On Aug. 6, 2024, a team of researchers, led by the University of Houston, announced they had discovered two new ways of preventing and treating respiratory viruses.

The studies, published in back-to-back papers in Nature Communications, reported the development and validation of NanoSTING, a nasal spray, as a broad-spectrum immune activator for controlling infection against multiple respiratory viruses; and the development of NanoSTING-SN, a pan-coronavirus nasal vaccine, that can protect against infection and disease by all members of the coronavirus family.  

Funding for the studies was provided by the National Institutes of Health, Owens Foundation, and AuraVax Therapeutics.