skip to main content


Title: Vaccine-escape and fast-growing mutations in the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore, Spain, India, and other COVID-19-devastated countries
Award ID(s):
1761320 1900473
NSF-PAR ID:
10271863
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Genomics
Volume:
113
Issue:
4
ISSN:
0888-7543
Page Range / eLocation ID:
2158 to 2170
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. Tea is a steeped beverage made from the leaves of Camellia sinensis . Globally, this healthy, caffeine-containing drink is one of the most widely consumed beverages. At least 50 countries produce tea and most of the production information and tea research is derived from international sources. Here, we discuss information related to tea production, genetics, and chemistry as well as production issues that affect or are likely to affect emerging tea production and research in the United States. With this review, we relay current knowledge on tea production, threats to tea production, and solutions to production problems to inform this emerging market in the United States. 
    more » « less
  2. Increased wildfire events constitute a significant threat to life and property in the United States. Wildfire impact on severe storms and weather hazards is another pathway that threatens society, and our understanding of which is very limited. Here, we use unique modeling developments to explore the effects of wildfires in the western US (mainly California and Oregon) on precipitation and hail in the central US. We find that the western US wildfires notably increase the occurrences of heavy precipitation rates by 38% and significant severe hail (≥2 in.) by 34% in the central United States. Both heat and aerosols from wildfires play an important role. By enhancing surface high pressure and increasing westerly and southwesterly winds, wildfires in the western United States produce ( 1 ) stronger moisture and aerosol transport to the central United States and ( 2 ) larger wind shear and storm-relative helicity in the central United States. Both the meteorological environment more conducive to severe convective storms and increased aerosols contribute to the enhancements of heavy precipitation rates and large hail. Moreover, the local wildfires in the central US also enhance the severity of storms, but their impact is notably smaller than the impact of remote wildfires in California and Oregon because of the lessened severity of the local wildfires. As wildfires are projected to be more frequent and severe in a warmer climate, the influence of wildfires on severe weather in downwind regions may become increasingly important. 
    more » « less