EurekAlert! COVID-19 Online Newsroom - Latest News Releases

Latest News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 21-Oct-2026 15:17 ET (21-Oct-2026 19:17 GMT/UTC)

Computationally designed peptide illuminates coronavirus protease activity

Maximum Academic Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team has computationally designed a synthetic peptide that enables modular detection of the enzymatic activity of coronavirus 3C-like protease (3CLPro), an enzyme essential for viral replication and maturation.

Journal: Engineering in Life Sciences

Chonnam National University study reveals how environmental responsibility improves financial performance

Chonnam National University, The Research Information Management Team, Office of Research Promotion
Peer-Reviewed Publication

As consumers increasingly favor environmentally responsible businesses, companies are under growing pressure to turn sustainability into a competitive advantage. A new study shows that environmental responsibility improves financial performance indirectly by increasing sales, identifying a key mechanism that has received little attention. The effect was strongest among large Chaebol firms and became more pronounced after the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the growing influence of green consumerism on business success.

Journal: Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management

Sugar molecule could help protect against a dangerous hospital fungus

University of Exeter
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researcher have identified a sugar structure that corresponds to a component of the C. auris surface. The molecule is a manmade versoion of the same structure that is found in the fungus, and it can be specifically recognised by the immune system, binding in a way that helps to direct the immune response e specifically against the fungus.

The sugar structure serves as the basis for a vaccine candidate and for protective antibodies. In addition, the researchers used one of these antibodies to develop a prototype for a rapid test to detect multiple Candida species in a lateral flow device format – similar to those used to detect the Covid virus..

Journal: Angewandte Chemie

Researchers map how antibodies neutralize SARS-CoV-2 and how the virus escapes them

Chinese Academy of Sciences Headquarters
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers led by Prof. WANG Qihui and Prof. George F. Gao from the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have mapped how antibodies target a key region of the virus's spike protein, how they neutralize the virus, and how emerging variants escape them.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

BMJ Group retracts research published in 2024 on excess deaths

BMJ Group
Peer-Reviewed Publication

BMJ Group has retracted a data analysis highlighting excess deaths in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand in the wake of the pandemic.

Improvisational theatre, meditation, and games support anxious teens

Université de Genève
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Emotional difficulties among young people have increased, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic. In this context, developing social and emotional skills can help strengthen their ability to cope with challenges. A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), in collaboration with UniDistance Suisse, the University of Fribourg and Geneva University Hospitals (HUG), examined the effects of regular classroom practice of improvisational theatre, mindfulness meditation and board games designed to explore emotions. Their findings show that these activities have a protective effect on the mental health and self-efficacy of adolescents with the highest levels of anxiety. Improvisational theatre, in particular, fosters the development of empathy and collaboration, regardless of students' anxiety levels. The findings have been published in Social and Emotional Learning: Research, Practice, and Policy.

Journal: Social and Emotional Learning Research Practice and Policy

Golgi-derived COPI vesicles drive coronavirus replication organelle biogenesis

SciOpen
Peer-Reviewed Publication

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.

Journal: hLife

Taking appropriate protective measures during pandemics

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
Peer-Reviewed Publication

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

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Beyond COVID-19: Fundamental principles that shape pandemics

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization have compiled ten fundamental mechanisms governing the course of pandemics from various disciplines.

Journal: EClinicalMedicine

Mental health symptom changes by sex or gender before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About this Study: This systematic review and meta-analysis assesses changes in mental health symptoms from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic by sex and gender.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

Night shift work linked to a higher risk of long COVID

Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Night work and chronic insomnia may increase the risk of developing long COVID, according to a new study led by ISGlobal, in collaboration with the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP). The findings highlight the importance of healthy sleep habits in preventing long COVID and other post-acute infectious syndromes.

Funder: Spanish Ministry of Science & Innovation, Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa 2019-2023 Program, Generalitat de Catalunya

A lesser-known SARS-CoV-2 protein may offer clues to long COVID symptoms

University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

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.

Severe COVID-19 reactivates dormant viruses, study finds

Boston Children's Hospital
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Chronically infecting viruses — such as Epstein Barr, cytomegalovirus (CMV), and herpes virus — are common, and often innocuous and asymptomatic. However, emerging evidence suggests their reactivation may contribute to autoimmune disease and other chronic conditions. In a new Nature study involving 15 biomedical research institutions across the United States, Boston Children’s Hospital researchers and their collaborators have discovered that COVID-19 reactivates certain dormant viruses in hospitalized patients. These findings expand understanding of chronically infecting viruses and could inform development of strategies to combat their reactivation.

Journal: Nature

How do vaccine conspiracy beliefs develop?

Rissho University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

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.

Journal: Scientific Reports

Epidemiology of Kawasaki disease after the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan 2023-2024

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About the Study: In this nationwide cohort study of KD in Japan, KD incidence rebounded after the relaxation of COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions, with age-dependent patterns. Nonpharmaceutical interventions (eg, mask-wearing) during the pandemic may explain the greater rebound pattern observed in older children; however, the minimal changes in infants suggest different exposure pathways to potential KD triggers. These findings support an age-stratified approach to KD pathogenesis research, distinguishing infants from older children.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

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