Shake and stand back
Earthquakes can spark volcanic eruptions. Since the mid-1800s, volcanic activity within 500 kilometres of large earthquakes in southern Chile increased up to fourfold during the year afterwards compared with other years. The quakes may stir up magma beneath volcanos, which could lead to an increase in pressure, say the authors of the study. The work will appear in Earth and Planetary Science Letters.
Banning bluetongue
A new EU law is set to make the fight against bluetongue 鈥� a disease that affects sheep and cows 鈥� a little easier. Until now, farmers who vaccinate livestock against infectious disease have been obliged to accept animals exported by countries with the disease before the vaccine can take effect. The proposed law would ensure time for such herds to develop immunity.
The Neanderthal cometh
Half the Neanderthal genome has been decoded, and the rest should be sequenced soon. The information found so far should help us understand Neanderthal biology and evolution, and will reveal whether they interbred with humans. The final draft will be ready in a year or two.
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Worth your weight
The next diet fad might involve cash rather than carbohydrates. Obese people who were offered money for every kilogram shed lost more weight during a 16-week trial than those given standard diet advice (The Journal of the American Medical Association, vol 300, p 2631). Unfortunately, many dieters put the pounds back on once the programme ended.
Viral link to Alzheimer鈥檚
The herpes simplex virus, which causes cold sores, concentrates itself in the amyloid plaques that clog up the brains of people with Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. The finding implicates HSV as a possible cause of the disease (Journal of Pathology, ).