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Invisibility cloak research focuses on how to make light waves pass through an object as though nothing is there. Now what if you took that same basic principle and applied it to other types of waves — like those of vibration? More »
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While predicting the next big earthquake is probably impossibility, there's still a lot we can learn about what causes severe earthquakes. We've now identified the trigger for some of the most destructive recent earthquakes, including the 2007 quake in Haiti. More »
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South America's Atacama Desert gets less than a millimeter of rain a year, and some areas have probably never received rainfall. Yet there are rocks in the desert that seem to have been eroded by water. What's going on here? More »
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If games and puzzles aren't filling your spare time, why not spend your extra minutes contributing to science instead? Here's a quick way to send data to the US Geological Survey when an earthquake happens near your location. The USGS has a wonderful opportunity for you to contribute data quickly and efficiently if you ever find yourself in the midst of a seismic tremor.

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The Olympic Games first began in the ancient Greek city-state of Olympia. For all its fame, the city suffered a mysterious fate, destroyed by an unknown natural disaster. Now it looks like tsunamis were the culprit...despite being 30 kilometers inland. More »
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You can read a new piece by William Gibson and help donate to the Red Cross efforts in Japan at the same time, thanks to a new anthology that just went on sale at Amazon. More »
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Over the past few weeks, we've sought to understand the science behind the unfolding disaster in Japan. But a fascinating statistic from Wikipedia shows that hits on "Godzilla" jumped tremendously after the disaster too. What does this say about us? More »
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In the wake of the massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake that has devastated Japan, an obvious question arises...why didn't we see it coming? The fact is that earthquake prediction has long baffled scientists, and the current consensus is that it's actually impossible. More »
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Want to know where you should live if you are hoping to avoid the next catastrophic earthquake, flood, megavolcano, or storm? Consult our map of disaster hot zones of the world. More »
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Every great disaster movie has some moments of pure, epic destruction, where everything collapses, burns or blows up real good. Bonus points for destroyed landmarks and victim cameos. Here are 30 amazing money shots from the greatest disaster porn flicks. More »
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The devastating 8.8 quake that hit Chile last week was a rare "megathrust" earthquake, among the most powerful known, and it affected the very shape of the planet. How did it do that, and will you notice the difference? More »
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Two days ago, an earthquake hit the island of Haiti, claiming thousands of lives and destroying huge parts of Port-au-Prince. But among the collapsed city buildings, a tent city of survivors is growing. More »
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Markus Haering probably didn't intend to emulate Lex Luthor when his company's drilling triggered a series of minor earthquakes. But the geothermal energy mogul is up on criminal charges for his earth-shaking exploits. More »
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The aftershocks of earthquakes can occur decades, and even centuries, after the initial tremors, according to new research carried out by scientists at the University of Missouri. Does this mean that the 1906 earthquake could still destroy San Francisco? More »
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Massive earthquakes in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Sumatra are just the beginning. Researchers expect a 30-year cycle of mega-quakes like the one that caused the 2004 tsunami. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5108160&view=rss&microfeed=true J.J. Abrams isn't busy enough already with Lost, Fringe and Star Trek, so he's teaming up with producer David Seltzer, the original Omen scribe, to make a disaster film with Universal that involves an earthquake. (Although it will not be a remake of the 1974 disaster classic of the same title.) With Abrams behind this I expect the disaster to have some mysterious scientific basis that will blow you away. Let's just hope it's not spores. [Hollywood Reporter] More »
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It sounds like voodoo, but NASA researcher Friedemann Freund is so convinced he's discovered the secret to predicting earthquakes that he's put up $1 million dollars of his own money to fly a group of satellites into Earth orbit to test his theory. The instruments could be up in as little as two years, looking for small electrical charges that build up as rocks in the planet's crust get strained by the massive forces of plate tectonics. Of course there are a lot of dissenters to Freund's theory, but according to an internal memo leaked to the press in May, other NASA scientists are planning to tell the world later this summer that the idea works. More »
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These modular, snap-together housing units were developed to aid in disaster relief for a potential hurricane in New York City. But to us they look a lot more like something we'd use in San Francisco after the next Big One. After San Francisco's devastating 1906 earthquake, people moved into tiny shacks in Golden Gate Park (a few of the shacks still exist). These habitats are this century's answer to the earthquake shack: they can snap together in an infinite variety of combinations and are covered with inflatable, water-resistant shell. Check out the future of San Francisco housing below. More »
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