1.   Earthquake prediction is an inexact science.

2.   But earthquake prediction has a strong constituency among the public, the scientists who receive the money and the agencies that dole it out.

3.   It is not surprising that Japan places so much emphasis on earthquake prediction.

4.   One new theory of earthquake prediction -- based on the observation that big quakes are always preceded by unusual periods of seismic calm -- seems particularly promising.

5.   The Keys resulted from an unusual collaboration between myself, a professor of American history, and Russian geophysicist Volodia Keilis-Borok, an authority on earthquake prediction.

6.   The increased confidence in the earthquake predictions comes from much finer measurements of land movements made using Global Positioning System measurements and a new review of historical records..

7.   The science of earthquake prediction has fallen on hard times.

8.   Whatever is decided, earthquake prediction has undergone a reversal of fortune.

9.   Earthquake prediction is still a notoriously inexact science, and many critics say the government is overly optimistic about its abilities.

10.   For days, newspapers have printed statements by seismologists and officials saying the earthquake prediction is a hoax.