Cold and Flu News

April 25, 2024

Top Headlines

Vaccine Breakthrough Means No More Chasing Strains

Apr. 15, 2024 — Scientists at UC Riverside have demonstrated a new, RNA-based vaccine strategy that is effective against any strain of a virus and can be used safely even by babies or the ...

New Drug Prevents Flu-Related Inflammation and Lung Damage

Apr. 10, 2024 — Findings show a newly created drug can prevent runaway inflammation while still allowing the immune system to handle the virus, even when given late into ...

Researchers Develop More Broadly Protective Coronavirus Vaccine

Apr. 1, 2024 — Researchers have developed a new vaccine that offers broad protection against not only SARS-CoV-2 variants, but also other bat sarbecoviruses. The groundbreaking trivalent vaccine has shown complete protection with no trace of virus in the lungs, ...

Humans Pass More Viruses to Other Animals Than We Catch from Them

Mar. 25, 2024 — Humans pass on more viruses to domestic and wild animals than we catch from them, according to a major new analysis of viral ...

Latest Headlines

updated 3:43pm EDT

Metabolic Health Before Vaccination Determines Effectiveness of Anti-Flu Response

Apr. 18, 2024 — The annual influenza vaccine has become less effective on average over time. One reason may be reduced vaccine efficacy in people with obesity than ...

Just Ask: Patients in the ER Are Willing to Get a Flu Shot

Mar. 26, 2024 — Simply asking patients to get the flu vaccine, and combining it with helpful video and print messages, is enough to persuade many who visit emergency departments to roll up their sleeves, according ...

Researchers a Step Closer to a Cure for HIV

Mar. 26, 2024 — A new study shows virus-like particle can effectively 'shock and kill' latent HIV reservoir in those living with chronic ...

Research Finds a Direct Communication Path Between the Lungs and the Brain

Mar. 21, 2024 — New research finds a direct communication path between the lungs and the brain which may change the way we treat respiratory infections and chronic conditions. The lungs are using the same sensors ...

Newborn Piglets Serve as a Model for Studying Influenza

Mar. 18, 2024 — Although prevention and treatment strategies are available for influenza, they are not sufficient for vulnerable populations such as young children and newborns. A team of researchers has studied ...

Addressing Both Flu and COVID-19 Through a Single, Multitasking Injection

Mar. 18, 2024 — Researchers have identified new drug candidates for preventing and treating major respiratory viral ...

Common Viruses Trigger Most Cases of Intussusception in Children

Mar. 14, 2024 — Viral infections trigger more cases of intussusception, the common cause of bowel blockages in young children, than previously thought, according to a new ...

New Antibodies Target 'Dark Side' of Influenza Virus Protein

Mar. 1, 2024 — Researchers have identified antibodies targeting a hard-to-spot region of the influenza virus, shedding light on the relatively unexplored 'dark side' of the neuraminidase (NA) protein head. The ...

How Children's Birthdays Help Show the Best Month for Flu Shots

Feb. 22, 2024 — First large-scale analysis of optimal timing for flu shots finds October is the best month for children to get vaccinated against influenza. Study of 800,000 pediatrician visits leverages links ...

'Hexaplex' Vaccine Aims to Boost Flu Protection

Feb. 26, 2024 — A research team has developed a recombinant protein flu vaccine candidate. It utilizes a nanoliposome vaccine platform that underwent phase 2 and phase 3 clinical trials in South Korea and the ...

Changes in Flu Circulation Means U.S. Likely to See Vaccines Move from Quadrivalent to Trivalent

Feb. 29, 2024 — U.S. flu vaccines are likely to move from quadrivalent to trivalent due to a change in circulating influenza viruses, according to a new ...

Flu Vaccines Were Effective in 2022-2023 Flu Season, Studies Find

Feb. 19, 2024 — The prospect of the worrisome triple threat of COVID, RSV and flu was assuaged last year by the effectiveness of flu vaccines. Two recent studies from the Centers for Disease Control and ...

Double Risk of Dementia After Mouth Ulcer Virus

Feb. 14, 2024 — People who have had the herpes virus at some point in their lives are twice as likely to develop dementia compared to those who have never been infected. A new study confirms previous research on ...

