Tiny particles of pure silica coated with an active material could be used to remove toxic chemicals, bacteria, viruses, and other hazardous materials from water much more effectively and at lower cost than conventional water purification methods, according to researchers writing in the International Journal of Nanotechnology.

Peter Majewski and Chiu Ping Chan of the Ian Wark Research Institute, at the University of South Australia, explain that the availability of drinking quality water is fast becoming a major socio-economic issue across the globe, especially in the developing world. However, water purification technology is often complicated, requires sophisticated equipment and is expensive to run and maintain. Moreover, it usually requires a final costly disinfection stage. The Australian team suggests that nanotechnology could provide a simple answer to the problem.

CONCORD, California, February 20 /PRNewswire/ --

- Plans to Integrate Treatment Planning System with Oncology Solutions Technology

Siemens Healthcare (www.usa.siemens.com/healthcare) announces an exclusive partnership with Prowess Inc. to develop advanced radiation oncology treatment planning software for integration into Siemens' linear accelerators. The combination of Prowess' unique treatment planning system with Siemens' leading oncology solutions technology will help provide users with one of the most effective and reliable radiation therapy treatment solutions available in the market.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070904/SIEMENSLOGO )

ESA’s Integral has made the first unambiguous discovery of high-energy X-rays coming from a rare massive star at our cosmic doorstep, Eta Carinae. It is one of the most violent places in the galaxy, producing vast winds of electrically-charged particles colliding at speeds of thousands of kilometres per second.

The only astronomical object that emits gamma-rays and is observable by the naked eye, Eta Carinae is monstrously large, so large that astronomers call it a hypergiant. It contains between 100–150 times the mass of the Sun and glows more brightly than four million Suns put together. Astronomers know that it is not a single star, but a binary, with a second massive star orbiting the first.

HALIFAX, England, February 20 /PRNewswire/ -- ImmunoVaccine Technologies Inc. (IVT), a vaccine development company, announced today the appointment of former senator, Michael Kirby, as the new Board of Directors Chair. Michael Kirby succeeds the late Dr. Warrick Kimmins, who provided exemplary leadership during his tenure and was instrumental in spinning out IVT's novel technology from Dalhousie University.

"I am passionate about advancing health care and am delighted to be part of such a fast-growing biotech company," said former senator Michael Kirby. "IVT has an impressive track record and its patented technology holds tremendous potential to improve vaccines worldwide."

PARIS, February 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) today announced that T-Systems, the business customer unit of Deutsche Telekom, has selected its Business integrated Communications Solution (BiCS) server as one of the platforms for its mid-market managed voice services. Alcatel-Lucent is a strategic partner of T-Systems. This is the second innovative voice solution agreement between the two companies, providing integration of communications applications, mobile-telephony and fixed networks for seamless communications.

When the public considers competing arguments about a new technology’s potential risks and benefits, people will tend to agree with the expert whose values are closest to their own, no matter what position the expert takes. The same will hold true for nanotechnology, a key study has found.

The study results appear in a report issued today by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN). The study was based on experiments involving some 1,600 American adults and was carried out by the Cultural Cognition Project at Yale Law School — an interdisciplinary team of researchers from Yale University, the University of Washington, The George Washington University, Cornell University, and Decision Research in Eugene, Oregon.

CAMBRIDGE, England, February 20 /PRNewswire/ --

- ARM Expands its Graphics Stack With Mali-JSR297 Software for Graphics Acceleration on a Wide Range of Next-Generation Mobile Devices

OXFORD, England, February 20 /PRNewswire/ -- t+ Medical, the UK's leading supplier of telemedicine solutions for long term conditions has partnered with LifeScan, Inc, a leading manufacturer of blood glucose meters to help people with diabetes more effectively manage their condition.

t+ Medical provides a comprehensive system of care which takes data from LifeScan blood glucose meters and wirelessly transmits the information to a central database. Using intelligent algorithms; this information is then analyzed and translated for patients in the form of simple graphs which can be viewed on their mobile phone or a personal computer. Patients are therefore able to track their condition, and monitor their diabetes giving them greater insight into their disease day by day.

WORCESTER, England, February 20 /PRNewswire/ -- In the current economic climate, every retailer is looking for ways to improve efficiency and maintain profitability by grabbing a larger share of the market. Many major corporations are already using weather forecasts to aid in their business strategies, but smaller retailers may be ignoring a key to continued success in a challenging period.

It is estimated that some 10% of the British economy is weather sensitive, with billions of pounds of revenue being lost every year due to retailers not having or acting upon the correct weather information.