Waters spread across floodway above Morgan City

Waters spread across floodway above Morgan City

Two weeks after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened the flood control structure known as the Morganza Spillway, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this false-color image of the…

E. coli claims first victim outside Germany

E. coli claims first victim outside Germany

The outbreak of a highly virulent strain of the E. coli bacteria found on imported cucumbers in Germany has now killed at least 16 people. Authorities are warning against eating raw vegetables.A deadly strain of the Enterohemorrhagic E.coli bacteria has claimed its

African land grab could lead to future water conflicts

African land grab could lead to future water conflicts

China, India and Saudi Arabia have lately leased vast tracts of land in sub-Saharan Africa at knockdown prices. Their primary aim is to grow food abroad using the water that African countries don’t have the infrastructure to exploit. Doing so is cheaper and easier than

Prozac killing E. coli in the Great Lakes

Prozac killing E. coli in the Great Lakes

Scientists in Erie, Pennsylvania, have found that minute concentrations of fluoxetine, the active ingredient in Prozac, are killing off microbial populations in the Great Lakes.Traces of antidepressants such as Prozac have been found in both drinking and recreational

Dead Sea disappearing day by day

Dead Sea disappearing day by day

The Dead Sea has been drying up at a dramatic rate in recent decades as a result mostly of human demands for water. But instead of letting the historic body of water continue to disappear, some scientists are getting increasingly serious about trying to save it.In the m

Deadly E. coli outbreak alarms Germany

Deadly E. coli outbreak alarms Germany

A deadly outbreak of the E. coli bacterium has claimed several victims in Germany, authorities confirmed Tuesday. A life-threatening form of the bacteria E. coli has spread across much of Germany, with scores of patients seriously ill in hospital. The bug claimed its

1 500 missing after Joplin, Missouri tornado

1 500 missing after Joplin, Missouri tornado

Residents of tornado-ravaged Joplin, Missouri continued picking up the pieces, totaling the damages and counting their blessings Wednesday. The tornado that struck the community Sunday killed at least 125 people, in what authorities said was the deadliest single…

Experts say it’s time to shift view of seismic risk

Experts say it’s time to shift view of seismic risk

Knowledge of seismic risk is badly skewed in favor of earthquakes that occur on plate boundaries, such as the March 11 temblor that hit northeast Japan, rather than those that strike deep inland, a pair of scientists said on Sunday. In a commentary appearing in the…