New COVID-19 Variant Spreads To Dozens Of Countries The new strain, which likely originated in the U.K. in September, has spread to more than 30 countries across several continents. Meanwhile, the U.S. saw record COVID-19 deaths in December. NPR.org

The coronavirus variant that was first spotted last month in the U.K. has now spread to dozens of countries, likely passed on by infected people who traveled around the world and unknowingly brought the microscopic invaders with them.

http://www.sci-news.com/othersciences/materials/high-performing-water-desalination-membranes-09209.html

Biological membranes can achieve remarkably high permeabilities while maintaining ideal selectivities by relying on homogeneous internal structures in the form of membrane proteins. In new research, a team of scientists led by Penn State University and the University of Texas at Austin applied such design strategies to desalination polyamide membranes.

Dr. Enrique Gomez, Dr. Manish Kumar and their colleagues from Iowa State University, Penn State University, the University of Texas at Austin, DuPont Water Solutions, and Dow Chemical Co. found that creating a uniform membrane density down to the nanoscale of billionths of a meter is crucial for maximizing the performance of reverse-osmosis, water-filtration membranes.

A club nobody ‘wanted to join’: How Covid widows are finding support through Facebook "A lot of young women are losing their husbands to this, and they think they are alone," the group's founder said. "We need to come together and support each other, because Covid-19 is like a different type of death." NBC News

The last time Pamela Addison saw her husband alive, on April 3, she managed to mouth the words "I love you" to him before the paramedics loaded him into the ambulance.

US debates whether UK approach is better on COVID-19 vaccinations A new approach to COVID-19 vaccination just adopted in the United Kingdom is gaining traction in America, but is dividing public health experts. Nathaniel Weixel TheHill

A new approach to COVID-19 vaccination just adopted in the United Kingdom is gaining traction in America, but is dividing public health experts.

In an effort to push out as many doses of the vaccine as possible, British officials will no longer hold back the second of two doses.