Scientists invent ’spiderbots’ that talk amongst themselves inside active volcano

October 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has revealed that some of the world's most dangerous volcanoes can erupt much more quickly than scientists had suspected. According to a report in National Geographic News, the study took into account the massive 2008 eruption of Chile's Chaiten volcano.

September 19th, 2009 LONDON - If you want to know if someone is telling you the truth, just go through his or her handwriting, say scientists in Haifa, Israel. According to psychologists, handwriting changes when someone lies, and this is so because the brain has to work harder to invent facts, which then in turn interfere with the normal writing process.

September 10th, 2009 WASHINGTON - It is often said that scientists are press shy, and those who aren't, are mavericks. Now, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have debunked the theory.

September 7th, 2009 LONDON - A team of archaeologists has solved the ancient mystery of why the odd-looking statues on the Easter Island statues wear red hats. Up to one thousand years ago, the islanders started putting giant red hats on the statues.

September 7th, 2009 LONDON - An expedition team has found a new species of giant rat in an extinct volcano in the jungle of Papua New Guinea, which at 82cm length, is as big as a cat. According to a report by BBC News, the creature, which has not yet been formally described, was discovered by an expedition team filming the BBC programme 'Lost Land of the Volcano'.

August 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - NASA scientists have placed about a dozen monitoring 'spiderbots' inside the volcanic crater in Mount St Helens in the US, which are high-tech devices that can detect an impending eruption. Mount St. Helens is one of the most active volcanoes in the US.

July 10th, 2009 Philippines' most active volcano restive againMANILA, Philippines — Scientists say the Philippines' most active volcano is rumbling again while emitting steam and a strong glow at the summit crater that can be seen with the naked eye. State volcanologists say the frequency of volcanic earthquakes has increased on Mayon signifying the possible movement of magma below the surface that could lead to ash explosions and eventually eruption.

July 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has discounted a theory which suggested that when a giant volcano on Sumatra blew its top 74,000 years ago, the Earth went into deep freeze, cooling the climate by at least 10 degrees Celsius. The volcano, named Toba, may have ejected 1000 times more rock and other material than Mount St.

July 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has determined that glaciers are the reason behind seismic activity and earthquakes in Iceland. The study was carried out by Kristin Jonsdottir, Roland Roberts, Veijo Pohjola, Bjorn Lund, Zaher Hossein Shomali, Ari Tryggvason, and Reynir Boovarsson from the Department of Earth Science, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.

June 30th, 2009 Scientists lower Alaska volcano threat levelANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaskans can put away their dust masks and spare air filters, for now, because Mount Redoubt seems to have cooled off since its last major eruption nearly three months ago. The Alaska Volcano Observatory said Tuesday that seismic activity has slowed under the volcano and it's possible that eruptions have stopped.

June 20th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A team of scientists has found that the highest microbial life on Earth appears to be in South America, around vents near the rim of the Socompa volcano, which sits on the border between Argentina and Chile in the Atacama Desert. The newfound creatures, at a height of almost 19,850 feet (6,050 meters) above sea level, are the highest-altitude microbial communities known, Steve Schmidt, a microbiologist at the University of Colorado at Boulder, US, told National Geographic News.

June 7th, 2009 Scientists eye glowing volcano crater in HawaiiVOLCANO, Hawaii — The summit of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano is glowing brightly as molten lava swirls 300 feet below its crater's floor, bubbling near the surface after years of spewing from the volcano's side. The expanding vent of Halemaumau crater helps confirm scientists' belief that the lava is close to the surface of the summit, said Janet Babb, a geologist and spokeswoman for the U.S.

May 8th, 2009 LONDON - A 'hot' new adrenaline sport called 'volcano boarding' has been developed by a group of thrill-seekers. In the sport, participants race at speeds of up to 50mph down the side of an active volcano.

May 5th, 2009 Scientists: another Mount Redoubt eruption likelyANCHORAGE, Alaska — Geologists in Alaska say the Mount Redoubt volcano may be getting ready to awaken after being relatively quiet for more than a month. Scientists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory say activity at the volcano about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage suggests a significant explosive event is likely with days — although that's not certain.

March 30th, 2009 LONDON - In a new research, scientists have found that Volcano plumes can swirl like cyclones, thus spawning tornadoes and sheet lightning. It is conventionally thought that a volcanic plume rises straight up and spreads out in a rough circle.