Through many decades, stories about earthquakes raising or lowering water levels in wells, lakes and streams have become the stuff of folklore.

Just last November, the magnitude 7.9 Denali earthquake in Alaska was credited with sloshing water in Seattle’s Lake Union and Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans, and was blamed the next day when muddy tap water turned up in Pennsylvania, where some water tables dropped as much as 6 inches.

But the relationship between seismic activity and

An updated edition of Sources and Prices of Selected Medicines and Diagnostics for People living with HIV/AIDS will be released today. The report provides market information on 74 reviewed products for the treatment and management of HIV/AIDS from 61 manufacturers.

The report gives purchasers of AIDS medicines and diagnostics a range of choices related to suppliers and affordability. The medicines included were selected on the basis of WHO standard treatment guidelines. The list is n

EU satellite research project tackles urban air quality from space

A three-year project led by the Commission with ten partners from Greece, Germany, Hungary and Italy has developed an innovative system for monitoring and managing urban air quality and the related health risks. Results of the “ICAROS NET” technique were presented today in Budapest. ICAROS uses satellite-borne sensors to monitor the concentration of harmful particles in the air, caused by heavy industry, traffic and ho

A material used to protect submarines from sonar detection is the latest technological breakthrough in ensuring the safe and effective dose of ultrasound in medicine. Practitioners and thousands of patients in physiotherapy departments worldwide will benefit from the latest technology, which will ensure a step forward in the reliability of delivered ultrasound treatment.

The material forms a key component in a novel desk-top ultrasound power meter developed by the UK’s national standards lab

The flatulent side-effects of eating beans could soon be reduced by naturally fermenting the beans, according to results to be published in the July issue of the SCI’s Journal of the Science of Food & Agriculture, now available online.

Flatulence is known to be caused when bacteria in the gut break down alpha galactosides and soluble dietary fibre, producing gases as a by-product. Untreated beans contain high levels of these compounds.

Many people are put off eating beans because th

The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) was signed by 40 countries and the European Community during the first week it opened for signature. Norway became the first country to accept the treaty.

“The fact that so many countries signed the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in its first week demonstrates how strongly it is supported and how meaningful it is to diverse populations and situations,” said Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General