EurekAlert! In the Spotlight

Welcome to In the Spotlight, where each month we shine a light on something exciting, timely, or simply fascinating from the world of science.

This September, we're exploring the science behind vaccines. From how they train our immune systems to fight disease to the research shaping their future, vaccines offer an opportunity to discover the science helping protect individuals and communities around the world.

Latest News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 20-Oct-2026 04:16 ET (20-Oct-2026 08:16 GMT/UTC)

6-Jul-2026

Korea University College of Medicine Vaccine Innovation Center selected to lead KDCA-funded hantavirus vaccine development project

Korea University College of Medicine
Business Announcement

The Vaccine Innovation Center at Korea University College of Medicine has been selected by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) as the lead institution for a national hantavirus vaccine development project.

The initiative is part of the Korean government’s strategic efforts to establish a rapid-response vaccine development system capable of producing vaccine prototypes within 200 days of the emergence of a future pandemic. The Center will oversee the overall project, working in collaboration with biotechnology companies.

6-Jul-2026

Tuberculosis vaccine changes brain’s immune environment and Alzheimer’s biomarkers in older adults

Mass General Brigham
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New research led by Mass General Brigham investigators suggests that the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine — which is delivered through the skin to prevent tuberculosis — may remodel the human brain’s immune environment, offering a potential biological explanation for previously observed associations between BCG vaccination and lower Alzheimer's disease risk.

Journal: Communications Medicine
Funder: Alzheimer's Association, Cure Alzheimer's Fund, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center

1-Jul-2026

COVID-19 vaccine boosters may help protect against future animal coronaviruses

University of Cambridge
Peer-Reviewed Publication

COVID-19 vaccine boosters not only protect against SARS‑CoV‑2 – the virus behind the most recent pandemic – but may also help protect against some future coronaviruses that risk spreading from animals to humans, Cambridge researchers have shown. In a related study, the team has shown that an individual’s first exposure to SARS‑CoV‑2 ‘locks in’ their immune response, impeding their ability to respond to future variants, even when vaccinated.

Journal: npj Vaccines
Funder: Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council, Hong Kong Jockey Club, Addenbrooke's Charitable Trust, NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre

30-Jun-2026

Billions of doses later: Global review confirms mRNA vaccines are safe, effective and full of promise

University of British Columbia
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Comprehensive review brings together global evidence to strengthen public trust and counter misinformation as mRNA vaccines expand to prevent and treat more diseases.

Journal: The Lancet
Funder: Canada Research Chairs, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, BC Children’s Hospital Foundation

30-Jun-2026

The Lancet: Currently approved mRNA vaccines are safe and effective, with promise for future disease prevention and treatment, new review confirms

The Lancet
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A comprehensive new review published in The Lancet affirms that currently approved mRNA vaccines are safe and highly effective at preventing infectious diseases, including COVID-19. The new review also suggests that mRNA vaccine technologies have potential as new options for treating and preventing other health conditions and diseases, including influenza, RSV, cancer, and autoimmune conditions.

Journal: The Lancet

30-Jun-2026

Study: Three-in-one vaccine shows promise against ‘tripledemic’

University at Buffalo
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A single-shot vaccine under development at the University at Buffalo could protect against flu, COVID-19 and RSV simultaneously. In a study published Friday (June 26) in Science Advances, the researchers found that their three-in-one vaccine triggered protective immunity against all three respiratory diseases in mice, ferrets and cotton rats.

Journal: Science Advances

30-Jun-2026

Computer scientists develop a new AI tool that rivals AlphaFold 3 in mapping RNA

Virginia Tech
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The method, called RNAbpFlow, was described in a study published on June 30 in Nature Methods, among the most selective journals in computational life sciences.

Journal: Nature Methods

30-Jun-2026

Repurposed epilepsy drug could be used to boost vaccine protection among elderly, study finds

University of Cambridge
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists have shown that a drug commonly used to treat epilepsy could be repurposed to significantly boost the response to vaccines in humans, helping protect those for whom the vaccine is less effective, such as the elderly or immunocompromised.

Journal: Nature Communications
Funder: Wellcome Trust, Beit Trust, National Institute for Health Research