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Peer-reviewed Research

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 2-Sep-2025 20:11 ET (3-Sep-2025 00:11 GMT/UTC)

Critical step in COVID viral infection identified

Texas Biomedical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at Texas Biomedical Research Institute and University of Chicago have uncovered a mechanism that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, uses to protect itself inside the body as it works to replicate and infect more cells. Without this protective mechanism, viral infection is dramatically reduced.

Journal: Nature Communications

Longitudinal outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth physical fitness

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: In this cohort study of schools, a COVID-19–related decline in youth physical fitness was observed. Compared with pre-pandemic and post-pandemic periods, cardiorespiratory fitness and musculoskeletal fitness healthy fitness zone achievement were significantly lower during the pandemic, but the reduction did not appear to be associated with extended remote or hybrid environments.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

Bat viruses similar to MERS have potential to jump to humans

Washington State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A group of bat viruses closely related to the deadly Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) could be one small mutation away from being capable of spilling over into human populations and potentially causing the next pandemic.

Journal: Nature Communications
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

Global study: COVID-19 and adenoviral vaccines tied to GBS risk, not mRNA vaccines

University of Auckland
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Global study: COVID-19 and adenoviral vaccines tied to GBS risk, not mRNA vaccines

Journal: Vaccine

New mRNA vaccine is more effective and less costly to develop, Pitt study finds

University of Pittsburgh
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new type of mRNA vaccine is more scalable and adaptable to continuously evolving viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and H5N1, according to a study by researchers at University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health and the Pennsylvania State University. The study was published today in NPJ Vaccines.

Journal: npj Vaccines
Funder: Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University

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

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

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

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