Paleontologists have long debated the function of the strange, bony crests on the heads of the duck-billed dinosaurs known as lambeosaurs. The structures contain incredibly long, convoluted nasal passages that loop up over the tops of their skulls.

Scientists at the University of Toronto, Ohio University and Montana State University now have used CT-scanning to look inside these mysterious crests and reconstruct the brains and nasal cavities of four different lambeosaur species.

At the annual meeting of the Society for Vertebrate Paleontology in Cleveland, Ohio, the team today announced new findings that suggest the crests were used for communication.

Eating too much fructose can induce leptin resistance, a condition that can easily lead to becoming overweight when combined with a high-fat, high-calorie diet, according to a new study with rats.

Although previous studies have shown that being leptin resistant can lead to rapid weight gain on a high-fat, high-calorie diet, this is the first study to show that leptin resistance can develop as a result of high fructose consumption. The study also showed for the first time that leptin resistance can develop silently, that is, with little indication that it is happening.

A team of researchers in Canada say they have made a bold stride in the struggle to detect dark matter - and it involves listening and WIMPS. The PICASSO collaboration has documented the discovery of a significant difference between the acoustic signals induced by neutrons and alpha particles in a detector based on superheated liquids.

Since neutron induced signals are very similar to dark matter induced signals, this new discovery published in the New Journal of Physics, could lead to improved background suppression in dark matter searches with this type of detector.

CHANDLER, Arizona, October 16 /PRNewswire/ --

MESA International, the Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association, is announcing its 2008 European Plant-to-Enterprise Conference, 3-4 November, held at the Top Hotel, Prague, Czech Republic.

Building on the success of last year's conference, the second European Plant-to-Enterprise Conference will focus on "Delivering on Strategies" and the new MESA strategic initiatives. The association's efforts are focused on information technology use to support the real-time events occurring during the production process and how this same information can be used to support broader company and value chain objectives such as lean manufacturing, collaborative supply chain management, regulatory compliance, etc.

PHILADELPHIA and LONDON, October 15 /PRNewswire/ --

Thomson Reuters, the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, announced today the launch of Thomson Pharma KOLexperts, a new solution designed to help pharmaceutical organizations identify, verify, and develop productive relationships with key opinion leaders (KOLs) and scientific experts. It is the first solution available to the industry that allows users to rank life sciences KOLs with a range of objective metrics. Designed for scientific expertise identification, Thomson Pharma KOLexperts offers a variety of tools to find experts with specific scientific competencies.

PALO ALTO, California, October 15 /PRNewswire/ --

- Seed Fund Helps Entrepreneurs Grow on Facebook Platform and Across the Web With Nearly US$2 Million in Grants, as Well as Mentorship and Marketing Resources

CHICAGO and LONDON, October 15 /PRNewswire/ --

- Prima Hotels signs on for website redesign; Feathers Group launches new TravelCLICK-built group website and merchandising platform

TravelCLICK, the leader in hotel ecommerce solutions, announced today that both The Prima Hotel Group and Feathers Hotel and Catering Group have selected TravelCLICK for award-winning website design and booking engine advantages that deliver superior online merchandising and incremental revenue for these and other British independent hotels.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates and CANNES, France, October 15 /PRNewswire/ --

- Roll-out will focus on multi-dwelling units (MDUs) which are underserved by satellite TV, starting with Arabic Language content in the United States and Canada

ANTONY, France, October 15 /PRNewswire/ --

(EUR millions) 2007 07/06 2008 08/07 EUR % % EUR % % millions sales change millions sales change Southern Europe (1) 20.6 71 17 23.8 70 16 Other EU countries (2) 7.1 24 17 8.6 25 21 Other markets 1.5 5 24 1.8 5 18 SLIT 22.1 76 22 26.3 77 19 SCIT 6.0 20 6 6.5 19 8 Other products 1.1 4 (4) 1.4 4 27 Total Q3 sales 29.2 100 17 34.2 100 17 Southern Europe (1) 77.2 74 17 88.6 74 15 Other EU countries (2) 22.8 22 15 27.2 22 19 Other markets 4.0 4 12 5.5 4 36 SLIT 81.9 79 21 97.6 81 19 SCIT 17.8 17 3 18.8 15 6 Other products 4.4 4 1 4.8 4 11 Cumulative 9-month sales 104.0 100 17 121.2 100 17 (1) Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Greece; (2) Switzerland included

Sales growth and financial position

LONDON, October 15 /PRNewswire/ --

The latest thinking on nursing's future is biased towards the acute sector, and not enough weight is given to community practitioners, Unite, the largest union in the country, said today (Wednesday, 15 October).

Unite/Community Practitioner's and Health Visitors' Association said that the Department of Health (DH) was 'leaving community nursing and health visiting out of the intellectual loop'.

Unite/CPHVA was commenting on two new DH-commissioned documents Nurses in Society and State of the Art Metrics for Nursing: a rapid appraisal.