COVID and SARS News

October 9, 2025

Top Headlines

Scientists Finally Reveal What’s Behind Long COVID’s Mysterious Brain Fog

Oct. 7, 2025 — Researchers in Japan have pinpointed a biological cause of Long COVID brain fog using advanced PET brain imaging. They discovered widespread increases in AMPA receptor density linked to cognitive ...

Common Allergy Spray Slashes COVID-19 Risk in Surprising Trial

Sep. 7, 2025 — A common hay fever nasal spray was found to cut COVID-19 infections by two-thirds in a clinical trial, while also reducing rhinovirus cases. Researchers believe it could serve as an easy, low-cost preventive measure, pending further ...

Ancient DNA Finally Solves the Mystery of the World’s First Pandemic

Aug. 30, 2025 — Scientists have finally uncovered direct genetic evidence of Yersinia pestis — the bacterium behind the Plague of Justinian — in a mass grave in Jerash, Jordan. This long-sought discovery resolves a centuries-old debate, confirming that the ...

The Common Cold’s Unexpected Superpower Against COVID

Aug. 26, 2025 — A nationwide study found that recent colds caused by rhinoviruses can give short-term protection against COVID-19. Children benefit most, as their immune systems react strongly with antiviral defenses, helping explain their lower rates of severe ...

A New Cancer Vaccine Just Wiped Out Tumors in Mice

Aug. 19, 2025 — A breakthrough mRNA cancer vaccine has shown the ability to supercharge the effects of immunotherapy in mice, sparking hope for a universal “off-the-shelf” treatment that could fight multiple cancers. Unlike traditional vaccines designed to ...

Even Mild Covid May Leave Blood Vessels Five Years Older

Aug. 18, 2025 — Researchers discovered that Covid accelerates blood vessel aging by about five years, especially in women. Even mild infections increased arterial stiffness, with vaccinated individuals showing less damage. This vascular aging may raise long-term ...

Scientists Detect Virus Traces in Blood That May Unlock Long COVID’s Mystery

Aug. 12, 2025 — Scientists have found protein fragments from the COVID-19 virus hidden inside tiny cellular packages in the blood of long COVID patients, offering the first potential measurable biomarker for the ...

Researchers Discover Key Social Factors That Triple Long COVID Risk

Aug. 4, 2025 — New research led by Mass General Brigham reveals that people facing social challenges—like food insecurity, financial strain, and limited healthcare access—are two to three times more likely to develop long ...

This Vaccine Uses Dental Floss Instead of Needles

Aug. 3, 2025 — Scientists have discovered that flossing between your teeth could one day help vaccinate you. By targeting a uniquely permeable gum tissue called the junctional epithelium, this new method stimulates immunity right where many infections enter: the ...

COVID Vaccines Saved 2. 5M Lives Globally—a Death Averted per 5,400 Shots

July 27, 2025 — Between 2020 and 2024, COVID-19 vaccines saved 2.5 million lives globally, preventing one death for every 5,400 doses. A groundbreaking worldwide study led by researchers from Università Cattolica and Stanford University reveals that most lives ...

Even Without Catching COVID, the Pandemic May Have Quietly Aged Your Brain

July 24, 2025 — Even people who never caught Covid-19 may have aged mentally faster during the pandemic, according to new brain scan research. This large UK study shows how the stress, isolation, and upheaval of lockdowns may have aged our brains, especially in ...

Scientists Just Resurrected the 1918 “Spanish Flu” Virus—here’s What They Found

July 24, 2025 — Scientists in Switzerland have cracked open a century-old viral mystery by decoding the genome of the 1918 influenza virus from a preserved Zurich patient. This ancient RNA revealed that the virus ...

Latest Headlines

updated 12:12pm EDT

Millions Could Be Living With Hidden Smell Loss After COVID Without Knowing

Oct. 3, 2025 — A massive NIH-backed study reveals that COVID-19’s toll on smell may be more widespread and lasting than most realize. Even patients without noticeable symptoms often performed poorly on scent ...

Teen Bats Are Spawning New Viruses—here’s Why Scientists Are Paying Close Attention

July 22, 2025 — New research from the University of Sydney sheds light on how coronaviruses emerge in bat populations, focusing on young bats as hotspots for ...

One Pregnancy Shot Slashes Baby RSV Hospitalizations by 72% — and Shields for Months

July 21, 2025 — A new UK study shows that vaccinating pregnant women against RSV has led to a staggering 72% drop in hospitalizations of newborns with severe lung ...

A Tiny Chemistry Hack Just Made mRNA Vaccines Safer, Stronger, and Smarter

July 21, 2025 — What if mRNA vaccines could be made more powerful and less irritating? Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have found a way to do just that—by tweaking a key molecule in the vaccine’s ...

Breakthrough Microchip Reveals How Your Body Fights Viruses—in Just 90 Minutes

July 12, 2025 — A team at Scripps Research has created a microchip that can rapidly reveal how a person's antibodies respond to viruses using only a drop of blood. ...

Scientists Just Found a Major Flaw in a Key COVID Drug Study

July 4, 2025 — A promising path to fighting COVID and other coronaviruses may have been based on a serious mistake. Scientists had zeroed in on a part of the virus called the NiRAN domain, believed to be a powerful ...

Scientists Warn of Bat Virus Just One Mutation from Infecting Humans

June 25, 2025 — Viruses closely related to the deadly MERS coronavirus are lurking in bats and one group, known as HKU5, may be just one mutation away from making the jump to humans. A new study reveals how these ...

COVID-19 Protein Triggers Immune Attacks on Healthy Cells — but a Common Drug Can Stop It

June 24, 2025 — Scientists have uncovered a stealthy tactic used by the SARS-CoV-2 virus: one of its proteins can leap from infected cells to healthy ones, ...

