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SARS-CoV-2 rarely reaches first-trimester placentas but still disrupts early pregnancy immunity

Researchers analyzing 761 first-trimester pregnancies found that SARS-CoV-2 was rarely detected in placental tissues, suggesting in utero transmission early in pregnancy is uncommon. However, maternal infection was linked to immune dysregulation at the maternal-fetal interface, altered trophoblast signaling, and inflammatory changes that could affect placental development.

14 Apr 2026

NTU Singapore and partners develop new inhaled treatment for severe lung infections

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) is working with China's Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) and Swedish biotechnology company Lipigon Pharmaceuticals AB to develop a new inhaled treatment aimed at helping patients recover faster from severe lung infections.

13 Apr 2026

Nanodisc technology improves study of viral proteins for vaccines

Viruses are masters at invading our cells thanks to specialized proteins that coat their surfaces. When scientists design vaccines, they often create versions of these viral surface proteins to study how our immune systems might respond.

11 Apr 2026

Study links COVID-19 infection to increased lung cancer risk

New findings from researchers at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem have identified a potential association between COVID-19 and increased lung cancer risk, driven by underlying biological mechanisms in the lung.

11 Apr 2026

World Health Day 2026: WHO urges global collaboration and science for better health

The World Health Organization (WHO) today calls on people everywhere to renew their commitment to working together and supporting science as the twin engines driving better health, under the World Health Day 2026 theme: "Together for health. Stand with science."

6 Apr 2026

Emerging SARS-CoV-2 variant BA.3.2 shows no signs of greater danger

The Global Virus Network (GVN), representing eminent human and animal virologists from more than 90 Centers of Excellence and Affiliates in over 40 countries dedicated to advancing research, collaboration, and pandemic preparedness, is monitoring the SARS-CoV-2 variant BA.3.2, sometimes informally referred to in media reports as the "cicada" variant, and emphasizes that current evidence does not indicate cause for alarm or heightened public concern.

3 Apr 2026

US scientists sequence 1,000 genomes from measles, a disease long eliminated with vaccines

This week, the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention posted online its first large tranche of advanced genetic data from measles viruses spreading last year.

2 Apr 2026

New T cell mechanism could lead to longer-lasting vaccines

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine have identified a possible way to make longer lasting vaccines for respiratory viruses like influenza and the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

31 Mar 2026

Antidepressant fluvoxamine reduces long COVID fatigue in clinical trial

A randomized placebo-controlled trial found that fluvoxamine, a low-cost antidepressant, reduced fatigue and improved quality of life in adults with long COVID, offering one of the first evidence-based medication options for this persistent condition. In contrast, metformin did not provide meaningful benefit for established long COVID fatigue, highlighting fluvoxamine as the more promising treatment candidate in this study.

30 Mar 2026

Do multi-strain probiotics improve long covid symptoms?

Multi-strain probiotics show potential to modulate gut microbiome in long COVID, yet their impact on inflammation and recovery is not statistically significant.

27 Mar 2026

CDC tracks SARS-CoV-2 BA.3.2 global rise and finds early signals in U.S. wastewater

CDC surveillance shows that the highly divergent SARS-CoV-2 variant BA.3.2 spread to at least 23 countries and was detected in U.S. travelers, patients, airplane wastewater, and wastewater samples across multiple states. The report highlights wastewater and traveler-based genomic surveillance as early warning tools while noting that BA.3.2 has immune-evasion potential but has not rapidly displaced other circulating lineages.

25 Mar 2026

COVID-19 virus evolved quickly but within strict genetic limits

A new paper in Genome Biology and Evolution, published by Oxford University Press, indicates that while the COVID-19 virus has developed rapidly since 2019, it has done so within limited genetic channels.

25 Mar 2026

Long COVID antibodies induce persistent pain-like symptoms in mice

A new study coordinated by researchers at UMC Utrecht and Amsterdam UMC shows that antibodies from Long COVID patients can induce persistent pain-like symptoms in mice.

24 Mar 2026

No link between Covid-19 vaccines and sudden cardiac death

The study reveals COVID-19 vaccines do not increase sudden cardiac death risk in youth, highlighting the importance of accurate health messaging.

24 Mar 2026

Study revises the understanding of neutrophil dynamics during respiratory viral infection

Neutrophil infiltration is a hallmark of pulmonary inflammation during respiratory viral infections, yet the origin of these cells has been a subject of debate.

23 Mar 2026

Study highlights neurological and psychiatric impacts of long COVID

Nearly three years after the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was declared over, conservative estimates suggest that between 80 million and 400 million people worldwide have long COVID.

23 Mar 2026

FDA-approved drug fedratinib enhances communication between cellular organelles

Cells behave like cities and organelles carry out infrastructural roles: Mitochondria are powerhouses, the endoplasmic reticulum serves as a transport hub and lysosomes help with waste disposal.

13 Mar 2026

DNA origami vaccine platform shows promise against multiple infectious viruses

The COVID-19 pandemic brought messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines to the forefront of global health care. After their clinical trial stages, the first COVID-19 mRNA vaccine was administered on 8 December 2020 and mathematical models suggest that mRNA vaccines prevented at least 14.4 million deaths from COVID-19 in the first year alone.

11 Mar 2026

Most pandemic viruses show little adaptation before infecting humans

A new University of California San Diego study published in Cell challenges a long-standing assumption about how animal viruses become capable of sparking human epidemics and pandemics.

9 Mar 2026

Disrupted iron levels after SARS-CoV-2 infection may trigger long COVID

Problems with iron levels in the blood and the body's ability to regulate this important nutrient as a result of SARS-CoV-2 infection could be a key trigger for long COVID, new research has discovered.

6 Mar 2026