Cold, Flu & Cough

What is the Common Cold?

The common cold, also known as rhinopharyngitis, is a type of respiratory tract infection caused by a virus.

Does the 'Stomach Flu' Vaccine Prevent Type I Diabetes?

Walking Pneumonia Versus Common Cold

Influenza Infection in Animals

Walking Pneumonia Versus Common Cold

Risk Factors and Walking Pneumonia Prevention

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Survey reveals critical knowledge gaps in maternal health recommendations

Most Americans know that how well a mother takes care of herself before and during pregnancy affects the health of a baby, but many people remain unclear about some specific maternal health recommendations, including when to start avoiding alcohol, according to a new nationally representative survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania.

29 May 2026

Herbal cigarettes are not safer than regular tobacco alternatives

Herbal cigarettes, widely sold in India and abroad as natural, tobacco-free, and even therapeutic alternatives to conventional cigarettes, are not safer than regular tobacco cigarettes.

29 May 2026

Smokers undergoing lung cancer surgery face higher complication risks

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine have found that patients who continue to smoke ahead of lung cancer surgery have a higher risk of pulmonary complications, but their short-term mortality rate is similar to patients who were able to stop smoking before surgery.

28 May 2026

SLAS celebrates innovative new products, startups and scientific excellence at European conference in Vienna

SLAS, the Society of Laboratory Automation and Screening, after a six-year wait to reschedule the originally planned event in spring of 2020, welcomed 137 exhibitors and more than 1,500 registrants from more than 30 countries at its 2026 Europe Conference and Exhibition, May 19-21.

From Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) 27 May 2026

Climate change could expand chikungunya into temperate regions worldwide

Chikungunya ('to become contorted' in the Kimakonde language, named after the characteristic joint ache) is classified as one of the neglected tropical diseases by the World Health Organization.

27 May 2026

ICU pneumonia mortality rates remain elevated in developing nations

A scientific review published today in the NEJM Evidence journal, coordinated by the D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), evaluated outcomes of adults with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) in middle-income countries.

26 May 2026

Dog daycare outbreak exposes gaps in puppy leptospirosis vaccinations

A 2021 outbreak of leptospirosis that sickened more than 200 dogs in Los Angeles County reveals critical gaps in vaccination practices and raises broader concerns about the spread of the disease between animals and people, according to new research led by the University of California, Davis.

26 May 2026

How a tiny H5N1 dose triggers massive virus shedding in cow milk

Experimental infection studies in lactating Holstein cows showed that H5N1 B3.13 can infect the bovine mammary gland at doses as low as 10 TCID50, producing extremely high viral loads in milk. However, the virus did not transmit to sentinel cows through repeated exposure to contaminated milking equipment or through close contact under high-biocontainment conditions, suggesting that real-world dairy-farm spread depends on additional cofactors.

25 May 2026

Outdoor running combats winter vitamin D deficiency better than supplements

An EHU study says that vitamin D supplements can help to strengthen the immune system, but not to improve athletic performance.

25 May 2026

New computational pipeline improves effectiveness of pan-Ebola neutralizing antibodies

A team led by Professor Wei Yang at the National Institute of Pathogen Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, has developed a computational-experimental pipeline that synergistically optimizes antibody framework regions (FR) and complementarity-determining regions (CDR).

24 May 2026

New oral antiviral drug candidate targets measles and Croup syndrome

A new oral antiviral drug candidate has been developed for the treatment of diseases caused by orthoparamyxoviruses, such as measles and Croup syndrome, according to a study published by researchers in the Center for Translational Antiviral Research at Georgia State University.

22 May 2026

Boston Children's scientists create new booster-free mRNA vaccine strategy

In a new study published in Nature Immunology, researchers at Boston Children's Hospital demonstrated that pairing the original COVID-19 mRNA vaccine with an immune system enhancer, known as an adjuvant, extended the duration of the vaccine's protection in mice from a few months up to two years.

22 May 2026

AI-created miniproteins show promise for targeting hard-to-treat diseases

G protein-coupled receptors, or GPCRs, sit in the plasma membrane, the boundary that defines the inside and outside of a living cell. They communicate with nearly every physiological process in our bodies - from the ability to see and smell, to sensing of adrenaline, insulin, nutrients and medicines.

21 May 2026

Scientists capture immune cells attacking live melanoma cells in real time

Scientists at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research have captured, for the first time, 'housekeeping' immune cells actively attacking and engulfing live melanoma cells – a discovery that could change the way we approach treatment for one of Australia's most common and deadly cancers.

21 May 2026

Most Americans misunderstand which sexually transmitted infections have preventive vaccines

While data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that the total number of U.S. cases of three sexually transmitted infections (STIs) declined from 2022-24, infection rates remain 13% higher than a decade ago. CDC provisional data show more than 2.2 million U.S. cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis were reported in 2024.

21 May 2026

New vaccine approach targets broad protection against arenavirus infections

Scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have discovered that combining key vaccine ingredients could give the body the tools it needs to fight the entire family of arenaviruses with a single vaccine.

21 May 2026

Polymer-based immunotherapies enhance tumor targeting and immune activation

Conventional immune checkpoint inhibitors, such as anti-PD-1/PD-L1 and anti-CTLA-4 antibodies, can reinvigorate T cells but typically benefit less than 30% of patients.

21 May 2026

Wastewater tracking catches hospital fungus before patients show symptoms

A new UNLV-led wastewater surveillance study brings scientists one step closer in the global race to detect and deter skyrocketing cases of a potentially deadly drug-resistant fungus that puts hospital patients at risk of serious blood, heart, or brain infections.

20 May 2026

Cytokine-armored CAR-T cell therapy successfully attacks aggressive brain tumors in mice

Scientists at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed a new cytokine-armored CAR-T cell therapy that helps the immune system better attack aggressive brain tumors in mice while reducing dangerous side effects that have long limited immune-based treatments for glioblastoma, one of the deadliest and most treatment-resistant brain cancers.

20 May 2026