Scientists at Stanford University and MIT have found a new way to predict earthquakes and possible damage in areas where seismologists have struggled with oceans causing small seismic waves.
The scientists have developed a way to use ocean waves as a model for earthquakes and its impact on different types of soil.
The study says that Los Angeles is very vulnerable to a large quake from the San Andreas Fault.
The study shows that because the city sits on what’s called a ”sedimentary basin” shock waves from quakes could be magnified as much as three times their usual level. A sedimentary basin is softer, sandier dirt surrounded by a ring of rock. The waves would bounce off the rock and increase in magnitude.
One member of the scientific team said it was similar to a large bathtub full of water. If you shake the tub, the tub does not shake much but the water within violently shakes along with anything on top of it.
The study says the new system will allow scientists to test the impact of an earthquake on buildings in areas that have not experienced an earthquake for many years.
“Not dead yet.”
That was phrase used by U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Susan Hough in a study published in the journal Science saying the major fault in the middle of the United States is still open to a major earthquake.
The New Madrid Fault Zone covers parts of seven states: Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.
The study was in response to studies claiming the fault was dying down and that any seismic actions were aftershocks or results of the major 1811-1812 earthquakes that devastated the central Mississippi River valley. The fault is considered to be less understood than other major faults because unlike those faults, it is located in the middle of a continent away from plate edges.
Hough and a USGS geophysicist analyzed past quakes in the New Madrid region and through computer modeling determined they are not related to the big quakes 200 years ago.
The USGS estimates a 7 to 10 percent chance of a 7.0 or greater earthquake in the region within the next 50 years.
A new Loyola University study says that cancer patients who exercise can cut their risk of death in half.
The study of men who beat cancer and who burned more than 12,600 calories a week in some kind of exercise program showed a death rate half of those who did not exercise.
The study was conducted of over 1,000 men with an average age of 71.
The study also confirmed a previous study that showed cancer survivors who stayed physically active had a 38% less chance of death if the cancer were to return. They were also 48% less likely to die of cardiovascular disease after their cancer treatments.
“Physical activity should be actively promoted to such individuals to enhance longevity,” Dr. Kathlee Wolin said in the study.
A new report from the Commerce Department shows that half of the nation’s counties have still not recovered from the economic depression despite the overall nationwide economy indicating a recovery.
The Wall Street Journal reports that despite the good nationwide number the economic recovery is uneven at best.
One of the report’s authors said that the report shows why many Americans feel like the economy is not improving. Emilia Istrate said that Americans feel the economy locally and that if there’s no recovery in their area they don’t believe overall conditions are improving.
The report examined GDP, total number of jobs, unemployment rates and home prices.
A new study says that excessive television watching can actually cause physical harm to a child’s brain.
According to the researchers, the more time a child views TV the more significant the changes to the child’s brain.
MRI brain scans of children who spent the most hours in front of the TV in the study showed greater amounts of grey matter in the regions around the front of the frontal lobe. The build up was connected to lower verbal intelligence and that children with the highest IQs showed significantly less grey matter in that area of their brains.
The study showed both boys and girls brains were impacted equally by excessive television viewing.
The researchers said that part of the issue comes from television not requiring any advancement in brain function to view. In comparison, playing a musical instrument requires increased technical precision and allows for greater, higher levels of achievement.
The scientists could not say conclusively if missing activities such as reading, playing sports or interacting with other children were also to blame.
