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Vancouver — A silent tectonic event, so powerful it has shifted southern Vancouver Island out to sea, but so subtle nobody has felt a thing, is slowly unfolding on the West Coast. Scientists who are tracking the event with sensitive seismographs and earth orbiting satellites warn it could be a trigger for a massive earthquake -- some time, maybe soon. But they are quick to add that the imperceptible tremors emanating from deep beneath the surface are sending signals scientists are not yet able to comprehend fully and "the Big One" might yet be 200 years off. What they do...

Danger lurks below in Oregon The state faces the likelihood of a major earthquake that would kill thousands and cause billions of dollars in damage -- and we're not ready for it. A hurricane as destructive as Katrina striking Oregon is about as likely as a rain-free winter in the Northwest. Oregon hasn't been hit by a hurricane even close to that powerful in recorded history. But that doesn't mean the state is immune to disaster. Scientists warn that the 800-mile-long earthquake fault off the state's coast will shake the ground as far east as the Cascades -- hard enough...

London-based Tunic Software came up with a program that compensates for hand tremors when using a mouse. This is how it works: MouseCage (patent pending) displays a special Guide cursor on screen that shows your actual hand movements. The Windows cursor takes an average of this motion and automatically moves to where you intend to click. When you are near or on target, you can optionally press the special 'Cage' key and your mouse is caged - this means that cursor motion is greatly reduced for accurate clicking. If you wish, you can press the Cage key a second time...

Ecuador quake fears after hundreds of tremors hit 31 Jan 2005 22:19:00 GMT Source: Reuters QUITO, Ecuador, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Hundreds of earth tremors off the coast of Ecuador in the past 11 days have sparked fears that a bigger quake could strike soon. "This isn't normal," the director of Geophysics Institute at the National Polytechnic School, Hugo Yepez, told Reuters on Monday, "This area is capable of producing big earthquakes. Very big earthquakes." About 320 tremors of more than 4.0 on the Richter scale have shaken the Pacific Ocean off the port of Manta since Jan. 20....

Earthquake Hazards Program: Northridge, California 1994 01 17 "The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program provides earthquake information for current and past earthquakes, hazards and preparedness information, and education resources for teachers and students." Latest Quakes   EQ Facts & Lists   Hazards & Preparedness   For Kids Only   Regional Websites   Science & Technology    HOME | ABOUT US | EQ GLOSSARY | FOR TEACHERS | PRODUCTS & SERVICES | DID YOU FEEL IT? | FAQ | SEARCH    EQ Facts & Lists Large Earthquakes in the United States Northridge, California 1994 01 17 12:30:55 UTC (local time: 4:30 a.m.)...

Mysterious tremors deep beneath the San Andreas Fault near the quake-prone town of Parkfield are shaking the earth's brittle crust, far below the region where earthquakes normally strike -- and scientists say they can't understand what's happening or what the motions mean. Seismic researchers are monitoring the strange vibrations closely. But whether the faint underground tremors -- termed "chatter" by some seismologists -- portend an increased likelihood of a major quake in the area is an unsolved puzzle. Robert Nadeau, a geophysicist at the UC Berkeley Seismological Laboratory, charted more than 110 of the faint vibrations since they were first...

No one would argue that earthworms are cute. But to most people, they are benign and helpful creatures — fertilizers of the garden, aerators of the soil, indispensable fishing companions. "Earthworms are truly nature's little farmers," goes one common view, this one on the Web site of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, "plowing the soil and fertilizing at the same time!" But for a growing body of researchers, the traditional view of earthworms is giving way to a much more ominous one. Most earthworms common in the United States are exotic intruders from Europe, Asia or South America, these scientists point...

Parkinson's Gene Therapy Study Begins By MALCOLM RITTER AP Science Writer NEW YORK (AP) -- Researchers slipped billions of copies of a gene into the brain of a Parkinson's disease patient Monday, marking the first attempt to test gene therapy in a person with that disease. The patient, 55-year-old Nathan Klein of Port Washington, N.Y., said he was "feeling fine" in a telephone interview a few hours after the surgery. Klein said the disease gave him a tremor in his right arm, and made him shuffle and have to catch himself sometimes from falling. Medicines offer some relief, he said,...