A strong earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale struck an area of south-western China's Yunnan province early Sunday, destroying houses, killing at least three people and injuring nearly 300.
The epicentre of the quake at 5:34 a.m. (2134 GMT Saturday) was at 23.0 degrees north and 101.1 degrees east in Yunnan's Ning'er county, near the border with Myanmar, the China Earthquake Administration said.
Earth Changes
Global warming is accelerating three times more quickly than feared, a series of startling, authoritative studies has revealed.
"Only an insignificant fraction of scientists deny the global warming crisis. The time for debate is over. The science is settled."
So said Al Gore ... in 1992. Amazingly, he made his claims despite much evidence of their falsity.
So said Al Gore ... in 1992. Amazingly, he made his claims despite much evidence of their falsity.
Kelly Goodwin sifted through the rubble of what used to be her kitchen, dazed after a tornado ripped through eastern Iowa and flattened dozens of homes in three communities.
Hours earlier, she was spending a quiet afternoon in her home when she heard the wind howl. She glanced out the window, saw a tree rip from the ground and hurried to the basement.
Hours earlier, she was spending a quiet afternoon in her home when she heard the wind howl. She glanced out the window, saw a tree rip from the ground and hurried to the basement.
A cold snap in Argentina led to electricity and natural gas shortages this week, idling factories and taxis and causing sporadic blackouts in the capital.
Beset by the coldest May since 1962, millions of residents fired up space heaters, straining Buenos Aires' electrical grid for three nights and forcing authorities to slash power supply nationwide and briefly cut domestic natural gas provisions and exports to Chile.
Beset by the coldest May since 1962, millions of residents fired up space heaters, straining Buenos Aires' electrical grid for three nights and forcing authorities to slash power supply nationwide and briefly cut domestic natural gas provisions and exports to Chile.
Although the chemical known as deet currently dominates the mosquito-repellent market, nature is full of bug-banishing strategies.
Native Americans once smeared goldenseal root on their bodies to ward off bites. And today candles made with oil from citronella grass help keep the bugs away from backyard barbecues.
Now a team of Australian researchers has isolated one of the most effective natural mosquito repellents yet from an unlikely source: smelly frog skin.
Craig Williams is an ecologist at the University of Adelaide in Australia who led the research team.
"Because frogs have delicate skins designed for absorbing water from their environment, they are vulnerable to things like infections, predators, and [parasites that live in skin]," he said
"So frog skin is really a portable pharmacy" full of chemicals for keeping the amphibians healthy.
Native Americans once smeared goldenseal root on their bodies to ward off bites. And today candles made with oil from citronella grass help keep the bugs away from backyard barbecues.
Now a team of Australian researchers has isolated one of the most effective natural mosquito repellents yet from an unlikely source: smelly frog skin.
Craig Williams is an ecologist at the University of Adelaide in Australia who led the research team.
"Because frogs have delicate skins designed for absorbing water from their environment, they are vulnerable to things like infections, predators, and [parasites that live in skin]," he said
"So frog skin is really a portable pharmacy" full of chemicals for keeping the amphibians healthy.
As the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season gets officially under way today, residents of the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean are bracing for what weather experts are saying will be another storm-filled six months.
Seventeen tropical storms will form in the Atlantic Basin, which includes the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, between June 1 and November 30, according to Colorado State University (CSU) forecasters William Gray and Phil Klotzbach.
Seventeen tropical storms will form in the Atlantic Basin, which includes the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, between June 1 and November 30, according to Colorado State University (CSU) forecasters William Gray and Phil Klotzbach.
A storm warning is declared in Moscow and the Moscow Region, Moscow Bureau of Meteorology reported. According to the weather forecast, a cold atmospheric front is heading to Moscow from the South-West. Thunderstorms, heavy showers and wind reaching 40 mph are expected in Moscow within a few hours.
Chile's black widow also has promising spermicidal abilities, scientists find
MIAMI - Tropical Storm Barry formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Friday _ the first day of hurricane season _ and the National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm warning for a stretch of Florida's western coast.
