Business veterans claim you cannot teach ‘experience’ but a group of European researchers say you can. They developed software that helps players acquire real-life skills and realistic experiences through game playing. But this game is no executive toy.

The interactive software, ChangeMasters, has caught the imagination of business colleges in the USA and elsewhere and it has prompted interest in corporate Europe as well.

The researchers believe it gives students real-world skills through ‘experience.’ “Experience is the best and simplest way to learn anything, that is why it is so valued in the business world,” explains Professor Albert Angehrn.

Fast food and coke instead of fruits and vegetables: the consequences can already be seen in children – more and more of them suffer from overweight and adiposity. But what are the reasons?

In what way are they connected, for example, with social status and body weight of the parents?

On the trail of overweight, the health scientist Prof. Dr. Günter Eissing, Technische Universität Dortmund, carefully examined 432 Dortmund children at the age of three, in cooperation with BKK Hoesch, Public Health Authority and the city’s statistical department. More precisely, he measured them.

Based on height and weight, Prof. Eissing calculated the Body Mass Index (BMI), compared it with birth certificate data and medical examination documents, and found out: after the first three years of their lives, 22 percent of the boys and eleven percent of the girls are overweight.

Medical care for athletes competing at the Beijing Olympics involves more than just basic emergency care during the events. Pre-treatment and a thorough understanding of sports trauma, physiology, cardiology and biochemistry are all a requisite to ensure that the world’s top athletes are able to compete, safely and at the highest levels.

A new journal, SMARTT (Sports Medicine, Arthroscopy, Rehabilitation, Therapy and Technology) has been established to facilitate the rapid transmission of knowledge amongst the multidisciplinary community who support the health of athletes. This peer reviewed open access journal will inspire clinicians, practitioners, scientists and engineers to work together towards a common goal of improving the quality of life and performance of the international community of athletes.

Together with colleagues from the Department of Dermatology and Allergy and the Center for Allergy and Environment (ZAUM) of the Technische Universität München, scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München have pinpointed a major gene for allergic diseases. The gene was localized using cutting edge technologies for examining the whole human genome at the Helmholtz Zentrum München.

The newly discovered FCER1A gene encodes the alpha chain of high affinity IgE receptor, which plays a major role in controlling allergic responses. The team of scientists led by Dr. Stephan Weidinger from the Technische Universität München and Dr. Thomas Illig from the Helmholtz Zentrum München found that certain variations of the FCER1A gene decisively influence the production of immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies. IgE antibodies are a particular type of antibody that is normally used to protect against parasites. In Western lifestyle countries with less contact, however, elevated IgE levels are associated with allergic disorders.

Students from the University of Maryland attending the Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change got a special session with academy-award winning actress Vanessa Redgrave August 13.

"One of the problems for us all is that we are not, and cannot often be aware of what's going on that the camera hasn't focused on," she told the students.

During a session with students and faculty from five continents and fifteen countries, Ms. Redgrave drew connections between the responsibilities of an actor and those of journalists.

WADDINXVEEN, The Netherlands, August 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Exactly 40 years after Woodstock, a "Rock for Nature" rock concert will be held in the Schwabisch Hall in Germany from August 22 through 24. The concert's theme will be organic, genetic-manipulation free agriculture. Eosta's sister organization "Soil & More" will fully compensate all CO2 emissions arising from the concert with "carbon credits" obtained through composting projects for organic agriculture.

The concert will feature world-famous artists and bands such as Scorpions, Nena, Joe Cocker and Roger Hodgson (formerly with Supertramp). In addition, there will be a wide range of get-togethers focusing on the main subject of the concert.

BEIJING, August 22 /PRNewswire/ --

As we approach the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympics, The Organizing Committee and the city of Beijing have been praised many times for the success of the Olympic Games, and especially the Green Olympics. Haier, the world's fourth largest white goods manufacturer and the official white goods sponsor of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games is proud to have contributed to the green efforts in Beijing and the co-host cities by providing environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient home appliances to all Olympic venues.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080822/CNF016 )

FLEMING DOES NOT RULE OK! These could be what Physics World calls Lateral Thoughts, because I originally wrote this horizontally with my leg in plaster. Here follow some snapshots of my journey through Physics, which is not a straightforward one like that of Marco Polo, but a meandering one like that of the 14th century Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta. But this is no random selection, but a selected album entitled “Electromagnetism.” The prologue to this tale finds me as a pre-teenager in the mid 1950’s, poring over my Pictorial Encyclopaedia. I eagerly drink in the graphical information along with the textual, and today I still recall the story of our Earth being pulled out of our Sun, along with the other planets, by a passing star. My chief custard pie, though, is reserved for the illustrator who depicted the arteries and ventricles of the heart, on both sides, as blue, and similarly the veins and auricles in red.

BEIJING, August 22 /PRNewswire/ --

Training over 1.5 million people to provide professional security, medical, hospitality, guidance, and other services for the Olympic Games would be a daunting task for any organization but throw in the added challenge of training them to provide all those services in 10 foreign languages? Many might have considered that impossible when planning was underway for the Beijing Olympic Volunteer Program. aifly Education Technology Company accepted this "mission impossible", and their success has earned appreciation and accolades from volunteers, foreign guests, and the Olympic Committee.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080822/CNF015 )

LONDON, August 22 /PRNewswire/ -- One in four British women admits to not looking after her teeth, including brushing and flossing, on a daily basis, according to a new survey released today.

The survey asked women how important a good smile was; nearly two thirds (65%) of the women surveyed believe that a good smile results in a more confident individual, followed by 18% who said that someone with a good smile would be more likely to be successful in regards to romance and attracting a partner.

Teeth are clearly important in making an impression, but Brits are still living up to the stereotype of having bad teeth, as over one third of the women surveyed (36%) reported that they are embarrassed by their teeth. When asked what they would improve about their smile 49% of the participants stated 'very white teeth', followed by 29% wanting even and straight teeth.