A team of U.S., Israeli and German scientists used computational biology techniques to discover 480 genes that play a role in human cell division and to identify more than 100 of those genes that have an abnormal pattern of activation in cancer cells.

Malignant cells have lost control of the replication process, so detecting differences in cell cycle gene activation in normal and malignant cells provides important clues about how cancers develop, said Ziv Bar-Joseph, a Carnegie Mellon University computational biologist who led the study. These genes also are potential targets for drug therapy.

Unlike many cancer studies, which seek to identify “missing” genes that might cause cancer, this new research shows that genes can contribute to cancer in less obvious ways.

By any measure, Dr. Alan Grainger, Senior Lecturer in Geography at the University of Leeds, is an internationally-renowned expert on tropical deforestation. He is the author of numerous scientific papers since 1978 and a book, Controlling Tropical Deforestation, published in 1993. He gained his doctorate the University of Oxford in 1987 for producing the world's first global computer simulation model of the tropical forests.

Yet all that will be called into question because he states in a study published in the Proceedings of the US National Academy of Sciences that claims about tropical forests declining are not backed up by evidence.

"Every few years we get a new estimate of the annual rate of tropical deforestation,” said Dr Grainger.

GAITHERSBURG, Maryland and BERN, Switzerland, January 8 /PRNewswire/ --

- SmartNode(TM) Digital Telephone Adapter (S-DTA) Recognized for Outstanding Innovation

- SmartNode(TM) VoIP ... more than just talk

Patton -- the leader in business-class network access, connectivity, and VoIP equipment -- together with Patton-Inalp Networks AG -- creator of SmartNode(TM) industry-leading VoIP technology -- announced today that Technology Marketing Corporation's (TMC(R)) INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine (www.itmag.com) has named the SmartNode(TM) Digital Telephone Adapter (S-DTA) as a recipient of its 2007 Product of the Year Award.

BOCA RATON, Florida, January 7 /PRNewswire/ --

- New Hotel to Implement Property Management, Point-of-Sale, Sales & Catering Systems

Agilysys, Inc. (Nasdaq: AGYS), a leading provider of innovative information technology and hospitality software solutions, announced today that Aston Hotel, Sheffield, located in South Yorkshire, U.K., has selected a comprehensive Visual One Suite of Products by Agilysys to streamline operations at the 78-room property, which is scheduled to open in April 2008. Aston Hotel, Sheffield is owned and managed by Aston Hotels. Currently, two other Aston Hotels properties are using Visual One solutions.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030915/AGLSLOGO )

A new 11-year cycle of heightened solar activity, bringing with it increased risks for power grids, critical military, civilian and airline communications, GPS signals and even cell phones and ATM transactions, showed signs it was on its way late Thursday when the cycle’s first sunspot appeared in the sun’s Northern Hemisphere, NOAA scientists said.

“This sunspot is like the first robin of spring,” said solar physicist Douglas Biesecker of NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center. “In this case, it’s an early omen of solar storms that will gradually increase over the next few years.”

A sunspot is an area of highly organized magnetic activity on the surface of the sun.

CALGARY, Canada, January 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (TSX: ONC, NASDAQ: ONCY) ('Oncolytics') reported today that a research group led by Dr. Richard Vile of the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota, published the results of its work testing the antitumor efficacy and safety of various combinations of reovirus and cyclophosphamide in vivo. The paper, entitled "Cyclophosphamide Facilitates Antitumor Efficacy against Subcutaneous Tumors following Intravenous Delivery of Reovirus" appears online in the January 1, 2008 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.

Birthmarks have always been something of a mystery. Scientists know that a hemangioma is a benign tumor of cells that line blood vessels, appearing during the first few weeks of life as a large birthmark or lesion, but not much more. Now a study published in Pediatric Dermatology answers some remaining questions and reveals that a disturbance of oxygen depletion was found in placentas of babies who developed infantile hemangioma (IH).

Researchers reviewed placental samples from 26 pregnancies with babies who weighed less than 3.5 pounds, 13 consisting of newborns who developed IH after birth and 13 healthy preterm infants who did not have IH.

Only one of the infants without IH showed an abnormal placenta.

HOUSTON, January 7 /PRNewswire/ --

Dave Wallis has been named Europe-Africa-Middle East Representative for OFS Portal, a global member-based group that works to advance open eCommerce standards in the upstream oil and gas industry. For the last four years Dave Wallis has been the OFS Portal European Representative, supporting its membership through representation at various conferences and meetings with numerous standards bodies in the European area, in addition to liaising with oil and gas companies based in Europe.

ELLINGTON, Connecticut, January 7 /PRNewswire/ --

Accu-Time Systems, Inc., the leading manufacturer of workforce management, time and attendance, and security access products, today announced the launch of its next generation Human Capital Management (HCM) solution, Maximus(TM) - a member of the Global Series from ATS.

Maximus is a state-of-the-art human resources Internet appliance that renders traditional "time clocks" obsolete by removing limitations through the use of open standards. Maximus is a cutting edge solution that both HR and IT executives can embrace with full HCM functionality and the ease of deployment that comes with a plug and play Internet appliance.

Most children are able to imagine their future selves as astronauts, politicians or even superheroes; however, many older adults find it difficult to recollect past events, let alone generate new ones. A new Harvard University study reveals that the ability of older adults to form imaginary scenarios is linked to their ability to recall detailed memories.

According to the study, episodic memory, which represents our personal memories of past experiences, “allows individuals to project themselves both backward and forward in subjective time.”