The Ebola epidemic in west Africa has highlighted the threat of emerging infectious diseases to public health. In this Nature.com webcast (registration required), Kartik outlines the importance of basic molecular research to understand how Ebola enters human cells, and why such research has been key to developing drugs and vaccines. Dr. Simon Hay (University of Oxford) also explains how mapping and modeling can help identify where are the places where Ebola and other emerging diseases risk jumping from animals to people. Watch the video (Kartik's talk only, 21 minutes).