An international team has reached a milestone in the construction of one of the largest ever cameras to detect the mysterious Dark Energy component of the Universe. The pieces of glass for the five unique lenses of the camera have been shipped from the US to France to be shaped and polished into their final form. The largest of the five lenses is one metre in diameter, making it one of the largest in the world.

Each milestone in the completion of this sophisticated camera brings us closer to detecting the mysterious and invisible matter that cosmologists estimate makes up around three quarters of our Universe and is driving its accelerating expansion. Observations suggest that roughly 4% of the Universe is made up from ordinary matter and 22% from Dark Matter; this leaves 74% unaccounted for - the so-called Dark Energy.

The Dark Energy Survey (DES) camera will map 300 million galaxies using the Blanco 4-meter telescope - a large telescope with new advanced optics at Chile’s Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory.

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, June 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Spb Software, the leading Windows Mobile applications vendor, is partnering with Toshiba Information Systems (UK) Ltd - Mobile Communications Division, to deliver the ultimate mobile device experience through the recently launched Toshiba Portege G810. The Portege G810 features the Spb Mobile Shell-based Toshiba Touch Interface, a customized version of Spb Full Screen Keyboard, the Spb Pocket Plus smart scrolling component, and other Windows Mobile customization enhancements. The strong combination of a powerful platform and functional hardware, complemented by a set of usability tools from Spb, make Toshiba's Portege G810 a very fast and intuitive smartphone.

GOTHENBURG, Sweden, June 24 /PRNewswire/ --

- New Handset Targeted for Small and Medium Sized Companies

Ascom Wireless Solutions announces today that they broaden their WiFi portfolio by releasing the new handset, the i75 Messenger.

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080624/309437

Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080325/297903

The use of WiFi in enterprise environments is growing rapidly due to its ability to provide users with high-speed wireless connection to the corporate network. The introduction of the i75 Messenger expands the Ascom WiFi portfolio with a new handset ideal for a vast majority of users working within hotel, retail and industry, as well as any office environment.

ROCKVILLE, Maryland, June 24 /PRNewswire/ --

Pinnacle Biologics, a private, full-service pharmaceutical and biotech solutions company, today announced it has entered into an agreement with Chiltern International, Inc. for the activities of pharmacovigilence/safety reporting and medical information services for Western Europe.

James R. Miller, President & CEO of Pinnacle Biologics stated, "The completion of the Chiltern agreement represents a significant step in the process of offering a full range of services and solutions to the pharmaceutical/biotechnology companies that we currently represent or will partner with in the future. We are proud to be associated with Chiltern."

ROME, June 24 /PRNewswire/ --

The Italian Institute for Privacy (www.istitutoitalianoprivacy.it/en/), a public policy think tank focused on improving privacy protection in the digital age urges the European Parliament to enhance protection of personal privacy online for all Europeans.

Today, the Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament will vote on a proposal from the European Commission that aims to strengthen consumer data protection online in the European Union.

"The European Parliament must take greater steps to protect the personal data of Europeans," said Luca Bolognini, the president of the Italian Institute for Privacy. "While the Commission's proposal is a good start, stronger privacy protections are necessary."

Ritalin, CIBA-Geneva's brand name for methylphenidate, has long been the weapon of choice against rambunctious children (and even used by some who actually have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - ADHD) so it's no surprise it has become fashionable as "cognition enhancers" by those who like their addictions culturally accepted.

Thanks to almost two decades of human experimental trials in the mass population, there is some knowledge of what these drugs actually do in the brain. In a Biological Psychiatry paper, University of Wisconsin-Madison psychology researchers David Devilbiss and Craig Berridge report how Ritalin affects the functioning of neurons in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) - a brain region involved in attention, decision-making and impulse control.

Because of the potential for addiction and abuse, controversy has swirled for years around the use of stimulants to treat ADHD, especially in children. By helping pinpoint Ritalin's action in the brain, the study should give drug developers a better road map to follow as they search for safer alternatives - and parents some guidance as to when children need medication and when they need parenting.

A recent Northwestern University study has a surprising results - substantially more men are likely to share their creative work online than women even though both genders engage in creative activities at essentially equal rates.

Even more surprising - the researchers think that's ... unfair.

Overall, almost two-thirds of men reported posting their work online while only half of women reported doing so. When Eszter Hargittai, assistant professor of communication studies at Northwestern University, and Northwestern's Gina Walejko controlled for self-reported digital literacy and Web know-how, however, they found that men and women actually posted their material about equally.

PARIS, June 24 /PRNewswire/ --

- REYATAZ(R), Taken With Ritonavir, Provides an Additional Therapy Option in Treatment-Naïve HIV-1 Infected Adults in the European Union

The European Commission has granted marketing authorization for REYATAZ(R) (atazanavir sulfate 300mg once daily), administered with ritonavir 100 mg once daily and taken in combination with other antiretroviral medicinal products, in antiretroviral treatment-naïve human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infected adults. The decision means that the use of REYATAZ(R) in antiretroviral treatment naïve patients is approved for marketing in the 27 countries of the European Union.

A study recently published in Social Science Quarterly finds that religious beliefs play a more significant role than church attendance or religious traditions in political participation.

Religious beliefs affected political participation more than other measures of religious behavior. In addition, different types of religious beliefs influence political participation differently.

Generalized, macro religious beliefs affected national political participation. Macro beliefs include religious beliefs that involve broad, worldly concerns. Narrow, individually experienced micro beliefs that are personal and affect individual concerns had no effect on national politics.

Scientists at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research have, for the first time, genetically programmed embryonic stem (ES) cells to become nerve cells when transplanted into the brain, according to a study published today in The Journal of Neuroscience.

The research, an important step toward developing new treatments for stroke, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neurological conditions showed that mice afflicted by stroke showed tangible therapeutic improvement following transplantation of these cells. None of the mice formed tumors, which had been a major setback in prior attempts at stem cell transplantation.

The team was led by Stuart A. Lipton, M.D., Ph.D., professor and director of the Del E. Webb Neuroscience, Aging, and Stem Cell Research Center at Burnham. Dr. Lipton is also a clinical neurologist who treats patients with these disorders. Collaborators included investigators from The Scripps Research Institute.