New research in the Society of Chemical Industry’s Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture shows that oregano oil works as well as synthetic insecticides to combat infestation by a common beetle, Rhizoppertha dominica, found in stored cereals.

Not only does oregano oil work as well as synthetic versions but it has none of the associated side effects of synthetic insecticides on the environment.

Growing resistance to synthetic insecticides combined with potential environmental damage and new government directives on changes to the way chemicals are registered means that scientists are increasingly looking at natural alternatives that can be produced in the large scale quantities needed for agricultural industry use.

BELLEVUE, Washington and MALLORCA, Spain, May 21 /PRNewswire/ --

- Deal marks first ever agreement covering all Sol Melia properties worldwide

Expedia, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPE), the world's leading online travel company, today announced it has signed a long term, strategic global supply agreement with Sol Melia, the leading Spanish hotel chain in both the city and resort markets and world leader in resort hotels. Under the agreement, all Sol Melia properties will be available for booking on Expedia(R) and hotels.com(R) branded sites worldwide. This is the first agreement between Expedia and Sol Melia, and marks the first distribution agreement for Sol Melia covering all of its properties globally.

Scientists have reported evidence of a large ornithopod dinosaur, as well as a herd of 11 sauropods, walking along a Mesozoic coastal mudflat in what is now the Republic of Yemen - the first dinosaur tracks on the Arabian Peninsula.

The finding also is an excellent example of dinosaur herding behavior, the researchers report. The site preserved footprints of 11 small and large sauropods — long-necked, herbivorous dinosaurs that lived in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods — traveling together at the same speed.

“No dinosaur trackways had been found in this area previously. It’s really a blank spot on the map,” said Anne Schulp of the Maastricht Museum of Natural History in The Netherlands. He conducted the study with Ohio University paleontologist Nancy Stevens and Mohammed Al-Wosabi of Sana’a University in Yemen.

LOS ANGELES, May 21 /PRNewswire/ --

- Mini Movie Channel(TM), A Multi-Platform Brand, Launches Its New Service That Allows Viewers To Watch Globally Acquired High Production Value Short Films And Original Comedy Programming At www.MiniMovie.com

SAN MATEO, California, May 20 /PRNewswire/ --

eMeter Corporation, a leading provider of meter data management (MDM) software to electric, gas, and water utilities, announced today that industry solutions veteran Mark Camilleri has been promoted to Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

LOS ANGELES, May 20 /PRNewswire/ --

- From a sophisticated arrangement of simple circuits, currents, metal and wood, rich tones emerge

Bogner Amplification (http://www.bogneramplification.com) announced today Alchemist(TM), a forthcoming line of guitar amplifiers designed to deliver the signature flexibility, pure valve signal path and rich tonal characteristics indicative of historic Bogner amplifiers, all at an excellent value.

WASHINGTON, May 20 /PRNewswire/ --

- New study shows inhaling long, thin carbon nanotubes may result in asbestos-related disease

A major study published today in Nature Nanotechnology suggests some forms of carbon nanotubes -- a poster child for the "nanotechnology revolution" -- could be as harmful as asbestos if inhaled in sufficient quantities.

The study used established methods to see if specific types of nanotubes have the potential to cause mesothelioma -- a cancer of the lung lining that can take 30-40 years to appear following exposure. The results show that long, thin multi-walled carbon nanotubes that look like asbestos fibers, behave like asbestos fibers.

REDMOND, Washington, May 20 /PRNewswire/ --

- Company announces display advertising on Windows Live for mobile services, search advertising in beta on Live Search Mobile.

Today at Microsoft Corp's online advertising leadership forum, advance08, Brian McAndrews, senior vice president of the Advertiser & Publisher Solutions Group, announced the availability of display advertising across two popular Windows Live for mobile services, the launch of new markets for Windows Live for mobile services, and upcoming advertising plans for its Live Search Mobile offering. This marks the first year that mobile advertising has played a leading role at the industry event that brings together some of the most influential thought leaders of the global advertising community.

In the perpetual fight over evolution in public schools, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that supporters of science education have largely been successful in shutting down creationist attempts to undermine evolution through state legislatures and state school boards. While there is still mischief going on in many state legislatures, these efforts rarely go anywhere, thanks to vigilance by supporters of good science education. An essay in PLoS Biology today argues that, at the state level, things are going well:

At this time, not a single state uses its content standards to explicitly promote ID or creationism. School boards are monitored by organizations like the National Center for Science Education, by state academies of science, and by local scientific and professional organizations. As a result, few state school boards can formally consider measures like the one adopted in Dover without scrutiny and challenge from organizations representing the scientific profession.

But here comes the bad news:

There are many reasons to believe that scientists are winning in the courts, but losing in the classroom.