Cold, Flu & Cough

What is the Common Cold?

The common cold, also known as rhinopharyngitis, is a type of respiratory tract infection caused by a virus.

Risk Factors and Walking Pneumonia Prevention

Walking Pneumonia Versus Common Cold

Influenza Infection in Animals

Walking Pneumonia Versus Common Cold

Does the 'Stomach Flu' Vaccine Prevent Type I Diabetes?

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Routine wellness visits reveal hidden asthma cases through community-wide screening

Researchers were able to identify more patients with asthma in specific communities by screening all children during routine wellness visits and asking about potential home environmental triggers, according to new research.

26 Sep 2025

WHO issues guidance for 2026 flu vaccine formulation in the southern hemisphere

The World Health Organization (WHO) today announced its recommendations for the viral composition of influenza vaccines for use in the 2026 influenza season in the southern hemisphere.

26 Sep 2025

Gladstone researchers expand mission to tackle emerging infectious threats

From influenza and COVID-19 to HIV, viruses continue to pose a serious danger to global health.

25 Sep 2025

Influenza infection in pregnant mice linked to fetal brain exposure

A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign shows, for the first time, that severe flu infection in pregnant mice leads to a breakdown in placental and brain barriers, leading to the accumulation of potentially harmful molecules in the fetal brain.

24 Sep 2025

Trump claims ‘no downside’ to avoiding Tylenol during pregnancy. He’s wrong.

Obstetricians have long advised their pregnant patients that Tylenol is the safest option to reduce fever or pain. President Donald Trump stood before a national audience on Sept. 22 and contradicted that.

24 Sep 2025

Gestures and speech rhythms can help improve comprehension in children with language difficulties

Developmental language disorder (DLD) affects around two children in each class. It hinders their acquisition and use of language, even if they do not have other auditory, intellectual or neurological problems, and are only affected in this aspect of language.

23 Sep 2025

‘Sick to my stomach’: Trump distorts facts on autism, tylenol, and vaccines, scientists say

Ann Bauer, a researcher who studies Tylenol and autism, felt queasy with anxiety in the weeks leading up to the White House's much-anticipated autism announcement.

22 Sep 2025

Orforglipron pill improves heart and metabolic risk factors in trial

Patients taking an experimental oral GLP-1 drug lost significant weight and improved their heart and metabolic risk factors in a large, international, phase 3 clinical trial led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine, McMaster University, York University and other institutions.

22 Sep 2025

Gut microbial imbalance linked to chronic sickle cell disease pain

A research collaboration involving scientists and students at The University of Texas at Dallas has found a clear connection between chronic sickle cell disease pain and the bacteria present in the gastrointestinal tract.

22 Sep 2025

Why universal COVID-19 vaccine guidance offers stronger protection than high-risk-only policies

The US Scenario Modeling Hub’s nine-team ensemble projected COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths for April 2024 to April 2025 under six policy and immune-escape scenarios. Burden was similar to the prior year, with universal vaccination recommendations averting more outcomes than high-risk-only guidance, especially for adults aged 65 years and older.

21 Sep 2025

Rising ozone from wildfire smoke poses growing health risks for Western communities

As wildfires grow larger and more frequent across the West, researchers from Colorado, Utah, and California are digging into how smoke affects the air-and our health.

19 Sep 2025

Mercury in your hot dog? Vaccine skeptics face their limits at crucial CDC meeting

Public health officials watched with dread as a panel shaped by the Trump administration took up an agenda to begin dismantling six decades of vaccination development and progress.

19 Sep 2025

Replacing red meat with legumes improves heart health and supports weight management

A University of Helsinki study found that partially replacing red and processed meat with pea- and faba bean–based foods resulted in reduced total and 'bad' LDL cholesterol levels in men, along with weight loss.

19 Sep 2025

Cold exposure and mental fatigue show individual effects on endurance performance

Performance in endurance sports, such as long-distance running, cycling, and cross-country skiing, requires sustained activity over prolonged periods of time, and is influenced by multiple factors, such as temperature and mental state.

19 Sep 2025

$Kennedy’s take on vaccine science fractures cohesive national public health strategies$

Kennedy’s take on vaccine science fractures cohesive national public health strategies

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has had a busy few months. He fired the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, purged the agency's vaccine advisory committee, and included among the group's new members appointees who espouse anti-vaccine views.

19 Sep 2025

Oral GLP-1 drug orforglipron achieves significant weight loss in global trial

Patients taking an experimental oral GLP-1 drug lost significant weight and improved their heart and metabolic risk factors in a large, international, phase III clinical trial led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine, McMaster University, York University and other institutions

18 Sep 2025

Outdoor walking programs cut frailty in older adults

Findings indicate that while outdoor walking reduces frailty in older adults, maintaining these gains necessitates continuous, diverse intervention approaches.

18 Sep 2025

Radiation from medical imaging linked to higher blood cancer risk in children

A study led by UC San Francisco and UC Davis has concluded that radiation from medical imaging is associated with a higher risk of blood cancers in children.

17 Sep 2025

Watch: Fired CDC chief says RFK Jr. demanded she roll back vaccine policies without evidence

Susan Monarez, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee on Sept. 17 in her first public remarks since she was fired.

17 Sep 2025

Innovative biosensor can detect airborne viruses in real time

A research team from Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) and Universitat de València (UV) has developed an innovative biosensor capable of detecting airborne viruses in real time and at low cost, without the need for chemical markers or laboratory procedures.

17 Sep 2025