The immune system responds more strongly to the strain of a virus that it first met, weakening response to other strains. Can this ‘imprinting’ be overcome? By Rachel Brazil During the summer of 2022, with the Omicron coronavirus variant running rampant, friends and...
Long COVID: major findings, mechanisms and recommendations
by Hannah E. Davis, et al. Abstract Long COVID is an often debilitating illness that occurs in at least 10% of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections. More than 200 symptoms have been identified with impacts on multiple organ systems....
SARS-CoV-2 infection and persistence in the human body and brain at autopsy
By Sydney R. Stein, et al. Abstract Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is known to cause multi-organ dysfunction1,2,3 during acute infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), with some patients experiencing prolonged symptoms, termed...
What scientists have learnt from COVID lockdowns
Restrictions on social contact stemmed disease spread, but weighing up the ultimate costs and benefits of lockdown measures is a challenge. By Dyani Lewis In March 2021, a doctor in Brazil named Ricardo Savaris published a now-discredited research paper that went...
How nasal-spray vaccines could change the pandemic
Vaccines inhaled through the mouth or nose might stop the coronavirus in its tracks, although there’s little evidence from human trials so far. By Emily Waltz Editor's note: Indian regulators approved Bharat Biotech's intranasal vaccine for emergency use on...
How long is COVID infectious? What scientists know so far
Those with SARS-CoV-2 are often advised to isolate for only a few days. But evidence is mounting that some people can continue to pass on the virus for much longer. By David Adam When the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) halved its recommended...
COVID and smell loss: answers begin to emerge
Researchers are learning more about how the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus stifles smell — and how they might revive it. By Michael Marshall Researchers are finally making headway in understanding how the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus causes loss of smell. And a multitude of...
Communicating doctors’ consensus persistently increases COVID-19 vaccinations
By Vojtěch Bartoš, et al. Abstract The reluctance of people to get vaccinated represents a fundamental challenge to containing the spread of deadly infectious diseases1,2, including COVID-19. Identifying misperceptions that can fuel vaccine hesitancy and creating...
The pandemic’s true health cost: how much of our lives has COVID stolen?
Researchers are trying to calculate how many years have been lost to disability and death. By Holly Else How do you count the cost of a pandemic? COVID-19 has killed an estimated 15 million people since it emerged at the end of 2019, but its impact on health...
Coronavirus ‘ghosts’ found lingering in the gut
Scientists are studying whether long COVID could be linked to viral fragments found in the body months after initial infection. By Heidi Ledford In the chaos of the first months of the coronavirus pandemic, oncologist and geneticist Ami Bhatt was intrigued by...
COVID is spreading in deer. What does that mean for the pandemic?
Hundreds of white-tailed deer in North America have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Here’s why scientists aren’t panicking, yet. By Smriti Mallapaty Researchers prepare to swab a white-tailed deer in College Station, Texas, to check for SARS-CoV-2.Credit: Sergio...
The next variant: three key questions about what’s after Omicron
The emergence of a new variant is just a matter of time, scientists say. By Heidi Ledford Now what? After the Omicron variant brought a fresh wave of SARS-CoV-2 infections and anxiety at the start of 2022, some nations are starting to record a decline in...
Heart-disease risk soars after COVID — even with a mild case
Massive study shows a long-term, substantial rise in risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke, after a SARS-CoV-2 infection. By Saima May Sidik with Commentary from Michael Lerner We read in the media that we're moving past Covid. The word is...
How sneezing hamsters sparked a COVID outbreak in Hong Kong
Hamsters are only the second species known to have spread SARS-CoV-2 to humans. By Smriti Mallapaty Pet hamsters probably carried the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 into Hong Kong and sparked a human COVID-19 outbreak, according to a genomic analysis of viral samples...
What the Omicron wave is revealing about human immunity
Immunologists have raced to work out how to protect against multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2. Their research has yielded a wealth of insights and a few surprises. By Cassandra Willyard No one anticipated how quickly Omicron would sweep the globe. Although the surge...