A research team at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, has identified a previously unknown cellular mechanism crucial to the replication of coronaviruses: c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) is activated during infection with human coronavirus HCoV-229E and mediates the phosphorylation of the viral nucleocapsid (N) protein, an integral step in the virus cycle. These results aid in better understanding virus-host interactions and may open new approaches to exploring antiviral strategies in the long term. The team led by Dr. Yannick Brüggemann and Professor Eike Steinmann reports its findings in the journal npj Viruses from September 18, 2025.

Summary

Researchers at EMBL-EBI and collaborators have developed SPRTA, a new way to measure confidence in evolutionary family trees at a pandemic scale. 

SPRTA allows scientists to quickly identify which parts of these trees are reliable, where uncertainty remains, and what could be alternative evolutionary histories.

By helping to track how pathogens spread and evolve, SPRTA could improve responses to future pandemics.

The study provides a new perspective: what matters is not only which previous diseases a person has, but also the order in which they appeared and how they interact. This approach makes it possible to identify risk profiles for long COVID that had not been detected until now. The research was conducted within the framework of the COVICAT study, coordinated in collaboration with ISGlobal.

The COVID-19 pandemic has provided researchers with a wealth of information on contemporary successes and failures in combating an emerging pathogen. This study outlines a total of 22 opportunities and strategies based on urban functionality and typology to help communities better prepare for and mitigate the effects of the next pandemic.

A new international study led by Bar-Ilan University’s Azrieli Faculty of Medicine reveals a global decline in parental trust in childhood vaccines since the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to lower immunization rates and a resurgence of measles outbreaks in Israel and the UK.

Published in Vaccine, the study surveyed over 2,000 parents and found that MMR and DTP vaccination rates dropped significantly after the pandemic. In the UK, MMR coverage fell from 97.3% to 93.6%, and in Israel from 94.3% to 91.6%. Notably, 5–6.6% of parents who vaccinated older children before COVID-19 chose not to vaccinate younger ones afterward.

Lead author Prof. Michael Edelstein warned that even small drops can undermine herd immunity, fueling outbreaks: the UK recorded 3,000 measles cases in 2024, while Israel has seen 1,800 cases and eight child deaths in 2025.

The main cause of hesitancy is fear of vaccine side effects, which has intensified post-pandemic. The study also found sharper declines among UK parents of Asian descent and in Israel’s ultra-Orthodox and Arab communities.

Researchers urge targeted communication, education, and community initiatives to rebuild trust and prevent the loss of decades of progress in disease prevention.

Bar-Ilan University is a leading Israeli research institution known for innovations in medicine, AI, sustainability, and community engagement.