Washington, Oct 26 : A team of scientists may have discovered some hidden clues that may help them identify impending earthquakes, in the form of a multitude of creeping changes underground.

Detecting and interpreting these changes would help forecast earthquakes, but that detection has proven difficult, partly because scientists don’t yet fully understand the complex chain of events that precipitates a quake.

Now, a team of researchers has claimed to find hidden clues that can help them predict looming quakes.

Washington, Oct 26 : A new study has revealed that voters are subconsciously swayed by candidates who share their facial features.

The study was conducted by Jeremy Bailenson, an assistant professor of communication, and Shanto Iyengar, the Harry and Norman Chandler Professor in Communication.

In three experiments, the researchers and their graduate students worked with cheap, easy-to-use computer software to morph pictures of about 600 test subjects with photos of politicians.

And they kept coming up with the same results: For the would-be voters who weren''t very familiar with the candidates or in perfect lockstep with their positions or political parties, the facial similarity was enough to clinch their votes.

Washington, Oct 26 : A research spanning 20 years has determined that climate change and acid rain could actually be good for forests.

The research was undertaken by scientists at Michigan Technological University’s School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science in the northern hardwood forests of Michigan.

The team reached a surprising conclusion that moderate increases in temperature and nitrogen from atmospheric pollution actually improve forest productivity.

Washington, Oct 26 : Scientists have simulated the seismic signals that precede a volcanic eruption for the first time and created a 3-D visualization of those warning signs under controlled conditions, which could help save lives in case of an actual catastrophe.

According to a report in Newswise, the simulation has been made by an international team working out of the University of Toronto’s (U of T’s) Rock Fracture Dynamics Facility in Canada.

By performing tests on basalt rock from Sicily’s still-active volcano Mt. Etna, the team was able to record the seismic waves generated during the earthquakes that occur before volcanic eruptions.

Washington, Oct 26 : A new research has confirmed for the first time that normal skin can become drier from creams.

The findings are based on Izabela Buraczewska’s study, in which she looked at what happens to the skin at the molecular level and also what positive and negative effects creams have on the skin.

Her research has revealed that differences in the pH of creams do not seem to play any role.

She also studied different oils in a seven-week treatment period, but no difference was established between mineral oil and a vegetable oil. Both oils resulted in the skin being less able to cope with external stresses.

Washington, Oct 26 : Scientists at the Department of Biological Sciences have found a previously unknown coral reef in the Seychelles.

As part of an ongoing study, Dave Smith and Dave Suggett visited Curieuse Island, which is managed by the Seychelles Centre of Marine Research and Technology-Marine Protected Areas (SCMRT-MPA).

Smith and Suggett were joined by PhD student Seb Hennige as well as local Seychelles collaborators.

The island is home to over 200 giant tortoises but it was thought no coral reefs were present.