Researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine have identified a possible way to make longer lasting vaccines for respiratory viruses like influenza and the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The work, published March 25 in in the journal Cell Reports, focuses on T cells, a type of immune cell that helps control infections by killing virus-infected cells. Unlike antibodies — the basis of most current vaccines, which can lose effectiveness as viruses mutate — T cells recognize more stable parts of viruses, offering a path to broader protection.

First systematic review to track long-term trends across pre- and post-pandemic periods finds dramatic rise in screen use among children and adolescents.

New research led by the University of Plymouth (UK) demonstrates that clear messages can align public behaviour during a health crisis, effectively bridging gaps previously associated with political voting records. The research was carried out around the time of the COVID-19 pandemic and recruited more than 800 United States citizens who had voted for either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Presidential Election.

The findings enhance the understanding of the inflammation that accompanies aging, explaining how an otherwise minor cough can sometimes send an elderly person to the hospital.  

A new paper in Genome Biology and Evolution indicates that while the COVID-19 virus has developed rapidly since 2019, it has done so within limited genetic channels. These genetic limits have remained unchanged. Despite scientists’ earlier fears about dramatic, rapid evolution of the COVID-19 virus, it appears recent changes in the virus were relatively constrained; the virus altered by combining pre-existing mutations. The virus has not expanded the number of genetic routes it can take to evolve.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact young children’s executive function skills? 

Executive function skills are a set of inter-related processes that support attention, self-control, and goal-directed behavior. Executive function has been linked to positive outcomes across multiple domains of development. The skills associated with executive function develop rapidly during childhood and promote longer-term health, academic success, and wellbeing. Researchers from Harvard University were eager to learn how the pandemic affected children's developing executive function skills across time.

 Many patient surveys include both numerical ratings and written comments,  responses that are frequently analyzed separately, which can limit what researchers learn from the data. This report demonstrates a method for analyzing survey ratings and open-text comments together. Researchers used survey data from Alberta, Canada’s Long COVID Interprofessional Outpatient Program (IPOP), which provided multidisciplinary care for adults with COVID-19 infection and symptoms lasting at least 12 weeks.

Researchers analyzed data from the U.S. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a national telephone survey, to better understand how social isolation and physical isolation intersect with material deprivation, including financial strain and inadequate health care access. The study examined six preventive services: COVID-19, flu and pneumococcal vaccination, and breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screenings.