A new study analysing the immune response to COVID-19 in a Catalan cohort of health workers sheds light on an important question: does it matter whether a person was first infected or first vaccinated? According to the results, the order of the events does alter the outcome, at least when it comes to long-term protection against Omicron. The study, published in Nature Communications, was led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) in collaboration with the Catalan Health Institute (ICS) and the Jordi Gol Institute (IDIAP JG), and with support from the Daniel Bravo Andreu Private Foundation (FPDBA).

Dark-eyed juncos, a bird that typically live in mountain forests, have established thriving populations in Southern California cities, where they eat food people leave behind. A UCLA biologist studying the biological adaptations that help them survive an urban environment has found that the bill shape of this species became more like that of their non-urban counterparts in the absence of people during the pandemic closures at UCLA. After campus re-opened, the bills gradually returned to their previous shape, suggesting that the presence of people and their trash is driving the evolution of bill shape.

A new series for the rapid communication of important public health data

A study by the Federal University of São Paulo describes how SARS-CoV-2 interacts with the RNA of infected lung cells in an unprecedented way. The results may guide the search for new treatments and vaccines.

A new study published in the Journal of Sports Economics finds that the legalization of sports betting in the United States is associated with significant increases in violent and impulsive crime during and immediately after major professional sporting events. Analyzing incident-level crime data from 2017 to 2021, researchers examined crime patterns from the start of a game through four hours after its conclusion across the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL.

The study finds that states that legalized sports betting following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Murphy v. NCAA experienced increases in assaults, larceny and vehicle theft on game days, with crime rising by roughly 30–70% depending on game context. The largest spikes occurred after home games and when outcomes defied betting expectations, such as when underdogs won.

Importantly, the researchers also identify spillover effects: increases in crime were observed in neighboring states even when those states had not legalized sports betting, suggesting bettors may cross state lines to place wagers and bring associated stress back home.

The findings further suggest a shift in the mechanisms driving betting-related aggression following the COVID-19 pandemic. While earlier increases in crime were primarily linked to financial losses, more recent evidence points to non-financial factors, including heightened emotional stress during close, unpredictable or overtime games.

The study highlights potential social costs associated with the rapid expansion of legal sports betting and underscores the importance of considering public safety and consumer protections alongside revenue generation as more states weigh legalization.

Work-related factors play a significant and independent role in the risk of developing Long-COVID, shows a new study based on the COVICAT cohort and led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by “la Caixa” Foundation, in collaboration with the University of Turin and the Germans Trias i Pujol Institute (IGTP). The findings, published in BMJ Occupational & Environmental Medicine, highlight that a substantial share of Long-COVID could be prevented through targeted workplace measures and policies.

COVID-19 does not just affect the respiratory system, but also significantly alters the brain in people who have fully recovered from the infectious disease, highlighting the long-term neurological impact of the virus.

Australian scientists have identified the key genetic drivers behind long COVID, revealing why some people continue to experience debilitating symptoms long after their initial infection.

Pregnant people who received a COVID-19 vaccine were far less likely to experience severe illness or deliver their babies prematurely, according to a major new UBC-led study published in JAMA. Drawing on data from nearly 20,000 pregnancies across Canada, the research found that vaccination was strongly associated with lower risks of hospitalization, intensive care admission and preterm birth. These benefits persisted as the virus evolved from the Delta variant to Omicron, which has evolved into newer sublineages that still dominate today. 

About The Study: This study found that vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 prior to and during pregnancy, before COVID-19 diagnosis, was associated with a lower risk of severe maternal disease and preterm birth regardless of variant time period.