One Shot to Stop HIV: MIT's Bold Vaccine Breakthrough

June 20, 2025 — Researchers from MIT and Scripps have unveiled a promising new HIV vaccine approach that generates a powerful immune response with just one dose. By combining two immune-boosting adjuvants alum and ...

Scientists Discover Llama Antibodies That Shut Down COVID — and Its Future Variants

June 16, 2025 — Powerful llama-derived antibodies could be the key to stopping not just current SARS viruses, but future ones too. Scientists have discovered a ...

New mRNA Vaccine Is More Effective and Less Costly to Develop

June 3, 2025 — A new "trans-amplifying" mRNA vaccine delivers powerful immunity using 40 times less material and could protect against many virus strains at once. Scientists say it may pave the way for ...

Evolution of a Single Gene Allowed the Plague to Adapt, Survive and Kill Much of Humanity Over Many Centuries

May 29, 2025 — Scientists have documented the way a single gene in the bacterium that causes bubonic plague, Yersinia pestis, allowed it to survive hundreds of years by adjusting its virulence and the length of ...

Tiny Genetic Switch Found to Control Brain Balance and Behavior

May 22, 2025 — Researchers have identified a remarkably small but critical piece of genetic code that helps determine how brain cells connect, communicate, and function. The discovery not only deepens our ...

Engineered Bacteria Can Deliver Antiviral Therapies, Vaccines

May 21, 2025 — New research demonstrates how specially engineered bacteria taken orally can operate as a delivery system for vaccines and antiviral ...

Two HIV Vaccine Trials Show Proof of Concept for Pathway to Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies

May 15, 2025 — A decades-long scientific challenge in HIV vaccine development has been finding a way to train the immune system to produce antibodies that can target many variants of the virus. Traditional ...

Particles Carrying Multiple Vaccine Doses Could Reduce the Need for Follow-Up Shots

May 15, 2025 — MIT scientists have designed self-boosting vaccines that release doses over time from a single injection. This breakthrough could make multi-shot vaccines one-and-done, protecting children in even ...

World's Largest Bat Organoid Platform Paves the Way for Pandemic Preparedness

May 15, 2025 — Until now, most research has used either generalized cell samples or organoids made from just one type of tropical fruit bat, and only from a single organ. But a breakthrough has arrived: a research ...

New Study Offers Insights Into Designing Safe, Effective Nasal Vaccines

May 14, 2025 — Most vaccines -- and boosters -- are injected directly into muscle tissue, usually in the upper arm, to kickstart the body's immune system in the fight against disease. But for respiratory ...

Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of a Smallpox Vaccine for Preventing Mpox

May 8, 2025 — The recent global monkeypox (mpox) outbreak, with a new and aggressive variant, has underscored the dire need for safe, broadly effective, and accessible vaccines. The LC16m8 vaccine, an attenuated ...

Building Vaccines for Future Versions of a Virus

May 8, 2025 — Researchers have developed EVE-Vax, an AI tool that forecasts viral mutations and designs test proteins to guide next-generation vaccines. The breakthrough could allow scientists to build vaccines ...

Vaccines of the Future: Harnessing the Immune System for Long-Lasting Protection

May 7, 2025 — Scientists have uncovered a promising new way to enhance the effectiveness of vaccines by tapping into the potential of a specific type of immune cell, opening the door to long-lasting vaccines for ...

Shingles Vaccine Lowers the Risk of Heart Disease for Up to Eight Years

May 5, 2025 — People who are given a vaccine for shingles have a 23% lower risk of cardiovascular events, including stroke, heart failure, and coronary heart disease, according to a recent study of more than a ...

Left or Right Arm? New Research Reveals Why Vaccination Site Matters for Immune Response

Apr. 28, 2025 — Where you get your vaccine booster matters more than you think. Scientists in Sydney found that same-arm shots prime immune cells to respond faster, producing stronger antibodies against viruses like ...

Data Collection Changes Key to Understanding Maternal Mortality Trends in the US, New Study Shows

Apr. 28, 2025 — A new study offers fresh insight into trends in maternal mortality in the United States. For the first time, the study disentangles genuine changes in health outcomes from shifts caused by how deaths ...

Experimental Bird Flu Vaccine Excels in Animal Models

Apr. 17, 2025 — A vaccine under development has demonstrated complete protection in mice against a deadly variant of the virus that causes bird flu. The work focuses on the H5N1 variant known as 2.3.4.4b, which has ...

Certain Nasal Bacteria May Boost the Risk for COVID-19 Infection, Study Finds

Apr. 9, 2025 — A new study has found that certain bacteria living in the nose may influence how likely someone is to get a COVID-19 infection. The research reveals that certain types of nasal bacteria can affect ...

Researchers Identify Safer Pathway for Pain Relief

Apr. 8, 2025 — Scientists have helped identify a novel drug compound that selectively activates pain-altering receptors in the body, offering a potentially safer alternative to conventional pain ...

Nasal Spray H5N1 Avian Influenza Vaccine Developed

Apr. 8, 2025 — Scientists have pioneered an influenza virus vector-based nasal spray vaccine platform and developed a nasal spray H5N1 avian influenza vaccine. During the early COVID-19 pandemic, this platform ...

Viral 'Backbone' Underlies Variation in Rotavirus Vaccine Effectiveness

Apr. 8, 2025 — Researchers have shown that differences in the entire rotavirus genome -- not just its two surface proteins -- affect how well vaccines work, helping to explain why some strains are more likely to ...

New Research Boosts Future Whooping Cough Vaccines

Apr. 4, 2025 — New research could aid in improving whooping cough vaccines to once again push this disease toward eradication by targeting two key weaknesses in the ...