It's only a matter of time before a massive earthquake shakes Southern California to its core, scientists say.
Though dormant for more than 300 years, the southern end of the San Andreas Fault is long overdue for a giant upheaval, according to experts.
And the results of such a quake would be devastating.
"A large earthquake would likely kill thousands and cause billions of dollars in damages," said Lucy Jones, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.
Earth Changes
Around 60 people are thought to have died in the Indian Himalayas after a cloudburst caused a landslide that buried an entire village, officials said on Wednesday.
The army has been called in to look for bodies after Tuesday night's cloudburst in Dharla village in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh. But heavy rain was hampering rescue work.
The army has been called in to look for bodies after Tuesday night's cloudburst in Dharla village in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh. But heavy rain was hampering rescue work.
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The remarkable ability of ants and other social insects to divide the work in a colony is a result of many factors: genes, age, social interactions, even size or other physical attributes.
But might individual experience be involved as well? Might those who turn out to be good at a task end up specializing in that task, and those that aren't go on to something else?
These are questions that Fabien Ravary and Emmanuel Lecoutey of the University of Paris-North in Villetaneuse, France, and colleagues sought to answer. To do so, they chose an ant, Cerapachys biroi, that allowed them to focus on experience to the exclusion of everything else. These ants produce a new generation of workers all at once, so they are of precisely the same age and size and are raised under the same conditions.
But might individual experience be involved as well? Might those who turn out to be good at a task end up specializing in that task, and those that aren't go on to something else?
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| Cerapachys biroi |
These are questions that Fabien Ravary and Emmanuel Lecoutey of the University of Paris-North in Villetaneuse, France, and colleagues sought to answer. To do so, they chose an ant, Cerapachys biroi, that allowed them to focus on experience to the exclusion of everything else. These ants produce a new generation of workers all at once, so they are of precisely the same age and size and are raised under the same conditions.
A leading scientist with the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research has warned that "doing nothing is better than offsetting" on the grounds that there is a serious risk that the practice is leading to increased emissions.
A heat wave continued to bake parts of the South on Tuesday, raising the number of heat-linked deaths in Tennessee to at least five and buckling roads in Mississippi.
The temperature in Memphis hit at least 100 degrees again Tuesday, the fifth consecutive day of triple-digit highs, as hot air blanketed the south-central portion of the nation. Monday's top reading in the city was 105.
The temperature in Memphis hit at least 100 degrees again Tuesday, the fifth consecutive day of triple-digit highs, as hot air blanketed the south-central portion of the nation. Monday's top reading in the city was 105.
There have been no obvious signs of them washed up on the shore; no evidence that disease or human hand is behind a dramatic reduction in numbers of the sea mammal. But a routine survey has delivered the baffling news that 5,000 common seals have disappeared from the shores of Orkney and Shetland.
At least 14 people died Monday night in the north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh as monsoon floods continued to devastate the region, local radio said.
About 30 people have been killed in the province over the past three days in ongoing torrential rains and landslides, which have destroyed buildings, roads and rail lines, and disrupted water and power supplies.
About 30 people have been killed in the province over the past three days in ongoing torrential rains and landslides, which have destroyed buildings, roads and rail lines, and disrupted water and power supplies.
A microburst blew through the town of Midway, a small area south of Fountain, lifting a barn and throwing it into a house. A microburst is straight-line winds with wind gusts up to 100 miles-per-hour that are confined to a small area.
"The force blew pieces of the barn through the house and ended up 200 feet over there," Mike Harder said as he points out the damage to his home.
"The force blew pieces of the barn through the house and ended up 200 feet over there," Mike Harder said as he points out the damage to his home.
Heavy rains caused flooding in southern Norway Monday, forcing many residents to leave their homes.
Floods ripped through the northern tip of Randsfjord in southern Norway, Aftenposten reports.
Several homes were destroyed or severely damaged and cars were swept away after the heavy rains caused a dam to break, sending torrents of water rushing down the Nordraak River.
Floods ripped through the northern tip of Randsfjord in southern Norway, Aftenposten reports.
Several homes were destroyed or severely damaged and cars were swept away after the heavy rains caused a dam to break, sending torrents of water rushing down the Nordraak River.
Torrential overnight rain hampered a search on Monday for at least 16 people buried alive in a weekend landslide in western Kenya, police said.
"We still believe there are more bodies buried in the rubble but rescuers have not been able to retrieve them due to bad weather. Overnight rains have hampered the exercise," said Peter Kavila, police chief of the Western Province.
Rescue teams from the national police force, the Kenya Red Cross Society, the ministry of works and the National Youth Service are sifting through rubble at Kuvasali village, 290 kilometres (180 miles) northwest of Nairobi, where a landslide that began on Friday buried scores of houses and livestock.
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"We still believe there are more bodies buried in the rubble but rescuers have not been able to retrieve them due to bad weather. Overnight rains have hampered the exercise," said Peter Kavila, police chief of the Western Province.
Rescue teams from the national police force, the Kenya Red Cross Society, the ministry of works and the National Youth Service are sifting through rubble at Kuvasali village, 290 kilometres (180 miles) northwest of Nairobi, where a landslide that began on Friday buried scores of houses and livestock.
