Health services in China face enormous challenge after earthquake

sea-maid submitted, created time 5 months 3 weeks (www.bmj.com)

The earthquake in Sichuan on 12 May has left at least 292 480 people injured and 5.4 million homeless, creating a huge medical and public health challenge for the Chinese authorities.

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Bad Weather Makes for a Long Day

Massive coral death attributed to earthquake

athena submitted, created time 1 year 7 months (www.biologynews.net)

"The recent survey by scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society - Indonesia Program and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (ARCCoERS) investigated the condition of coral reefs in Pulau Simeulue and Pulau Banyak off Aceh, Indonesia, in March 2007.

The surveys covered 35 sites along 600 kms (372 miles) of coastline, have documented, for the first time, the effects of earthquake uplift on coral reefs. The entire island of Simeulue, with a perimeter of approximately 300 km (186 miles), was raised up to 1.2 m (3

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Bacteria could steady buildings against earthquakes

flyingeagle submitted, created time 1 year 9 months (www.eurekalert.org)

When a major earthquake strikes, deep, sandy soils can turn to liquid, with disastrous consequences for buildings sitting on them. Currently, civil engineers can inject chemicals into the soil to bind loose grains together. But these epoxy chemicals may have toxic effects on soil and water. The new process takes advantage of a natural soil bacterium, Bacillus pasteurii. The microbe causes calcite (calcium carbonate) to be deposited around sand grains, cementing them together

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