• Asteroid collision: How to defend Earth, II

    Asteroid impacts are much rarer than hurricanes and earthquakes, but they have the potential to do much greater damage; moreover, what if an asteroid hits Earth in the Middle East or the Asian subcontinent? Such an event could be misinterpreted as a nuclear attack — both produce a bright flash, a blast wave, and raging winds; the result may be a nuclear war

  • Asteroid collision: How to defend Earth, I

    There are thousands of Near Earth Objects (NEOs) orbiting Earth; some of them are of a civilization-ending size, others are smaller — they will take out “only” a country or a city were they to collide with Earth; scientists say we should focus our minds on this danger

  • How high is the risk of civilization-killing asteroids?

    Planetary bombardments: scientists at a planets meeting discuss the risks of an asteroid colliding with Earth; researchers are worried about asteroid Apophis, which will come uncomfortably close to Earth on 13 April 2029; one scientist said that “It’s 10 times more likely that an unknown asteroid will slam into us from behind while you’re looking at Apophis”

  • Oil production to peak before 2030

    New reports says that oil will become increasingly expensive and harder to find, extract, and produce; significant new discoveries, such as the one announced recently in the Gulf of Mexico, are only expected to delay the peak by a matter of days and weeks; to maintain global oil production at today’s level will require the equivalent of a new Saudi Arabia every three years

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  • School closings owing to swine flu could cost between $10 and $47 billion

    The U.S. government urges schools to remain open, but there had already been at least 187 school dismissals across the country affecting at least 79,678 students; cost of closing all U.S. schools could reach billions of dollars

  • Is California's Big One coming?

    In 1992 and in 2004, remote earthquakes caused changes to the San Andreas fault; in both cases, there were distinct changes in the movement of fluids and an increase in the frequency of micro-earthquakes deep within the fault below Parkfield; what will be the effect on the fault of the recent Sumatra earthquake?

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  • Majority of Americans would refuse emergency use H1N1 vaccine or additive

    Some 46 percent of people surveyed said they were concerned about
    getting swine flu, but nearly 86 percent said they thought it was unlikely or very unlikely that they themselves would become ill

  • Protection One unveils uConnect

    Large security provider shows a new, all-in-one online security management solution for businesses of all sizes

  • GAO: FEMA not ready for nuclear, radiological attack

    GAO: “FEMA has not developed a national disaster recovery strategy or related plans to guide involvement of federal agencies in these recovery activities, as directed by federal law and executive guidance”

  • U.S. government takes leap into the Internet cloud

    Vivek Kundra, the White House CIO, said wider adoption of cloud computing solutions would allow federal agencies to “fulfill their missions at lower cost, faster, and ultimately, in a more sustainable manner”

  • Swine flu continues to spread long after fever stops

    Swine flu appears to be contagious longer than ordinary seasonal flu, several experts said; more than 1 million Americans have been infected and nearly 600 have died from it

  • Most U.S. businesses can not handle flu outbreak

    One-fifth of the businesses surveyed said they could avoid problems for one month with half their employees out

  • FCC releases report on agency's preparedness for major emergencies

    The FCC has an important role to play in ensuring that the U.S. communications infrastructure serves the public safety needs; a new report concludes that the agency largely meets this challenge, but that there are a few area where matter can be improved

  • Better immune defense against anthrax

    Scientists discover a gene in anthrax-causing bacteria may help defend against this form of bio-warfare

  • Swine flu still poses a deadly threat

    While H1N1 mostly causes mild disease, some people — estimates suggest fewer than 1 percent — become deathly ill, very fast; experts warned that these cases could overwhelm hospitals