Boston University

Immune System

Nipah viruses binding receptors on human cells, an initial stage of Nipah infection. A newly emerging bat-borne virus that causes acute respiratory illness and severe encephalitis, 3D illustration. Large orange balls with spikes surrounding them attach to tree-like structures sticking up off of a large sphere.

Emerging Pathogens

BU Researchers Join $100 Million Effort to Fight Future Deadly Pathogens

February 17, 2023

Photo of Uwe Beffert’s cell biology class September 2, 2021 in Morse Auditorium. Mask are required indoors, but distancing is not. Students sit in the rows with their notebooks open and look towards Beffert who wears a black jacket and jeans.

University News

Masking “Strongly Recommended” in Crowded Indoor Spaces as COVID, Flu, Other Viruses Surge

January 12, 2023

Image: Digital renderings of mutations on the spike protein that coronavirus uses to attach to human cells. The top of a blue sphere contains and large cluster of pink and dark blue balls.

COVID-19

NEIDL Researchers Discover New SARS-CoV-2 Weak Spot—Which Could Inspire Improved Vaccines

January 11, 2023

Collage: (From left to right, top down) Photo: Bruce Willis at a speaking engagement wearing a blue collared shirt with a white undershirt, Photo of BU Medical student, Molly Jia Yong Zhao gives a flu shot to a patient during a clinic on September 29, 2020, vector illustration of a brain pixelating and dissolving from left to right, and Photo of Clinical Assistant Professor in Health Science, Hagere Yilma, posing for a photo. A Black woman with shoulder-length black hair styled in a twist-out hairstyle wearing a black, tunic-style blouse stands in front of a brick wall and smiles to the camera.

2022 in Review

Best of The Brink 2022: BU’s Most-Read Science and Research Stories

December 13, 2022

Image: A Modern wire frame mesh design vector illustration of the year "2022". Numbers are depicted with glowing neon blue low polygonal digits on dark blue background. .

2022 in Review

Best of The Brink 2022: 10 Amazing Discoveries and Mind-Blowing Facts

December 12, 2022

Photo: Overhead shot of a selection of reproductive health supplies including:pills, diaphragm, condoms, vaginal ring, IUD, implant, dmpa, emergency contraception, and contraceptive pills. All the supplies lie on a lie background.

Birth Control

A New Breed of Nonhormonal Birth Control

November 30, 2022

Collage: Side by side photo of two BU Researchers. (left) Mary Willis, a School of Public Health assistant professor of epidemiology, and recipient of a 2022 NIH Director’s Award. She leans, smiling, against a brick wall with hands in pockets. She wears an olive green shirt and black pants. (right) Hadi T. Nia, College of Engineering assistant professor of biomedical engineering, poses for a photo with arms crossed. He wears an ocean blue blazer and smiles for the camera in front of a blurry landscape of plants.

Accolades

NIH Honors Two BU Researchers “Poised to Blaze New Paths of Discovery”

October 18, 2022

Image: Computer generated rendering of T cells, a type of white blood cell that defends the body from invaders. A large blue blob with teal tiny blobs on it is shown.

Cancer treatments

Immune Cells Engineered to Battle Cancer Can Be Turned “On” or “Off”

September 8, 2022

Photo taken from behind as White woman holds a Covid-19 Rapid At home test in her two hands. The back of the women's head is blurred. The test is a small white piece of plastic with lines on it.

COVID-19

As the Omicron BA.5 Variant Spreads, BU Infectious Diseases Expert Says It’s Time to Dial Up Protective Measures

July 18, 2022

Photo of Florian Douam (left) assistant professor, microbiology, and Devin Kenney, a PhD student, posing for a photo at National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories. The both wear white lab coats and stand facing each other with their bodies and heads tilted towards the camera in front of a purple-blue wall. Lab shelves can be seen on either side of them.

COVID-19

Why Do Some People Get Sicker Than Others from COVID?

April 29, 2022

Photo of Lead researcher Manish Bais. A South Asian man wearing a blue collared shirt, blue tie, and white medical coat, sits in a chair in a research lab. He is turned and smiling towards the camera and sits in front of a large microscope.

Oral Cancer

Could Blocking or Deleting a Protein Help Prevent Common Oral Cancers?

April 21, 2022

Photo of a young lighter skinned black woman lying on the couch and holding her head with her hand.

Long COVID

Researchers Race to Understand Long COVID in National Study

March 18, 2022

Screenshot of Kat J. McAlpine, Nahid Bhadelia, and Syra Madad talking via Zoom. All 3 look at the screen with backgrounds blurred. White triangle play button is overlaid.

COVID Boosters

With COVID-19 Booster Shots Recommended for All US Adults, Infectious Disease Experts Weigh In

November 24, 2021

zoomed in photo of a student's arm receiving the Covid-19 vaccine at a BU clinic in January

Booster Shots

BU Will Offer 800 COVID-19 Booster Shots to Eligible Students, Faculty, Staff

October 29, 2021

A surgical assistant holds a human heart in their hands during open heart surgery.

Innovation

BU Entrepreneurs Are Moving Two New Medical Devices Closer to Market

October 13, 2021

A child gets a malaria vaccination at Yala Sub-County hospital, in Yala, Kenya

Infectious Diseases

Malaria Vaccine—the First Ever to Immunize against a Parasitic Infection—Gets Green Light from WHO

October 7, 2021

Bottles of the Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines sit on a table next to a syringe.

Booster Shots

COVID Booster Shots: Everything You Need to Know

August 25, 2021

Illustration of a woman’s hands extracting a covid-19 vaccination from a vile. The image is overexposed and colored with purple and pink. The background looks staticky and features illustrations of the coronavirus.

Public Health

Myths vs. Facts: Making Sense of COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation

August 13, 2021

Photo of a seventy six year old woman Kaironesa Sheik Suleman Allie receiving her first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine from a health staff member, at a vaccination centre, in Karl Bremer Hospital, in Cape Town, South Africa, Wednesday, May 26, 2021. The staffer wears a blue paper facemask and reaches over her to give the vaccination.

Pandemic Politics

Why Global COVID Vaccinations Are Dangerously Lagging: Six Things To Know

July 23, 2021

Deepwater Discoveries

There’s More to the Story behind Rare Glass Octopus Footage

July 21, 2021

There’s More to the Story behind Rare Glass Octopus Footage