Positive-strand RNA viruses extensively remodel the cellular endomembrane system to form specialized viral replication organelles (ROs). Coronaviruses generate double membrane vesicles (DMVs) that function as platforms for viral RNA (vRNA) synthesis and protect vRNA from detection by the host innate immune system. Coronaviruses hijack the host GBF1-ARF1-COPI vesicle transport pathway to utilize Golgi-derived membranes for promoting DMV formation.

Optimal containment measures exhibit a clear threshold depending on the severity of the disease

UCLA researchers discovered that a lesser-known SARS-CoV-2 protein called nucleocapsid can amplify inflammatory signals in macrophages, immune cells that help detect viruses and coordinate the body’s early response.

A research team led by Professor Hitoshi Yamamoto of Rissho University analyzed five years of longitudinal panel survey data collected between 2020 and 2024 and examined how vaccine-related conspiracy beliefs were associated with media skepticism during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study's results appeared in Scientific Reports on August 8, 2026.

Low levels of the amino acid arginine are associated with a number of diseases, including colon cancer. Building on earlier work, researchers have discovered that an arginine-deficient diet stalls the production of the MHC-1 protein, which alerts the immune system to dangers such as a mutating cell or an invading virus. However, increasing arginine levels through diet boosts the number of MHC-I proteins, which suppresses colorectal tumors and enhances immunity to the flu and Covid.

Extreme fatigue, a racing pulse, shortness of breath, brain fog, aching joints—the symptoms of long COVID can vary widely, change unpredictably, and be difficult to even recognize as signs of the condition. Long COVID also remains difficult to treat, as no standard treatments yet exist. To develop better care for long COVID, scientists need to understand what drives it. But its complex landscape of symptoms arises from equally complex biological mechanisms that may differ considerably from patient to patient. At Gladstone Institutes, new tools and discoveries are rapidly filling in the blanks. Most recently, researchers in the lab of Nadia Roan, PhD, found evidence that people with long COVID have distinctive changes in immune cells specialized to protect against the virus that causes long COVID, alongside similar changes in cells that protect against two herpesviruses. The findings appear in Cell Reports Medicine.