Avalanches can grow 100 times larger under the sea than on land – here’s why they’re a risk to the internet

By Christopher Stevenson, Senior Lecturer in Quantitative Sedimentology, University of Liverpool

Underwater avalanches are powerful natural events that happen all the time under the surface of the ocean. They are impossible to see and extremely difficult to measure, which means we know little about how they work.

Yet these phenomena pose a hazard to our global communication networks. The proliferation of the internet has required an ever-expanding network of fibre-optic seabed cables, which carry practically all global internet traffic.…

Read complete article

~	When a Walmart closes, what happens to nearby stores?

~	US national debt keeps rising after years of tax cuts – and this will make policymaking all the more difficult

~	Hunger makes it hard to focus at school: what learners in South Africa told us about food insecurity

~	We tracked 20 years of crop cycles and protests in Kenya – unrest follows a clear seasonal rhythm

~	Science is getting closer to beating malaria, so what’s still in the way? 3 areas where action can make an impact

~	Andy Burnham and climate change: where does the prime minister really stand?

~	How babies are born knowing the difference between day and night

~	The collagen craze promises younger-looking skin, but the evidence is less convincing

~	Why young protesters in France are turning against TV channel CNews

~	Tajikistan: UN Members Urge Stronger Rights Protection