Ohio State researchers are working toward a cure for long COVID, supported by the school's largest grant ever received for an infectious diseases study.

Why it matters: Long COVID is a complex condition disabling millions of Americans that scientists have struggled to understand.

Zoom in: Nearly one-third of Ohioans once infected with the virus say they're still experiencing symptoms at least three months later, per census data.

• That can include fatigue, dizziness, chronic cough, chest pain, heart palpitations and gastrointestinal issues, National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers say.

Driving the news: NIH awarded university researchers $15 million in hopes of finding a drug to treat and ideally prevent the condition.

How it works: The study is focused on a specific enzyme that severe COVID patients' cells produce in high levels.

• Previous OSU research, which resulted in the grant award, found that mice lacking the enzyme are protected from early and late symptoms of COVID such as lung inflammation and blood clots.
• Now, researchers will work to develop techniques to target the enzyme in more cell types, with the goal of more effectively treating the disease.

What they're saying: OSU professor Amal Amer, the grant's contact principal investigator, knows firsthand why this research is important after suffering from brain fog following a moderate bout with COVID.

• "It was the most disturbing experience of my life," she tells Axios via email. "To suddenly lose the ability to think, put ideas together, follow a simple conversation, was devastating. I am among the few fortunate patients who recovered after several months."

What's next: The study will last five years. How quickly a cure may become available to patients is not yet known.

• That depends if an existing drug could be used to target the enzyme in question, Amer says, or if a new one would need to be developed and tested, which would take longer.

A summer COVID-19 wave continues to impact most of the U.S. and Ohio is one of the states with high levels of virus activity, per the latest CDC data.

State of play: Virus activity has risen over the past month in the Midwest.

• While hospitalizations remain low, the surge poses a risk to the elderly, immunocompromised individuals and those with respiratory or cardiac conditions.

Between the lines: COVID-19 cases have risen in the U.S. every summer, usually following July Fourth travel, Axios' Adriel Bettleheim reports.

🏛 A Franklin County judge ruled an Ohio law can go into effect that prohibits minors from receiving gender-affirming health care and prevents transgender athletes from playing on girls' and women's sports teams.

• The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio plans to file an immediate appeal. (AP)

🚌 A shortage of bus drivers for Columbus City Schools could lead to late buses when classes start Aug. 21. (Dispatch)

🎨 The Greater Columbus Arts Council wants residents to suggest new locations for public art throughout Franklin County. (Columbus Underground)

🥇 Competitive jump roping should be added to the Olympics, says a Dayton educator who coaches a youth squad. (WOSU)

Ohio natives have already had a great Olympic Games in Paris, especially the gymnastics GOAT Simone Biles.

Yes, but: That's nothing new. The Buckeye State has produced dozens of gold medalists dating all the way back to 1904, when swimmer Charles Daniels of Dayton won three golds at the Games in St. Louis.

Zoom in: Other Ohioans with legendary Olympic performances are pictured below.