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Latest News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 18-Jun-2025 08:10 ET (18-Jun-2025 12:10 GMT/UTC)

Trends in county-level MMR vaccination coverage in children in the United States

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: This county-level dataset complements the state and national-level Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, confirming a widespread decline in measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination rates in the U.S. after the COVID-19 pandemic while revealing significant heterogeneity in vaccination patterns within and across states. This dataset can be used in spatial and statistical analyses to identify factors associated with low or declining MMR rates in U.S. counties and help inform targeted vaccination strategies to reduce the risk of measles outbreaks.

Journal: JAMA

New data shows MMR vaccination rate decline across US

Johns Hopkins University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new county-level dataset from Johns Hopkins University researchers reveals a national decline in the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination rate among U.S. children since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Out of 2,066 studied counties, 1,614 counties, 78%, reported drops in vaccinations and the average county-level vaccination rate fell 93.92% pre-pandemic to 91.26% post-pandemic—an average decline of 2.67%, moving further away from the 95% herd immunity threshold to predict or limit the spread of measles.

Journal: JAMA

NYU Abu Dhabi researchers develop paper-based diagnostic tool for rapid, affordable infectious disease detection

New York University
Reports and Proceedings

A team of scientists at NYU Abu Dhabi has developed a breakthrough paper-based diagnostic device that can detect COVID-19 and other infectious diseases in under 10 minutes, without the need for sophisticated lab equipment or trained personnel. The Radially Compartmentalized Paper Chip (RCP-Chip), engineered by researchers at the Advanced Microfluidics and Microdevices Laboratory (AMMLab), offers a fast, affordable, and portable solution for on-site screening of infectious diseases.

Journal: Advanced Sensor Research

At-home heart attacks and cardiac deaths on the rise since COVID-19 pandemic

Mass General Brigham
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Heart attacks are the leading cause of death globally, yet some statistics from many different countries suggest these events declined in frequency since the COVID-19 pandemic. Mass General Brigham researchers evaluated whether these cardiac trends reflect a true change in event rates, or if they reflect that more people are dying at home rather than in hospitals.

Journal: JAMA Network Open
Funder: NIH/National Institutes of Health

New diagnostic tool uses bioluminescence to detect viruses

Mass General Brigham
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Mass General Brigham researchers are shining a powerful new light into the viral darkness with the development of Luminescence CAscade-based Sensor (LUCAS), a rapid, portable, highly-sensitive diagnostic tool for processing complex biological samples. Compared to its diagnostic predecessors, LUCAS creates 500-fold stronger and 8-fold longer-lasting bioluminescence signals, overcoming longstanding challenges faced by point-of-care diagnostics. Their study published today in Nature Biomedical Engineering.

Journal: Nature Biomedical Engineering

Discover the hidden forces behind Japanese society — a must-read exploration of social conformity and power

Doshisha University
Book Announcement

The Politics of Conformity in Japan explores how dōchō atsuryoku—the pressure to conform—shapes Japanese society. Central to the book is seken, the “social gaze,” or unspoken social expectations, and kūki, the “atmosphere” that influences behavior. Through case studies like wartime Japan, the COVID-19 pandemic, and responses to sexual violence, the book reveals how conformity continues to impact individuals, institutions, governance, and justice in Japan. Insightful and thought-provoking, it shows how Japan’s social fabric is deeply woven with the power of conformity.　

Developmental and environmental factors early on may contribute to anxiety in adolescence

