Viruses, Infections & Disease, features and articles | Educational Science

Nov 17, 2022

Belief that COVID-19 was a hoax is a gateway drug to other conspiracy theories

Believing in COVID-19 conspiracies may make people likelier to believe in other conspiracy theories down the road, a new study suggests. The researchers, who published their findings Oct. 26 in the journal PLOS One, suggested that thinking the number of COVID-19 deaths was exaggerated, or that China deliberately released or...

Nov 28, 2022

'Mpox' is the new name for monkeypox, the WHO says

The World Health Organization (WHO) has a new name for the viral disease monkeypox: mpox. The agency announced the name change on Monday (Nov. 28) after deliberating over the term for more than five months. When the outbreak of monkeypox expanded earlier this year, racist and stigmatizing language online, in...

Dec 15, 2022

More than 70 children sickened in Ohio measles outbreak

An ongoing measles outbreak in central Ohio has sickened 74 children since mid-October, resulting in 26 hospitalizations so far, Columbus Public Health reported. There have been no reported deaths linked to the outbreak. Between Jan. 1 and Dec. 8, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) received reports...

Dec 15, 2022

A new omicron subvariant is spreading in China. Here's what we know so far.

Since the COVID variant omicron emerged in late 2021, it has rapidly evolved into multiple subvariants. One subvariant, BF.7, has recently been identified as the main variant spreading in Beijing, and is contributing to a wider surge of COVID infections in China. But what is this new variant, and should...

Dec 26, 2022

12 microscopic discoveries that went 'viral' in 2022

Viruses have been a near-constant subject of headline news in recent years, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic began. But of course, the pathogens' influence stretches back to the start of human history and beyond — in fact, viruses have had a hand in shaping the trajectory of all life on...

Jan 9, 2023

What does it mean for a disease to be 'endemic'?

You may have heard the term endemic used to describe diseases, often in comparison with the terms epidemic and pandemic. Many health officials say that COVID-19 is likely transitioning from pandemic to endemic status in many countries. But what does that mean? More broadly, the term endemic refers to an...

Jan 9, 2023

The 'Kraken' COVID subvariant: What to know about quickly rising omicron descendant

Editor's note: This page will be updated as new data about XBB.1.5 emerges. A new flavor of the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was identified in October 2022. In the past several weeks, it has steadily gained prominence in the United States. The subvariant is known...

Jan 12, 2023

'Pac-Man' microorganisms gobble down viruses like power pellets

Are viruses the new gourmet meal du jour? Maybe for the tiny, single-celled organisms that live in freshwater bodies around the world. A new study, published Dec. 27 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, finds that single-celled organisms called Halteria may be munching on viruses like...

Jan 18, 2023

Moderna says its RSV vaccine is 84% effective in older adults

Moderna's experimental respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine was about 84% effective at protecting older adults from lower respiratory tract disease in a late-stage trial, the drugmaker announced Tuesday (Jan. 17). Moderna has yet to release the full trial results, but based on the company's analyses, it plans to submit the...

Jan 30, 2023

COVID-19 is a leading cause of death among US children and teens, study shows

COVID-19 was the top infectious disease killer for kids and teens in the U.S. between August 2021 and July 2022, a new analysis shows. It also ranked among the leading causes of death for any reason for U.S. children and teens in the same time period, the researchers determined. The...

Feb 8, 2023

One-and-done injection halves risk of COVID hospitalization in large trial

A one-time shot with an experimental drug halved COVID-19 patients' risk of being hospitalized with the illness compared with a placebo, a late-stage trial shows. However, the treatment may still be early in its journey to approval in the U.S., the drug's maker told Live Science. The trial participants received...

Feb 13, 2023

Long COVID: 3 years on, here's what we know so far

Long COVID is a complex condition that is still not fully understood. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the working definition of long COVID is signs, symptoms and conditions that continue or develop after initial COVID-19 or SARS-CoV-2 infection. These can affect many organ systems and last...

Feb 22, 2023

COVID-19 linked to 40% increase in autoimmune disease risk in huge study

Catching COVID-19 may raise the risk of developing autoimmune disease by 43% in the months following the infection, according to the largest study of its kind. The impact of this study is huge — it's the strongest evidence so far answering this question of COVID-19 and autoimmune disease risk, said...

Mar 1, 2023

1st at-home test for flu and COVID authorized by FDA, but its maker is bankrupt

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the first over-the-counter combination test for both influenza and COVID-19, the agency announced on Feb. 24. However, the test's maker recently filed for bankruptcy, so it's unclear whether the company has the resources to ramp up manufacturing and sell the test...

Mar 15, 2023

COVID pandemic had 'minimal' effect on mental health, study says. Is that true?

The COVID-19 pandemic has not damaged people's mental health on a wide scale, new research finds. Overall, people reported being about as prone to depression, anxiety and other mental health symptoms both before and during 2020, when SARS-CoV-2 first exploded. But why didn’t the pandemic have wide-reaching mental health impacts,...