Throughout history, scientists, philosophers, mathematicians and Phd students lacking funding for actual research have turned to the thought experiment in hopes of discovering something publishable, thereby retaining tenure and/or attracting the admiration of comely undergraduates. The best thought experiments throw light into dark corners of the universe and also provide other scientists, philosophers, mathematicians and destitute Phd students a way to kill time while waiting for the bus.

Below is a classic thought experiment, pillaged from my book The Geeks' Guide to World Domination (Be Afraid, Beautiful People). I'll post a new thought experiment each day this week.

LAVAL, Quebec, February 2 /PRNewswire/ -- BioSyntech, Inc. (TSX: BSY), a biotechnology company developing biotherapeutic thermogels for regenerative medicine, today announced that it has completed enrolment for the Canadian-European pivotal trial of its cartilage repair device, BST-CarGel(R). The Company achieved its planned objective of enrolling 80 patients into the randomized trial.

CAMBRIDGE, England, February 2 /PRNewswire/ --

- http://www.nec-enterprise.com/microsoft.php

NEC Philips Unified Solutions http://www.nec-enterprise.com/ today announces that through the Microsoft Partner Program it has fulfilled the qualifications necessary to achieve Voice specialisation within the Microsoft Unified Communications competency.

OAKLAND, California, February 2 /PRNewswire/ --

- Online Webinars Offer Free Professional Development for Educators Teaching Writing-intensive Courses

Turnitin, the world leader in originality checking and plagiarism prevention services, today introduced The WriteCycle Academy, a series of free interactive webinar workshops geared toward taking high school and college instructors of writing-intensive classes beyond plagiarism prevention and toward a writing pedagogy.

LEUVEN, Belgium, February 2 /PRNewswire/ --

A 74-year-old prostate cancer patient has become the first person in Belgium to be treated using a new, faster form of radiotherapy that extends more advanced care to more patients. The University Hospital of Leuven delivered the faster treatment using RapidArc radiotherapy technology from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR).

The patient, a retired military aircraft engineer from Kortenberg near Leuven, said he was pleased to be the country's first to receive this advanced form of image-guided intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). By coincidence, his older brother was also treated for prostate cancer at the hospital two years ago, receiving a successful course of conventional IMRT.

LONDON, February 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Callax Ltd., a leading UK telecommunication provider today launched its new calling service ZeroP at http://www.zerop.co.uk. Customers can make cheap phone calls to any national or international phone without switching their phone or phone service provider. Calling rates are as low as 0 pence per minute with a low connection fee of 4p per international and 5p per national phone call. Customers can save up to 90% of their phone charges by using ZeroP instead of their regular phone service provider.

MCKINNEY, Texas, February 2 /PRNewswire/ --

Torchmark Corporation (NYSE: TMK) will release Fourth Quarter 2008 earnings after the market closes on Wednesday, February 4, 2009. In conjunction with Torchmark's Fourth Quarter 2008 Earnings Release, you are invited to listen to a conference call that will be broadcast live over the Internet on Thursday, February 5, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. At that time a copy of the Company's Q4-2008 earnings press release and any other financial and statistical information about the quarter will be available on the Company's website at www.torchmarkcorp.com on the Investor Relations page.

LAHTI, Finland, February 2 /PRNewswire/ -- The demand for medical devices has been increasing in recent years in Russia. Demand for imported high-tech medical devices is so high because local manufacturers concentrate mainly on inexpensive low-tech products. The medical devices and equipment in most Russian hospitals and clinics are obsolete and need immediate replacement. These factors make the market very attractive also for foreign manufacturers.

BRIGHTON, England, February 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Enterprise surveys reveal more than 20% hidden waste in physical resources and workforce time spent on workplace-related assets. Buildings create an enormous ecological footprint by consuming more than 45% of commercial energy resources. Planon's Green Workplace Economics(TM) concept centers on gaining profit through cost savings while simultaneously improving environmental sustainability.

LONDON, February 2 /PRNewswire/ --

- Reuters Messaging Interchange launches as the first single-link and multi-vendor Enterprise Instant Messaging hub in collaboration with Cisco, IBM and Microsoft

Thomson Reuters today announced the launch of Reuters Messaging (RM) Interchange, which for the first time allows Enterprise Instant Messaging (EIM) users to connect and communicate with colleagues and counterparts by using one link - regardless of corporate or technology boundaries, as with email or telephone interaction.