Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker's genome is being sequenced as part of the Personal Genome Project, and he's been gazing at the results, attempting to divine some meaning in the A''s, T's, G's and C's. He shares his musings in a Sunday Times Magazine essay that captures both the excitement of personal genomics and its pitfalls.

Personal Genomics and Disease

There's nothing quite like the frustration of an unexpected traffic jam. Many of us have been the victim of a sudden slowdown on the freeway, which lasts for a few miles before clearing up for no particular reason. Frustration isn't the only byproduct of bad traffic - by some estimates, traffic flow accounts for as much as one-third of global energy consumption and the resulting CO₂ emissions. Improving the traffic situation, therefore, has the potential to greatly reduce our emissions of carbon dioxide as well as our emissions of swear words.

DETROIT, January 12 /PRNewswire/ --

- 100mpg Fisker Karma Makes its World Wide Premiere at the 2009 North American International Auto Show

Fisker Automotive, Inc., the new American manufacturer of premium green automobiles, unveiled its first production car -- the 2010 Fisker Karma -- at the 2009 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit today. The four-door, four-seat Karma fuses the traditional and timeless styling of veteran auto designer and Fisker Automotive CEO Henrik Fisker, with Quantum Technologies' clean Q-DRIVE(R) plug-in hybrid powertrain to become the world's first luxury plug-in hybrid car.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090112/LA57633 Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070905/LAW009LOGO )

LONDON, January 12 /PRNewswire/ --

Planalytics Inc. announced today that Lloydspharmacy, a leading pharmacy chain with more than 1,700 stores in the UK, has licensed its Business Weather Intelligence(R) platform. Lloydspharmacy will use Planalytics weather-driven demand (WDD) analyses for select product categories to isolate, measure and plan for weather's affect on sales across its store locations.

PARIS, January 12 /PRNewswire/ -- After a successful launch in Europe, Valeo's Park4U(TM) system will equip the Ford Lincoln MKS and MKT models presented at the Detroit Motor Show. These are the first American vehicles to feature this technology.

Intuitive and easy to use, Park4U(TM) offers drivers comfortable and safe parking in the tightest spaces. Using ultrasonic sensors located in the front and rear fenders to precisely calculate the length of the parking slot available, the system automatically handles the maneuver into the slot.

The Park4U(TM) is already available on six Volkswagen models and on the Audi A3, and Skoda Superb, and by 2010 it will appear on eighteen vehicles.

PARIS, January 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The lighting systems on the Volvo S60 concept car presented at the Detroit Auto Show provide a glimpse of the next generation of headlamps and signal lamps, with their innovative look and increased performance. Using only LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes), they were developed in close cooperation between Volvo Car Corporation and Valeo.

PARIS and NEW YORK, January 12 /PRNewswire/ --

- 'Gender Balance Key to Corporate and Economic Growth' www.WOMEN-omics.com

Women are business's secret weapon, and the world's highest performing companies -- and smartest men -- are realizing and acting upon the opportunity, says Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, publisher and founder of the new Website, WOMEN-omics.com, which is launching today.

EDINBURGH, January 12 /PRNewswire/ --

- Skyscanner Traffic Grows 32% Despite Hitwise Flight Search Downturn Report

Leading flight search engine, Skyscanner (http://www.Skyscanner.net), has reported a rise of 32% in online flight search traffic over the last 12 months, going against last week's Hitwise report of a 42% fall in internet searches for flights.

Some industry disagreement has already surfaced over Hitwise's data due to the fact that their analysis was based on a date range with an unusually low number of working days, which is thought to have influenced the results.

NEW YORK, January 12 /PRNewswire/ --

- Leading European fragrance and cosmetics retailer turns to Microsoft's next-generation POS platform to deliver a richer customer experience and meet present and future business needs.

Today, at the National Retail Federation (NRF) Annual Convention Expo, Microsoft Corp. announced that Douglas, Europe's largest fragrance and cosmetics retailer, is migrating its point of service (POS) systems in 23 countries around the world to Windows Embedded POSReady 2009, the next generation of Windows Embedded for Point of Service.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO)

NEW YORK, January 12 /PRNewswire/ --

- Partner Quote Sheet.

- Jan. 12, 2009

Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 Partners

The following quotes are from just some of the companies currently working with Windows Embedded for Point of Service that will be working with Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 to bring diverse connected device solutions to market.