Gravitational sliding of the Mt. Etna massif along a sloping basement.

Geological field evidence and laboratory modelling indicate that volcanoes constructed on slopes slide downhill. If this happens on an active volcano, then the movement will distort deformation data and thus potentially compromise interpretation. Our recent GPS measurements demonstrate that the entire edifice of Mt. Etna is sliding to the ESE, the overall direction of slope of its complex, rough sedimentary basement. We report methods of discriminating the sliding vector from other deformation processes and of measuring its velocity, which averaged 14 mm year-1 during four intervals between 2001 and 2012. Though sliding of one sector of a volcano due to flank instability is widespread and well-known, this is the first time basement sliding of an entire active volcano has been directly observed. This is important because the geological record shows that such sliding volcanoes are prone to devastating sector collapse on the downslope side, and whole volcano migration should be taken into account when assessing future collapse hazard. It is also important in eruption forecasting, as the sliding vector needs to be allowed for when interpreting deformation events that take place above the sliding basement within the superstructure of the active volcano, as might occur with dyke intrusion or inflation/deflation episodes.

Evidence from the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera for a frozen sea close to Mars' equator.

It is thought that the Cerberus Fossae fissures on Mars were the source of both lava and water floods two to ten million years ago. Evidence for the resulting lava plains has been identified in eastern Elysium, but seas and lakes from these fissures and previous water flooding events were presumed to have evaporated and sublimed away. Here we present High Resolution Stereo Camera images from the European Space Agency Mars Express spacecraft that indicate that such lakes may still exist. We infer that the evidence is consistent with a frozen body of water, with surface pack-ice, around 5 degrees north latitude and 150 degrees east longitude in southern Elysium. The frozen lake measures about 800 x 900 km in lateral extent and may be up to 45 metres deep--similar in size and depth to the North Sea. From crater counts, we determined its age to be 5 +/- 2 million years old. If our interpretation is confirmed, this is a place that might preserve evidence of primitive life, if it has ever developed on Mars.

Phencyclidine (PCP): a dangerous drug, but useful in schizophrenia research.

Phencyclidine (PCP) is a dangerous drug, and the federal government has placed it on Schedule II of the Controlled Substance Act (see http:// www .mninter.net/-publish/csa2.htm#Schedule%20III). Typically, users smoke PCP, and it is often mixed with parsley, marijuana, or cocaine. Most researchers have conducted experiments on animals rather than on people, and a few have been done on persons diagnosed with schizophrenia, so answers to questions about its addictive potential or development of tolerance are not clear. In healthy volunteers, PCP can induce symptoms that mimic those of schizophrenia, lasting from a few days to more than a week. The neurotransmitter glutamate and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) appear to play a role in the mechanism by which PCP induces positive and negative schizophrenic symptoms and cognitive defects (D. C. Javitt & S. R. Zukin, 1991; A. Lahti, B. Koffel, D. LaPorte, & C. A. Tamminga, 1995; T. W. Robbins, 1990). Because PCP can induce symptoms that are almost indistinguishable from those associated with schizophrenia, further research may lead to new medications that could be helpful to people who do not respond to neuroleptics that are currently available.