BAAR, Switzerland, April 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Manas Petroleum Corp., a Baar, Switzerland based company, today announces its wholly owned subsidiary, Manas Energia limitada Chile (Manas) and Improved Petroleum Recovery Tranquillo Chile (IPR), has signed on April 30th a "Special Operating Contract" (CEOP) with the Chilean government in Santiago de Chile. The televised ceremony was chaired by the Chilean President Mrs. Michelle Bachelet. Under Chilean law the council of ministers must ratify the contract. This formality is expected to be completed during Q2 2008.

A nationwide consortium has completed the first sequence-based map of structural variations in the human genome, giving scientists an overall picture of the large-scale differences in DNA between individuals. The project gives researchers a guide for further research into these structural differences, which are believed to play an important role in human health and disease.

The project involved sequencing the genomes of eight people from a diverse set of ethnic backgrounds: four individuals of African descent, two of Asian descent, and two of European background.

The researchers created what's called a clone map, taking multiple copies of each of the eight genomes and breaking them into numerous segments of about 40,000 base pairs, which they then fit back together based on the human reference genome. They searched for structural differences that ranged in size from a few thousand to a few million base pairs. Base pairs are one of the basic units of information on the human genome.

FALLS CHURCH, Virginia, April 30 /PRNewswire/ --

- Contract Expands Companies' Global Relationship

Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE: CSC) today announced that it has signed an information technology (IT) desktop services outsourcing contract expanding the scope of services CSC provides to Zurich Financial Services Group (Zurich), a world-leading, insurance-based financial services provider. The new agreement has a six-year base period at an estimated value of US$399 million with a two-year extension option.

BASINGSTOKE, England, April 30 /PRNewswire/ --

- Applications and content from Motorola ecosystem partners help create the most compelling mobile experience for MOTO Z10 users

Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT), today announced an array of applications from ecosystem partners available now on the MOTO Z10 mobile device, taking the mobile experience for consumers to a whole new level.

HALIFAX, England and NOVA SCOTIA, Canada, April 30 /PRNewswire/ -- ImmunoVaccine Technologies Inc. (IVT), a vaccine development company, unveiled today its DepoVax(TM) platform, a novel depot vaccine delivery system used to increase the efficacy and strength of vaccines. IVT has filed additional patents to protect the DepoVax(TM) concept.

"The results from our preclinical studies demonstrate that DepoVax(TM) is highly effective with a single dose," remarked Marc Mansour, vice president of research and development at IVT. "DepoVax(TM) is superior to conventional vaccine formulations in its ability to raise strong cellular and humoral immune responses to a variety of antigens, a hallmark of IVT's vaccine formulations."

DUBLIN, Ireland and WASHINGTON, April 30 /PRNewswire/ --

- Leading-edge mobile directory now open for consideration for businesses looking to expand their mobile customer reach

dotMobi -- the company behind the .mobi internet domain name for mobile phones and the dev.mobi developer forum -- today announced that it is accepting proposals for find.mobi, a consumer-facing mobile search tool.

find.mobi was created by dotMobi's research and development team to demonstrate an operational mobile search engine that made the most of the mobile web and needs of on-the-go users.

NEW YORK, April 30 /PRNewswire/ --

- China passes India in 2007 by adding the most new mobile subscribers in a single year, according to a new, free report from Light Reading

The world's populous nations are also among the fastest growing mobile markets, producing some 320 million new mobile phone subscribers in 2007 alone, an increase of more than 25 percent, according to a new report from TechWeb's Light Reading (www.lightreading.com) called "Top 10 Emerging Mobile Markets 2007."

China's mobile operators added about 2 million more new subscribers than India's wireless carriers, making China the fastest growing mobile market in 2007 by subscriber volume, and helping the country maintain its position as the world's largest mobile market.

The term "genome" is oft-heard but seldom defined, and indeed has more than one meaning. Little wonder, then, that discussions about genome sequences and comparisons thereof can leave otherwise interested audiences more frustrated than enlightened. "What is a genome?" and "whose genome was sequenced?" are legitimate questions, and what follows is an attempt at clarification that is, by necessity, as much philosophical as scientific.

Definition #1: In a broad sense, a genome can be considered as the collective set of genes, non-coding DNA sequences, and all their variants that are located within the chromosomes of members of a given species.

PRINCETON, New Jersey, April 30 /PRNewswire/ --

- As a Result of its Success in the North West/South West and Wales Regional Tender, the Company Has Begun Providing the Police with Forensic Services That Have a Potential Value of US$10 Million Annually -

Orchid Cellmark Inc. (Nasdaq: ORCH), a leading worldwide provider of identity DNA testing services, today announced that it has signed contracts and started DNA testing and other forensic services work with a number of U.K. police forces. This work was awarded to Orchid Cellmark under the new North West/South West and Wales regional forensic tender after a rigorous and competitive bidding process.

LUDWIGSHAFEN, Germany, April 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Few spices are as treasured and avoided! A clove of garlic is both tasty and healthy, but after you eat it, don't be surprised if even your friends start to give you a wide berth. Quite a few people find the smell of garlic disgusting, and will probably keep their distance. In entertaining weekly episodes our Chemical Reporter answers questions of our Podcast listeners on Chemistry in our everyday life.

Direct subscription via RSS-Feed or iTunes (search for "basf"): http://corporate.basf.com/en/podcast/reporter.xml

Podcast The Chemical Reporter, English edition: http://www.basf.com/podcast

More podcasts: Podcast Chemistry of Innovations: http://www.basf.com/podcast