Earth’s surface. For the first few years after the eruption, global temperatures dropped by half a degree. In general, volcanic eruptions can have a strong short-term impact on climate. Conversely, the idea that climate may also affect volcanic eruptions on a global scale and over long periods of time is completely new. Read more.
Coming Planetary Alignments
In recent months, UBS's Art Cashin has been warning about increased earthquake activity driven by peculiar planetary and solar angles.
In this morning's "Cashin's Comments," he notes that another planetary alignment could trigger earthquakes during the period when we're supposedly going to experience the Mayan apocalypse. Read more.
Help Seniors Cope with Disasters
Seniors are known to have enduring spirits. Many have an amazing ability to handle hardships, most likely because they have already weathered so many storms in their life. Despite this resiliency, dealing with natural disasters can pose unique challenges for those in the older population who are frail and may struggle with chronic illnesses such as memory loss.
Recent natural disasters, such as Superstorm Sandy on the East Coast and wildfires on the West Coast, illustrate that these kinds of unexpected situations can happen any time, anywhere. For all seniors, it is critical to prepare them in advance, as well as provide support after the fact. Read more.
Flesh Eating Fungal Infection
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 5 (HealthDay News) -- After a natural disaster, doctors should be on the lookout for outbreaks of a rare but deadly "flesh-eating" fungal infection, researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday.
That's the lesson, the agency said, from 13 cases of mucormycosis skin infections that struck victims of the Joplin, Mo., tornado last year.
The May 2011 tornado was one of the deadliest in U.S. history, killing almost 160 people and injuring more than 1,000. In the aftermath, doctors found that some victims with serious injuries were developing severe infections that ate away at the skin and underlying soft tissue.
It turned out to be mucormycosis, a fungal infection caused by a group of molds found in soil and decaying matter, such as fallen leaves and rotting wood. The fungus can attack various parts of the body, but skin infections occur when the fungus contaminates a wound. Read more.
10 Most affected by 2011 Natural Disasters
JOHANNESBURG, 27 November 2012 (IRIN) - Many of the worst natural disasters of 2011 were also the most severe the affected countries had ever experienced, revealed the Global Climate Risk Index (CRI) 2013, which was released in Doha today.
Brazil, Cambodia, El Salvador, Laos and Thailand appear in the CRI’s 10 most-affected countries; all recorded their severest natural hazards-related catastrophes in 2011.
Floods and landslides claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people and caused almost US$5 billion in direct losses in Brazil, said the index, which is produced by the NGO Germanwatch.
Thailand is listed as 2011’s most natural disaster-affected country. The country experienced its worst flooding ever that year, triggered by the landfall of Tropical Storm Nock-ten. The flooding led to losses worth $43 billion, making it one of the most costly natural disasters of the world. Read more.
Advances in Influenza Vaccines
Researchers recently found that a single dose of a vaccine being developed by Medicago, Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, could protect against not only the avian influenza (H5N1) strain it was designed for, but also another H5N1 strain and a strain of a different flu subtype, called H2N2.
This phenomenon, known as “cross-protection,” is highly desirable in an influenza vaccine, especially when the threat of a pandemic influenza outbreak looms. That’s because influenza strains often mutate, rendering stockpiled vaccines ineffective. Medicago has a special advantage in this regard, because the company can rapidly produce a vaccine in less than a month after the identification of a flu strain. This speed results from Medicago