COVID-19 is a respiratory disease primarily affecting the lungs. However, the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 surprised doctors and scientists by triggering an unusually large percentage of patients to experience vascular complications – issues related to blood flow, such as blood clots, heart attacks, and strokes. Whitehead Institute Founding Member Rudolf Jaenisch and colleagues wanted

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A new study in The Lancet Public Health found that early COVID-19 test development and distribution saved millions of lives. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted how crucial testing is for disease preparedness and response, and new research from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and a team of collaborators underscores that principle. Published in the

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Researchers isolated SARS-CoV-2 strains, which are drug resistant with mutations to the nsp12 protein that is the target of remdesivir and another variant with mutations to the nsp5 protein, the target of Paxlovid. These mutations help the virus persist in people with compromised immunity despite common antiviral treatments. Individuals with compromised immunity and persistent COVID-19

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Fibrin (red) and toxic microglia (green) in the brain of a mouse infected with COVID-19. Image courtesy of Jae Kyu Ryu and Katerina Akassoglou.  In a study that reshapes what we know about COVID-19 and its most perplexing symptoms, scientists have discovered that the blood coagulation protein fibrin causes the unusual clotting and inflammation that

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