• SAVE: Pandemic's Urgency Drove New Collaborative Approaches Worldwide

    In January 2021 the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases assembled a team, drawing on experts from around the world who specialize in relevant research fields such as viruses, the immune system, vaccines, epidemiology, structural biology, bioinformatics, virus genetics, and evolution. The team is called SAVE, for SARS-CoV-2 Assessment of Viral Evolution. SAVE team changed how science is done, spanning 58 institutions.

  • Food Security During a Nuclear Winter

    A nuclear war would cause global blockage of the sun for several years due to injections of black carbon soot into the upper atmosphere, covering most of the planet with black clouds. This could result in less than 40 percent of normal light levels near the equator and less than 5 percent normal light levels near the poles. Research focuses on how meeting food security and nutrition in post-catastrophe conditions, which could last 15 years in some wet tropical forests.

  • War Could See Ukraine’s Population Fall by a Third

    Ukraine’s population could decline by a third over the next two decades as a result of the Russian invasion, researchers say. The population of Ukraine is also likely to become proportionately older over time with continued large-scale emigration the longer the war persists.

  • How Bad Is Ukraine’s Humanitarian Crisis?

    Russia’s assault on Ukraine could create as many as seven million refugees. Experts say the war could soon become Europe’s largest humanitarian crisis since the 1990s.

  • Could The War in Ukraine Trigger a Global Food Crisis?

    The effects of the war in Ukraine are already being felt across the world, from rocking world energy markets to spurring a growing refugee crisis in Europe. But the conflict could have more ripple effects, including sparking a global food crisis.

  • Current and Future Challenges to National Biodefense

    The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense met to discuss the expanding landscape of current and future biological threats, the roles and responsibilities of the federal government in assessing and preparing for various biological threats, and biological weapons, bioterrorism, and biological arms races with the public.

  • The War in Ukraine Is Creating a Massive Grain Shortage

    Together, Russia and Ukraine account for 30 percent of the world’s exported wheat, and the Agricultural Market Information System—an international group focusing on global food-policy initiatives—estimates that 25 countries source at least half of their supplies from the two countries. Grain exports from the war-torn region have largely stalled, as shipping ports have closed, farmland has been ruined, and farmers have been conscripted into service.

  • Food Crisis Due to Ukraine War Calls for Demand-Side Action

    The global food system is impacted by the war in Ukraine, adding to the direct humanitarian and security crisis caused by the Russian aggression. Ukraine and Russia are major producers of grains and fertilizers. Experts say that focusing on short-term supply-side solutions is not the way to go. Rather, changes to the demand side of the global food system can lead to both a more resilient and more sustainable global food system.

  • Demographics Alone Do Not Explain COVID-19 Mortality Rates -- Place Matters, Too

    Many Americans became amateur data scientists during the pandemic, tracking local rates of infection or vaccination to help them decide what activities may or may not be safe. Researchers examined this collected county-level data, and found that different demographic groups are vulnerable in different ways—often depending on their geographic location.

  • Tracing the Path of Pathogens after Large-Scale Contamination with Biological Agents

    To respond quickly to contamination with a biological agent near a major coastal city, DHS ST and partners have examined the movement of pathogen’ spores, which may be carried downstream by runoff after rainstorms, thereby complicating mitigation and decontamination measures.

  • Hurricanes and Other Tropical Cyclones Linked to Rise in U.S. Deaths from Several Major Causes

    New study reveals potential hidden deadly cost of climate-related disasters: Injuries, infections, diseases, respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and neuropsychiatric disorders.

  • UN, U.S. Dismiss Russian Claim of Biological Weapons Program in Ukraine

    Western nations criticized Russia on Friday for trying to use the U.N. Security Council to spread disinformation and lies about alleged biological weapons laboratories in Ukraine, which the U.N. said are untrue.

  • Global COVID-19 Deaths May Be 3 Times Higher Than Recorded

    Today in The Lancet researchers say excess deaths data indicate that the global death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic may be more than three times higher than officially record. Excess mortality was calculated as observed mortality minus expected mortality. The authors excluded weekly death tolls during times of anomalies, such as heat waves, from their calculations.

  • Airports, Airlines Call for Intra-EU COVID Travel Restrictions to Be Dropped

    Airport and airline organizations have called for all remaining COVID restrictions applying to intra-EU and Schengen area travel to be dropped, including all testing requirements, the need to present proof of vaccination, or complete a Passenger Locator Form (PLF).

  • Accelerated Impact of Climate Change on Human Wellbeing, Nature

    Increased heatwaves, droughts and floods are already exceeding plants’ and animals’ tolerance thresholds, driving mass mortalities in species such as trees and corals. These weather extremes are occurring simultaneously, causing cascading impacts that are increasingly difficult to manage. They have exposed millions of people to acute food and water insecurity.