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Latest News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 19-Oct-2026 15:16 ET (19-Oct-2026 19:16 GMT/UTC)

8-Oct-2026

Eric and Wendy Schmidt announce global public health nonprofit to improve systems that monitor, identify, respond to health threats

Schmidt Global Health
Meeting Announcement

Eric and Wendy Schmidt announced today Schmidt Global Health, a nonprofit aimed at improving public health by strengthening the systems and advancing the technology used to monitor, identify and respond to emerging disease threats worldwide.

Wendy Schmidt will address the World Health Summit in Berlin and a livestream audience online at 11 a.m. CEST on Tuesday, Oct. 13 to discuss the organization’s work.

Funder: Eric and Wendy Schmidt
Meeting: World Health Summit

8-Oct-2026

Value-aligned messages increased COVID-19 vaccination intentions, study finds

Oregon State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Vaccine-hesitant adults were more likely to consider getting a COVID-19 vaccine when public health messages acknowledged distrust of government and affirmed values such as personal liberty, a new study found.

Journal: PLOS One

7-Oct-2026

American Journal of Public Health study examines political differences in perceptions of vaccine safety and effectiveness

American Public Health Association
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A national survey study examined how political affiliation and perceptions of science and scientists relate to perceived safety and effectiveness of measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR), influenza, and COVID-19 vaccines. The findings suggest that vaccine communication may benefit from addressing specific perceptions of science and scientists, including whether science is viewed as beneficial, credible, unbiased, and prudent.

Journal: American Journal of Public Health

7-Oct-2026

How neurotic people struggled more in the COVID-19 pandemic: they perceived the risk as higher, exercised less, and drank more alcohol

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

How neurotic people struggled more in the COVID-19 pandemic: they perceived the risk as higher, exercised less, and drank more alcohol

Journal: PLOS One

7-Oct-2026

Personality traits influence level of lasting distress during a crisis, USC-led study finds

University of Southern California
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An individual’s personality, especially how strongly they react to uncertainty, may help indicate how vulnerable they are to prolonged mental distress during a major crisis, according to a new USC-led study. An analysis of several years of nationally representative U.S. data found that people scoring higher in neuroticism experienced larger and more persistent increases in anxiety and depression symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic than people scoring lower in the trait.

Journal: PLOS One

7-Oct-2026

Scientists identify gene signatures in children with severe COVID-19 infection

University of Southampton
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers have identified patterns of gene activity associated with severe COVID-19 in children that are shared with other serious respiratory infections.

Journal: BMC Infectious Diseases

5-Oct-2026

Even modest post-infection complications can make expanded vaccine coverage cost effective: New modelling

University of British Columbia
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New modelling led by interdisciplinary scientists at the University of British Columbia (UBC) could help public health officials better factor in the long-term impacts of infectious disease when determining optimum vaccine coverage rates.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Funder: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Canadian Institutes of Health Research

1-Oct-2026

COVID-19 immunity may help protect against other bat coronaviruses

The Pirbright Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

People who recovered from COVID-19 infection or were vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 are more likely to have immunity to other closely related bat coronaviruses that could have the potential to threaten future human health.

Journal: PLOS Biology

1-Oct-2026

Spatial map of severe COVID-19 lungs identifies macrophage neighborhoods linked to fibrosis

Science Exploration Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The study, published in Myeloid Cells, provides a detailed view of how immune and structural cells are arranged within severely damaged lungs. Rather than treating all macrophages as a single population, the work suggests that their molecular features and potential roles may depend strongly on where they are located in the tissue and the local stage of lung injury.

Funder: F.R.S.-FNRS Incentive Grant for Scientific Research, FRFS-Welbio, FRFS-Welbio, European Research Council, Research Project, Research Credit Grant of the F.R.S.-FNRS, FRFS-Welbio Advanced Grant, ERC Consolidator Grant, the Baillet Latour Fund, the European Regional Development Fund

30-Sep-2026

People with long COVID who used a noninvasive magnetic therapy headset show improved cognitive function and mood

The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Clinical trial led by Mount Sinai researchers showed sustained improvements in working memory, verbal learning, processing speed, and emotional well-being

Journal: Brain Communications

30-Sep-2026

Viral infections can accelerate the progression of ALS, McMaster researchers find

McMaster University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study out of McMaster University suggests that common viral infections — like influenza or COVID-19 — may accelerate the onset and progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.

Journal: Nature Communications

29-Sep-2026

Love Your Lungs Day draws attention to important health issue for Phoenix residents

American College of Chest Physicians
Business Announcement

Declared by the mayor of Phoenix, October 18, 2026, will be Love Your Lungs Day to raise awareness for lung health and show appreciation for those working in respiratory care.

28-Sep-2026

Rare C-to-G mutations occurred at an unexpectedly high frequency during the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 delta variant

University of Tsukuba
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A researcher at University of Tsukuba analyzed mutation patterns in the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant. Two of the seven amino acid substitutions that emerged with the Delta variant resulted from cytosine-to-guanine (C-to-G) nucleotide substitutions, a mutation type that is among the rarest observed during SARS-CoV-2 evolution. A comparison with other major variants and within-lineage viral evolution revealed that the frequency was significantly higher than expected, indicating an unusual mutational pattern in the Delta spike protein. These findings offer new insight into the evolutionary processes associated with the emergence of highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variants.

25-Sep-2026

A light-powered filter for longer-lasting air purifiers and face masks

Cell Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists have developed an air purifier that is charged by sunlight and indoor LED lights, potentially offering an inexpensive, lower-maintenance alternative to standard filtration systems that protect users from pollutants and airborne diseases. The study, publishing September 25 in the Cell Press journal Chem, demonstrates that the air filter maintained 99% of its maximum filtration efficiency after a month of use and 95% for the following 2 months. In the future, the filter could be used in reusable versions of the N95 masks worn throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Journal: Chem
Funder: National Key Research and Development Program of China, Fundamental and Interdisciplinary Disciplines Breakthrough Plan of the Ministry of Education of China, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Overseas Expertise Introduction Center for Discipline Innovation of Food Nutrition and Human Health (111 Center), National Key Research and Development Program of Jilin Province, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, Postdoctoral Fellowship Program of CPSF

24-Sep-2026

An improvement on the gold standard for delivering RNA therapeutics

University of Texas at Austin
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have teamed up with pharmaceutical leader Eli Lilly and Company to uncover new information about mRNA lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), the technology behind COVID-19 vaccines and other important treatments, and how to make it more effective.

Journal: ACS Nano