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Reports and Proceedings

In a Perspective, Mark Hanson and Peter Gluckman explore how maternal stress, caregiving quality, and early environmental conditions can shape the development of executive functions and emotional regulation in children, and how these factors contribute to the emergence of anxiety disorders in young people. Mounting evidence reveals a significant rise in anxiety disorders among adolescents ages 12 to 19, especially in developing countries like the United States, which cannot be fully explained by contemporary stressful events like the COVID-19 pandemic. This pattern suggests that broader longer-term societal or developmental factors are driving the growing prevalence of adolescent anxiety. Here, Hanson and Gluckman highlight how environmental conditions in the earliest stages of life – beginning even before birth – can significantly shape a child’s developing brain, particularly the systems responsible for emotional regulation and executive functioning. According to the authors, these early cues may "prepare" children for adversity, but if the anticipated threats never fully materialize as they grow, such heightened emotional responses may lead to anxiety disorders, especially in adolescence. This mismatch is further compounded by the rapid and dynamic social and technological changes young people now face. “Societies face an emerging burden of mental health issues, especially in young people. Although appropriate interventions are needed to help those already affected, preventative approaches are also critical,” write Hanson and Gluckman. “Solutions will need to adopt a lifecourse perspective, involving more cohesive thinking about parental and caregiver support and the early childhood years by policymakers across health, education, and social welfare."

Journal: Science

Study finds home healthcare agencies discontinuing telehealth post-pandemic

University of California - Irvine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Many home healthcare agencies adopted telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the absence of federal reimbursements for these services has led to an increasing number of providers discontinuing these options, a national survey conducted by the University of California, Irvine, and other institutions reveals. Results are published in Health Services Research.

Journal: Health Services Research

Researchers identify key symptoms of long COVID in young children

Mass General Brigham
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Mass General Brigham researchers found that symptoms such as lingering poor appetite, trouble sleeping and coughing were more common among children with long COVID

Journal: JAMA Pediatrics

Study says original COVID-19 vaccination did not stop immune system from fighting variants

University of Arizona Health Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Prior COVID-19 vaccination did not stop the immune system from mounting a protective response to the Delta and Omicron strains, though new mutation-specific antibody production dipped slightly, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Arizona Health Sciences and published in Nature Immunology.

Journal: Nature Immunology
Funder: NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases

Characterizing long COVID symptoms during early childhood

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: This cohort study identified symptom patterns and derived research indices that were distinct between the 2 age groups (infants/toddlers [0-2 years] vs preschool-aged children [3-5 years]) and differed from those previously identified in older ages, demonstrating the need to characterize long COVID separately across age ranges.

Journal: JAMA Pediatrics

Study finds significant declines in maternal mental health across US

Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine reveals a concerning decline in self-reported mental health among mothers in the United States between 2016 and 2023. Conducted by researchers at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, the study also found modest but measurable declines in self-reported physical health during the same period.

Journal: JAMA Internal Medicine
Funder: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Disrupting the residual triggers of COVID-19 in patients with long COVID

Cactus Communications
Peer-Reviewed Publication

SARS-CoV-2 persists in the epipharyngeal (a region behind the nasal cavity) mucosa of patients with long COVID. However, the impact of these persistent viral antigens on the epipharyngeal immune response remains less explored. Researchers from Japan have now mapped the immune activation triggered by these SARS-CoV-2 remnants and demonstrated how a simple outpatient procedure—epipharyngeal abrasive therapy (EAT)—can help clear the viral RNA, restore tissue function, and alleviate long COVID symptoms.

Journal: Scientific Reports
Funder: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

How Japan’s older adults adapted to healthcare challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic

Waseda University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, precautionary measures were swiftly adopted. While the early pandemic effects were studied extensively, little is known about long-term impacts on vulnerable groups like the elderly. Researchers in Japan analyzed healthcare use and socioeconomic disparities among older adults during the prolonged pandemic. Their findings reveal both resilience and inequality—offering crucial insights into how healthcare systems can adapt to maintain access for aging populations during extended public health emergencies.

Journal: Scientific Reports

90-day tariff break risks major shipping disruption, says report

Complexity Science Hub
Reports and Proceedings

The surprisingly announced 90-day tariff pause in the trade war between the US and China could destabilize global maritime trade more than the tariff increases imposed so far. While the tariff shock almost completely paralyzed trade between the world's two largest economies—with a drop in trade volumes at US ports of up to around 60 percent—there is now a threat of a “rebound effect”, an abrupt increase in demand up to 150 percent. The expected consequences are price increases, logistical bottlenecks, congestion, and delays in maritime transportation - especially on the US West Coast - similar to what was seen during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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