Mice can predict big earthquakes: Japanese researchers (detects electromagnetic pulse)

AFP via Yahoo! News ^ | 06/25/03

[TigerLikesRooster]

Mice can predict big earthquakes: Japanese researchers

2 hours, 42 minutes ago Add Science - AFP to My Yahoo!

TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese researchers said they have proved mice act strangely after being exposed to electromagnetism similar to that often monitored ahead of a big earthquake (news - web sites).

In their experiments, researchers exposed mice to low levels of electromagnetism which people cannot feel, said Takeshi Yagi, professor at Osaka University in western Japan.

"The mice then became unstable and ran around inside the cage, scratched their faces and stuck their heads into sawdust in the cage," Yagi said Wednesday.

"We first observed unusual movement by mice kept in our laboratory eight years ago, the day before the Kobe earthquake," Yagi said.

The earthquake, measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale, struck the western Japanese city of Kobe, west of Osaka, on January 17, 1995, killing 6,433 people and injuring some 43,700.

"We hit a hypothesis that electromagnetic pulses generated ahead of an earthquake would disrupt a mouse's internal clock," said Yagi.

"More experiments are needed to solidify the results, but it is quite significant that it was the first time, as far as we know, to show scientific data proving animals' ability to sense signs of big earthquakes (news - web sites)."

The theory was presented at a meeting of the Bioelectromagnetic Society (BEMS) in Honolulu.

In Japan, one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, people say some forms of life, such as rats and catfish, have a special ability to predict tremors.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Now we know why. This also means that a shark can be a good earthquake detector, too. They are known to have excellent sensors to electromagnetism.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[bedolido]

I had an old girlfriend that had a great set of earth-quake detectors. Of course there were many false alarms... like when we played tennis, bowled or jogged.

[isthisnickcool]

Wow! And they can also find cheese!

[martin_fierro]

I'd say you're odd no matter WHAT post number you have. <|:)~

[PoorMuttly]

This was observed GENERATIONS ago. It was taught in High School. Same holds true for other animals...and for predicting Thunderstorms, etc.

[ctlpdad]

White mice also act strangely when you put beer in their water bottle- they think they can dance.

[alnitak]

The experiments these mice are performing on humans just keep getting subtler and subtler. Next they'll be figuring out the ultimate question.

[zlala]

Wouldn't mice think any earthqake is big?

[bedolido]

Wouldn't mice think any earthqake is big?

lol. Brilliant!