A problem which has defeated mathematicians for almost 140 years has been solved by a researcher at Imperial College London.

Professor Darren Crowdy, Chair in Applied Mathematics, has made the breakthrough in an area of mathematics known as conformal mapping, a key theoretical tool used by mathematicians, engineers and scientists to translate information from a complicated shape to a simpler circular shape so that it is easier to analyze.

This theoretical tool has a long history and has uses in a large number of fields including modelling airflow patterns over intricate wing shapes in aeronautics.

MOSCOW, March 3 /PRNewswire/ --

Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL), one of the leading Russian mining and metals companies, announces its interest in acquiring Oriel Resources Plc (Oriel).

Mechel OAO is currently contemplating the acquisition of Oriel. This process is at an early stage and there can be no certainty that any offer will ultimately be forthcoming.

Oriel Resources Plc is a London-based chrome and nickel mining and processing company, which listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM: ORI) of the London Stock Exchange in March 2004 and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: ORL) in February 2005. Key assets of Oriel include: the Tikhvin smelter, the Voskhod chrome and the Shevchenko nickel projects.

LONDON, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Unite national officer, Dougie Rooney says,

"The price increases that energy companies are imposing are plunging hundreds of thousands of new households into fuel poverty.

The Government must take tough action and levy a windfall tax unless energy companies are prepared to take genuine action to help the 4.5 million people living in fuel poverty."

Contact: Ciaran Naidoo +44-(0)7768-931-315

Throughout the world, amateurs, experts and the media agree that prolonged jogging raises people's spirits. And many believe that the body’s own opioids, so called endorphins, are the cause of this. But in fact this has never been proved until now.

Researchers at the Technische Universität München and the University of Bonn succeeded to demonstrate the existence of an ‘endorphin driven runner’s high’. In an imaging study they were able to show, for the first time, increased release of endorphins in certain areas of the athletes' brains during a two-hour jogging session.

Widespread damage to plants from a sudden freeze that occurred across the Eastern United States from 5 April to 9 April 2007 was made worse because it had been preceded by two weeks of unusual warmth, according to an analysis published in BioScience.

The authors of the report, Lianhong Gu and his colleagues at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and collaborators at NASA, the University of Missouri, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, found that the freeze killed new leaves, shoots, flowers, and fruit of natural vegetation, caused crown dieback of trees, and led to severe damage to crops in an area encompassing Nebraska, Maryland, South Carolina, and Texas. Subsequent drought limited regrowth.

SACRAMENTO, California, March 3 /PRNewswire/ --

ROBODOC, a Curexo Technology Company, and IBM announced today that they have entered into a major patent Cross licensing agreement. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed by either party.

In addition to its current surgical robotics patents, this agreement gives ROBODOC, access to more than 40,000 patents in IBM'S Global Portfolio and particularly, IBM's surgical robotics patents.

BEACHWOOD, Ohio, March 3 /PRNewswire/ --

Aleris International, Inc. will issue its fourth quarter and full year 2007 results before the market opens on Tuesday, March 18, 2008. That same day at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time Steven J. Demetriou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Sean M. Stack, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will host a conference call to discuss results.

The live conference call can be accessed by dialing 800-901-5217 or +1-617-786-2964 and referencing passcode 52887147 at least 10 minutes prior to the presentation, which will begin promptly at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time. In addition, the conference call will be broadcast live over the Internet at www.aleris.com.

After I saw that flaxseed oil probably affected my circle-game performance, I wondered how to make its effect clearer. One possibility was to change the input device. I was using the trackpoint on my Thinkpad to move the cursor; what about the touchpad? Might be a more natural task. So I played the game several times using the touchpad. I was a lot slower, presumably because in ordinary usage I’ve used the trackpoint.

I wondered: Could I get better on the touchpad? I made a little game to practice. Here is the initial screen.

GRIESHEIM, Germany, March 3 /PRNewswire/ --

- Company Will Showcase its HughesNet(R) Enterprise VPN Solutions

Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES) announced today that its European operating unit is showcasing its comprehensive portfolio of HughesNet broadband solutions and managed services on March 4 - 9, 2008 at CeBIT 2008, booth E 33, Hall 13. Available continent-wide, the suite of HughesNet Managed Network Services means enterprises of all sizes can enjoy the benefits of high performance broadband connectivity at any number of locations, and including VPN solutions for optimized networks, high-availability networks and access continuity services.

HOLMDEL, New Jersey, March 3 /PRNewswire/ --

- Leading Russian Wireless Service Provider Deploys OnePlan Network Resource Planning to Reduce Backhaul Expenses and Strengthen Network for Next Generation Services

Call it Wireless 2.0. Seeing their voice service revenues plateau, wireless service providers are bringing a new generation of data services to market in the hopes of invigorating subscriber revenue growth (ARPU). Launching those new services, however, requires providers to strike a perfect balance between adding sufficient backhaul support to ensure a superior quality of experience (QoE) for users and minimizing backhaul expenses to grow net revenue and not just ARPU.