and La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology carried out the new research. The findings were published last week in the Cell Stem Cell journal. The research suggests the Zika virus could infect some kinds of adult cells. These cells are considered important to learning and memory. “This is the first study looking at the effect of Zika infection on the adult brain,” says Joseph Gleeson. He is a professor at Rockefeller University and head of the Laboratory of Pediatric Brain Disease. Gleeson says, “Based on our findings, getting infected with Zika as an adult may not be as innocuous as people think.” By innocuous, Gleeson means not seeming to have a harmful effect.