Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

University of Zurich develops molecules to rapidly detect dangerous bacteria

Rapidly identifying certain bacteria allows antibiotic treatments to be optimised. A team from the University of Zurich, supported by the SNSF, has developed molecules to detect and capture certain species.

16 Jul 2025

Routine vaccines may be the key to fighting antibiotic resistance

A study reveals that rising vaccine coverage in children is linked to reduced antibiotic prescriptions, suggesting a shift in the fight against drug resistance.

16 Jul 2025

TB bacteria can play dead to outlast the immune response, study reveals

A vaccine protects more than 100 million infants each year from severe tuberculosis (TB), including the fatal brain swelling it can cause in babies and toddlers.

15 Jul 2025

Infectious disease outbreaks erode trust in political institutions

The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn the attention to the far-reaching social implications of emerging infectious diseases, bringing to mind similarly impactful events like the Black Plague in early modern Europe or the Spanish Flu after World War I.

15 Jul 2025

Americans divided on how to manage neck and back pain, survey reveals

New survey data from the Orlando Health Spine Center reveals a significant difference among Americans on how to manage neck and back pain.

15 Jul 2025

New AI tool can help doctors read chest X‑rays better and improve health care outcomes

Can artificial intelligence, or AI, potentially transform health care for the better? Now, rising to the challenge, an Arizona State University team of researchers has built a powerful new AI tool, called Ark+, to help doctors read chest X‑rays better and improve health care outcomes.

15 Jul 2025

Genetic secrets of Spanish flu revealed through century-old sample

Researchers from the universities of Basel and Zurich have used a historical specimen from UZH's Medical Collection to decode the genome of the virus responsible for the 1918-1920 influenza pandemic in Switzerland.

14 Jul 2025

Early antibiotic exposure weakens infant immune development

A new study led by researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) found that early-life exposure to antibiotics can impair an infant's developing immune system, and that a naturally occurring metabolite may hold the key to reversing that damage.

14 Jul 2025

Many Americans turn to AI for health answers despite accuracy warnings

Traditionally, individuals asked health questions of their primary health care provider. Confidence in that provider as a source of trustworthy health information has been consistently high in recent years and was at 90% in April, according to survey data from the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania.

14 Jul 2025

Therapeutic potential of houttuynia cordata polysaccharide in H1N1 and MRSA-induced acute pneumonia

This new article publication from Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B, discusses how an anti-complement homogeneous polysaccharide from Houttuynia cordata ameliorates acute pneumonia with H1N1 and MRSA coinfection through rectifying Treg/Th17 imbalance in the gut–lung axis and NLRP3 inflammasome activation.

12 Jul 2025

High-intensity focused ultrasound induces ferroptosis for tumor immune activation

This new article publication from Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B, discusses high intensity forced ultrasound-driven ferroptosis as a strategy for anti-tumor immune priming.

12 Jul 2025

New microchip tracks antibody-virus interactions from a single drop of blood

A new microchip invented by Scripps Research scientists can reveal how a person's antibodies interact with viruses-using just a drop of blood.

12 Jul 2025

Brain protein associated with aging not linked to youth contact sports

In recent years, some scientists and advocates have warned that playing contact sports like football and hockey may increase the risk of brain diseases like Alzheimer's disease or chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) due to a buildup of a specific protein in the brain.

11 Jul 2025

Scientists identify key role of T-bet in flu memory B cells

At the surface, the immune response to a flu virus is simple. Some cells recognize the pathogen and send a signal to the immune system, and immune cells produce a potentially lifesaving antibody against the virus. Antigen in, antibody out.

11 Jul 2025

Researchers create over 400 types of nerve cells from stem cells

Nerve cells are not just nerve cells. Depending on how finely we distinguish, there are several hundred to several thousand different types of nerve cell in the human brain according to the latest calculations.

11 Jul 2025

Powerful new AI tool help doctors read chest X‑rays better

Can artificial intelligence, or AI, potentially transform health care for the better?

11 Jul 2025

Early access to green spaces can boost children's cognitive capacities

Access to nature promotes physical and mental health, and it is vital for children's social and emotional development.

10 Jul 2025

Natural compounds from turmeric and rhubarb show promise against superbugs in wastewater

When we're taking antibiotics, some of the dose is excreted with urine and feces and ends up in our wastewater. The presence of this low dose of antibiotic creates an opportunity for resistant bacteria to evolve.

10 Jul 2025

Does soup really work when you’re down with cold or flu?

A systematic review found that chicken-based and vegetable-enriched soups may modestly reduce the severity and duration of acute respiratory tract infections. However, stronger evidence is needed before soup can be recommended as a clinical treatment.

10 Jul 2025

Climate change linked to thousands of heat-related deaths in Europe

Human-induced climate change may have intensified the European heatwave between 23 June and 2 July 2025, and increased the number of heat-related deaths, according to a new rapid analysis.

9 Jul 2025