Scientists have identified molecular and structural changes in taste buds that may explain why a small subset of people experience long-term taste loss after COVID-19 infection.

About The Study: In 2024, 8.3% of U.S. adults—an estimated 21.3 million—reported ever having long COVID (LC), among whom nearly 6 in 10 reported recovery, consistent with RECOVER initiative findings showing similar LC prevalence in 2023 and 2024 and longitudinal Veterans Affairs data demonstrating declining LC prevalence. Yet many adults, particularly those 35 years or older, continue to experience lasting symptoms. With no LC treatment demonstrating clear efficacy, greater investment in understanding biological mechanisms, including immunotypic differences between those who recover and those who do not, may provide insights into pathways of persistence and potential targets for intervention. 

People with prior COVID-19 infection have a significantly higher risk of acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease and kidney failure compared to those who had influenza or no infection, according to a new study from researchers at Penn State College of Medicine.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a major health crisis that challenged citizens’ information management routines. Epistemic ideals guided how people scanned and filtered information, engaged with it and adapted their behaviour accordingly. Conducted in Finland, a recent study found that four distinctive profiles characterise citizens’ engagement with information. 

An analysis comparing the effects of influenza versus COVID-19 in mice found differences in how lungs heal after infection and potentially shed light on why COVID-19 causes neurological issues such as brain fog. 

A study of over 50,000 pregnant women in Norway during the 2023/24 influenza season found that only 29.9% were vaccinated against influenza and 12.1% against COVID-19 during pregnancy, falling short of recommended vaccination targets.

A new review from the Antiviral Gene Therapy Research Unit (AGTRU) at the University of the Witwatersrand highlights how viral mimic systems and related technologies could accelerate the development of vaccines and antiviral therapies, particularly in low-resource settings. Published in the journal Infection, the review describes safe, virus-like platforms that replicate key features of dangerous pathogens without the ability to cause disease.

Conventional antiviral research often requires biosafety level-3 laboratories, which are expensive, tightly regulated, and scarce. Viral mimic systems overcome this bottleneck by enabling scientists to study infection, screen drug candidates, and compare immune responses in standard biosafety level-2 facilities. This allows promising therapies to move more quickly from laboratory testing to clinical development.

The review focuses on technologies such as pseudo-typed viruses and virus-like particles that reproduce the early stages of infection. More advanced models incorporate all four structural proteins of SARS-CoV-2, offering a more realistic picture of viral behaviour and helping researchers design broader, more durable vaccines that remain effective against emerging variants.

 

The article, published in the journal Current Psychology by the international publisher Springer Nature, is based on a joint analysis of 34 studies conducted in 14 countries, with a sample of 32,930 healthcare professionals.

A new multinational study from the INTERCOVID Consortium, including Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, has found that COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy, particularly when combined with a booster dose, significantly reduces the risk of preeclampsia, a serious and potentially life-threatening pregnancy complication. The findings offer unprecedented insight into preeclampsia prevention, independent of the direct effects of COVID-19 infection.

Booster vaccines reduced the risk of COVID‑19–related hospitalisation and death, according to a new study of over 3 million adults who had the autumn 2022 vaccine in England.  The research led by the universities of Bristol and Oxford, provides further evidence of the effectiveness of booster vaccination against COVID-19.