Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Experimental drug promotes weight loss by heating fat instead of suppressing appetite

An article published in the journal Nature Metabolism presents an experimental drug that stimulates adipose tissue cells to produce heat through a process known as thermogenesis, thereby promoting weight loss.

24 Jun 2025

Monitoring wastewater proves effective in forecasting COVID trends

Published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, a University of Minnesota research team demonstrated that measuring SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater continues to accurately predict COVID-19 infections in a community.

24 Jun 2025

Smartwatches could help stop pandemics before they start

Smartwatch features that measure heart rates, oxygen levels, fitness levels and sleep quality have been marketed as valuable tools for people who are eager to monitor their health.

23 Jun 2025

Many older people embrace vaccines. Research is proving them right.

Kim Beckham, an insurance agent in Victoria, Texas, had seen friends suffer so badly from shingles that she wanted to receive the first approved shingles vaccine as soon as it became available, even if she had to pay for it out-of-pocket.

23 Jun 2025

UK heatwave expected to cause 570 deaths by end of weekend

About 570 people in England and Wales are expected to die as a result of high temperatures from Thursday 19 June 2025 to Sunday 22 June 2025, a rapid study has estimated.

21 Jun 2025

AI reveals how H5N1 virus is evolving to evade human immunity

The H5N1 avian influenza virus has infected birds and mammals around the world. As of June 2025, 70 people have been infected, and 1 person has died in the United States.

20 Jun 2025

Monitoring airborne fungal spores predicts flu and COVID-19 surges

Monitoring fungal spores in the outdoor air can predict surges in flu and COVID-19 infections, especially during the fall, according to a new study.

20 Jun 2025

Herpes virus reshapes the human genome's architecture to aid its replication

Viruses are entirely dependent on their hosts to reproduce. They ransack living cells for parts and energy and hijack the host's cellular machinery to make new copies of themselves.

19 Jun 2025

New dual-adjuvant vaccine strategy offers hope in the fight against HIV

In the quest to develop an effective HIV vaccine, scientists from Scripps Research have made a significant leap forward. They found that a two-part delivery strategy can train the immune system to produce a stronger response to HIV, offering new hope in the fight against one of the world's most elusive viruses.

19 Jun 2025

Immune cell signatures explain variations in systemic sclerosis severity

Treating rare diseases can be complicated at the best of times, and it gets even more complicated when different patients with the same disease exhibit different symptoms.

18 Jun 2025

Nurse practitioners critical in treating older adults as ranks of geriatricians shrink

On Fridays, Stephanie Johnson has a busy schedule, driving her navy-blue Jeep from one patient’s home to the next, seeing eight in all.

18 Jun 2025

Why doctors say measles isn’t just back, it’s a warning sign for us all

A new editorial outlines the alarming resurgence of measles in the U.S., with over 880 cases reported by April 2025, largely driven by domestic transmission and declining vaccination coverage. The authors warn that without urgent public health action, measles could become endemic again, exposing broader vulnerabilities in vaccine-preventable disease defenses.

17 Jun 2025