Scientists Discover Hidden Army of Lung Flu Fighters

Feb. 14, 2024 — Scientists have long thought of the fluid-filled sac around our lungs merely as a cushion from external damage. Turns out, it also houses potent virus-eating cells that rush into the lungs during flu ...

Interactions Between Flu Subtypes Predict Epidemic Severity More Than Virus Evolution

Feb. 13, 2024 — Researchers have shed new light on how viral evolution, population immunity, and the co-circulation of other flu viruses shape seasonal flu ...

New Approach for Fast and Cost-Effective Pathogen Detection

Feb. 7, 2024 — The ability to detect diseases at an early stage or even predict their onset would be of tremendous benefit to doctors and patients alike. A research team now develops intelligent, miniaturized ...

Flu Virus Variants Resistant to New Antiviral Drug Candidate Lose Pathogenicity

Feb. 6, 2024 — Influenza A viruses with induced resistance to a new candidate antiviral drug were found to be impaired in cell culture and weakened in animals, according to a new ...

Virus Ancestry Could Aid Bid to Predict Next Pandemic, Study Finds

Feb. 5, 2024 — Virus family history could help scientists identify which strains have potential to become the so-called Disease X that causes the next global ...

DNA Particles That Mimic Viruses Hold Promise as Vaccines

Jan. 30, 2024 — Using a DNA-based delivery particle, researchers created a vaccine that can induce a strong antibody response against ...

Gut Microbiota Influence Severity of Respiratory Viral Infection

Jan. 30, 2024 — The composition of microbiota found in the gut influences how susceptible mice are to respiratory virus infections and the severity of these ...

'Exhalation' System Improves Symptoms for Most Common Form of Chronic Sinus Infections

Jan. 18, 2024 — An exhalation delivery system that uses a patient's own breath to carry the anti-inflammatory compound fluticasone (EDS-FLU) directly to the sinuses reduced chronic sinus infection (sinusitis) ...

New Vaccine Design Uses Immunity Against Influenza to Offer Faster Protection Against Emerging Pathogens

Jan. 17, 2024 — Imagine a vaccine that speeds up the production of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that spreads COVID-19. A research team has developed such a vaccine by using preexisting immunity to a ...

Glowing COVID-19 Diagnostic Test Prototype Produces Results in One Minute

Jan. 17, 2024 — Cold, flu and COVID-19 season brings that now-familiar ritual: swab, wait, look at the result. But what if, instead of taking 15 minutes or more, a test could quickly determine whether you have ...

Experiments in Infant Mice Suggest New Way to Prevent Spread of Flu in People

Jan. 11, 2024 — Scientists have long known that some viruses and bacteria begin infections by latching first onto sugar molecules on the surfaces of cells lining the sinuses and throat of mammals, including humans. ...

New AI Tool Accurately Detects COVID-19 from Chest X-Rays

Jan. 8, 2024 — Researchers have developed a groundbreaking artificial intelligence (AI) system that can rapidly detect COVID-19 from chest X-rays with more than 98 percent ...

New Type of Antibody Shows Promise Against Multiple Forms of Flu Virus

Dec. 21, 2023 — Researchers have identified a previously unrecognized class of antibodies -- immune system proteins that protect against disease -- that appear capable of neutralizing multiple forms of flu virus. ...

'Long Flu' Has Emerged as a Consequence Similar to Long COVID

Dec. 15, 2023 — New research comparing the viruses that cause the flu and COVID-19 shows that people hospitalized with seasonal influenza also can suffer long-term, negative health effects, especially involving ...

How Immune Cells Recognize Their Enemies

Dec. 8, 2023 — In order for immune cells to do their job, they need to know against whom they should direct their attack. Research teams a have identified new details in this ...

Tiny Llama Nanobodies Neutralize Different Noroviruses: Can They Improve Human Anti-Viral Therapies?

Dec. 7, 2023 — Researchers investigated a novel strategy to neutralize human noroviruses. They tested the ability of tiny antibodies produced by llamas, called nanobodies, to effectively neutralize human norovirus ...

To Build Better Tuberculosis Vaccines, Researchers Develop New Model by Leveraging an Old Vaccine

Nov. 29, 2023 — Scientists report a promising new approach to speed vaccine testing for ...