We all know that children who are popular do well socially. A new study has found that teenagers who feel good about themselves and are comfortable with their peers can also be socially successful without being popular in the traditional sense.

These findings come from researchers at the University of Virginia and are published in the May/June 2008 issue of the journal Child Development.

Researchers studied 164 adolescents from racially, ethnically, and socio-economically diverse backgrounds. The teens were interviewed at age 13 and then again at 14. The researchers also interviewed the adolescents’ same-sex close friends.

A study investigating aging in mice has found that hormonal changes that occur when mice eat significantly less may help explain an already established phenomenon: a low calorie diet can extend the lifespan of rodents, a benefit that even regular exercise does not achieve.

“We know that being lean rather than obese is protective from many diseases, but key rodent studies tell us that being lean from eating less, as opposed to exercising more, has greater benefit for living longer. This study was designed to understand better why that is,” said Derek M. Huffman, the study’s lead author.

The study applies only to rodents, which are different in some key ways from humans, cautions Huffman.

CALABASAS, California, May 14 /PRNewswire/ --

- JM-4 Looper Features Jam Tracks Performed by A-list Studio Musicians, Sound-on-Sound Loop Recording and Famous Line 6 Tone -

Line 6, Inc. (http://www.line6.com), the industry leader in amp-modeling technology, introduces JM-4 Looper, the only looping stompbox that combines a complete palette of vivid guitar sounds and explosive jam tracks performed by world-class studio musicians.

CALABASAS, California, May 14 /PRNewswire/ --

- M13 Stompbox Modeler provides a massive collection of celebrated stompbox sounds, stunning effects and an easy to use looper -

Line 6, Inc. (http://www.line6.com), the industry leader in modeling technology, announces M13 Stompbox Modeler, an all-in-one stompbox experience featuring sought-after stompbox sounds and an easy-to-use looper in a brawny box that's built for the stage.

Common Sense 101: if benefits outweigh the costs, generally people will opt in to whatever action is under consideration. If you can prevent or reduce your chance of death from cancer by early screenings at a nominal fee, you will probably get screened. Now throw a twist into the equation. Say that screening is only 50 percent effective at catching early cancer. On the benefit side, screening will still prevent or reduce cancer. On the cost side, you may not catch a tumor; you may be exposing yourself to harmful radiation (which ironically could contribute to the cancer you’re trying to prevent), emotional stress from false positives and possible physical harm from false negatives; and you’re spending money on a service that only works half the time. (Using the same idea, if your airbag only worked in 50 percent of accidents, would you pay for it to be installed in your car, or would you demand that auto manufacturers developed an airbag with 100 percent efficiency?)

COPENHAGEN, May 13 /PRNewswire/ --

- Circadin(R) Improves Quality of Sleep and Morning Alertness

A new, first in class sleep medication is launched today, offering hope for thousands of sufferers of insomnia in Europe. Circadin(R), sustained-release melatonin, provides natural sleep by increasing the body's own level of this naturally occurring hormone throughout the night. (1)

ATHENS, May 13 /PRNewswire/ --

- Significant Increase by 31,6% in Sales and 10,3 % in Net Profitability for KORRES Natural Products Group - Increase by 31,6% of the Consolidated Sales to EUR 11,3m in the First Quarter of 2008 (from EUR 8,6m in the Corresponding Quarter of 2007) - Increased by 12,7% of the Consolidated EBITDA to EUR 2,6m (from EUR 2,3m in the Respective Period of 2007) - Net Profits (EAT) Increased by 10,3% to EUR 1,5m (from EUR 1,4m in the First Quarter of 2007)

LOS ANGELES and GÜTERSLOH, Germany, May 13 /PRNewswire/ --

- Companies Combine Technologies to Support Multilingual Applications in Technology Partnership

Language Weaver, a leading software company developing enterprise software for the automated translation of human languages, and empolis, a leading service technology company based in Gütersloh Germany, have entered into a strategic technology agreement that will support multilingual translation of enterprise applications. empolis will integrate Language Weaver's automated translation software into its e:SLS (empolis:Service Lifecycle Suite) application for customer service and into its e:IAS (empolis:Information Access Suite) information management application for cross-lingual enterprise search.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, May 13 /PRNewswire/ --

- Attendees to Learn Secure E-mail Innovations for Supplier Bases

Marc Speltens, European outreach director of the Transglobal Secure Collaboration Program (TSCP), will present the vision and framework for secure e-mail communication at SMi's Cyber Defence Conference.

REYKJAVIK, Iceland, May 13 /PRNewswire/ --

- With Photo

- Human growth factors produced in barley grain, using renewable, geothermal energy

ORF Genetics (http://www.orfgenetics.com), an Icelandic biotechnology company, announced today the opening of new and revolutionary 22,000 ft^2 (2043m^2) cultivation facilities in Grindavik, Iceland. Utilizing its unique Orfeus(TM) protein production system in barley, ORF Genetics produces and markets biorisk-free ISOkine(TM) human growth factors for use in medical research, drug discovery and cosmetics.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080513/DC22192 )