The Sigourney Community School District in southeast Iowa, has been using one of the country's first hybrid school buses since Jan. 3. And they're pretty excited about it.

Dan Taghon, director of transportation and driver, said the V-8 diesel engine and electric motor gave him plenty of acceleration. “It has quite a bit of get up and go,” he said. “You push the pedal and it takes right off.”

Advanced Energy, a nonprofit corporation based in Raleigh, N.C., led the effort to bring the country’s first 19 hybrid school buses to school districts in 11 states.

Researchers at Iowa State’s Center for Transportation Research and Education worked with Advanced Energy for more than two years to bring the hybrid buses to Iowa.

SAO PAULO, Brazil, January 16 /PRNewswire/ --

An important step in the right direction. That is how Brazil's Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) assesses the report "Sustainable Biofuels: Prospects and Challenges", released by Britain's Royal Society on January 14, 2008. The report's key conclusions are that each biofuel must be evaluated on its own merits and governments should ensure their policies promote only the sustainable production and use of biofuels that result in meaningful emissions reduction.

Ethology is the study of animal behavior, with a focus on behavioral patterns in natural environments. A new paper shows that researchers are now taking a machine-learning approach.

The work by Csaba Molnár from Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary and his research team shows that a new piece of software is able to classify dog barks according to different situations and even identify barks from individual dogs, a task humans find challenging.

The aim of Molnár and colleagues’ experiments was to test a computer algorithm’s ability to identify and differentiate the acoustic features of dog barks, and classify them according to different contexts and individual dogs.

HOOFDDORP, The Netherlands, January 16 /PRNewswire/ -- CEVA Logistics, the 4th largest supply chain company worldwide, has appointed Peter Dew as Group Chief Information Officer (CIO), effective April 1, 2008. He will be responsible for establishing and implementing CEVA's IT strategy at a global level.

Peter Dew has a wealth of experience from similar roles in major international corporations. Prior to joining CEVA, he was CIO of Linde Group and before that Group Director, Information Management at BOC. "This is a great time to be joining as dynamic a company as CEVA. I look forward very much to working with my new colleagues at building a true logistics industry leader."

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, January 16 /PRNewswire/ --

Mersana, a cancer therapeutics company, announced today that John H. van Duzer, Ph.D. has joined the company as Vice President of Manufacturing & Pharmaceutical Sciences.

"John van Duzer adds a critical component to the Mersana management team with his manufacturing and development experience," said Julie A. Olson, Ph.D., President and CEO at Mersana. "As a clinical development-stage company, manufacturing plays a key role in the advancement of our products and John's contributions will impact our entire pipeline. We are also fortunate that John's early experience in research enables the seamless transition of candidates from research into development."

BURLINGAME, California, January 16 /PRNewswire/ --

- Registration in Area Balloons to 2 Million; Prepaid mig33 Offering to be Available in More Than 1,000 Retail Locations across South Africa

mig33, the global mobile social network, today announced the company obtained a distribution license in South Africa with the assistance of the DNR Group. The company's first partnership in South Africa with Lutiek Distributor enables mig33 to offer prepaid services at more than 1,000 retail locations to the more than 2 million people already using mig33 across the country. The company is actively working to expand its presence in the area and hopes to announce similar partnerships in the coming months.

NEWPORT BEACH, California, January 16 /PRNewswire/ --

WeRentMotorcycles.com, the leading adventure travel company in California, announced today that it has partnered with MAD MAPS Inc, the premiere provider of up-to-date geo-coded adventure travel data, to provide motorcycle adventurers with certified routes optimized for touring and sport- touring riders. Handpicked routes certified by MAD MAPS are preloaded into a Garmin Zumo GPS complete with key information and detailed narratives. "MAD MAPS has dozens of local motorcycle scouts with a reputation of selecting the best rides and stops," says Jack Reynolds, President of WeRentMotorcycles.com. "Combine this with a pre-programmed GPS and there is simply no better way to go."

MANCHESTER, England, January 16 /PRNewswire/ -- New research by Co-operative Bank Mortgages has revealed that Brits are planning to spend over GBP13 billion(i) making their homes greener, with over two thirds of people (68%) claiming they have already taken steps to reduce the carbon footprint of their homes over the last year alone.

Some of the most popular general 'green' changes already made by people include recycling (66%), switching to energy saving lighbulbs (60%), adding loft and cavity wall insulation (40%) and switching to double glazing (25%).