In prior articles, we found the scientific validation of Stephen Colbert's 'truthiness', and now it turns out that anecdotal evidence of a 'Colbert bump' following an appearance (anecdotal evidence provided, naturally, by Colbert himself) on the show has legs as well - but only if you're in one political party. Democratic politicians receive a 40% increase in contributions in the 30 days after appearing on "The Colbert Report" while Republicans essentially gained nothing.

Stephen Colbert is right - the "Colbert bump" boosts campaigns.

This analysis of one of America's most well-known pop icons of recent years is conducted by political scientist James H. Fowler (University of California, San Diego), who is also a self-identified fan of the show. The research appears in the July issue of PS: Political Science and Politics.

ORLANDO, Florida, August 13 /PRNewswire/ --

- QAI's Certifications in Areas of Software Testing, Software Quality and Process Engineering are now Available as Computer-Based Examinations Through Prometric, to Consistently Assess and Certify Individuals Internationally

To address the growing demand of consistently assessed talent and to address the requirements of the customers and the industry, Quality Assurance Institute (QAI) (http://www.qaiworldwide.com) has made it's certifications available online. To meet this objective, QAI has partnered with Prometric, a world leader in assessment testing services. This will provide IT professionals better access to take the computer-based exams at Prometric test centers in more than 3000 locations across the globe.

Young people from 10 countries around the world have shared their views on housework and abortion issues in a new study from the University of Adelaide, Australia. Small surveys were conducted at high schools and universities in the United States, Canada, Australia, Korea, China, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, India and Indonesia.

The research, conducted by Professor Chilla Bulbeck in the University's Discipline of Gender, Work and Social Inquiry, looked at the attitudes of young men and women to a number of gender equality issues.

The prospect of climate change sparking food and water shortages in the Middle East is less likely than previously thought, with new research by an Australian climate scientist suggesting that rainfall will be significantly higher in key parts of the region.

Recent projections from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) raised fears that storm activity in the eastern Mediterranean would decline this century (if global warming continues on the predicted curve) and that would reduce rainfall by between 15 and 25 per cent over a large part of the so-called Fertile Crescent, the land encompassing parts of Turkey, Syria, northern Iraq, and north-eastern Iran and the strategically important headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

But the IPCC projections were based on the results of global modelling of climate change, which tends to obscure smaller-scale regional effects.

Eastern and Oriental medicine practitioners have long said that Ashwagandha, an herb commonly used in the 5,000-year old practice of Ayurvedic medicine, helps fight disease when used in combination with a liquid known as anupana. Anupana may be derived from many different substances, from olive oil, to beer, to ghee.

Each liquid is thought to have different properties, so an Ayurveda practitioner selects an anupana that has the qualities that best fit a given situation. Traditionally, one method of administering Ashwagandha and milk was to boil them together.

A team of American researchers is examining whether drinking whole cows’ milk with the herb can increase the body’s white blood cells, which help boost immunity. They have found that it does.

In the first statewide study of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR TB) in the United States, California officials have identified 18 cases of the dangerous and difficult-to-treat disease between 1993 and 2006, and 77 cases that were one step away from XDR TB. The study appears in the August 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.

California reports almost 3,000 cases of tuberculosis annually, the largest number of TB cases of any U.S. state. California has also led the nation since 2002 in the number of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) cases—those that are resistant to isoniazid and rifampin, the two antibiotics that form the backbone of TB treatment. XDR TB is resistant to even more classes of antibiotics, including fluoroquinolones and one of three injectable second-line drugs. The authors of the new study evaluated drug susceptibility data of MDR TB cases identified by the California TB Registry between 1993 and 2006, looking for cases that fit the XDR TB definition.

An apple peel powdering process developed at Cornell University to fortify foods has made its first appearance in the Olympics Games. Six thousand 32-gram tubes of “Applebooster" an organic applesauce fortified with dried apple peel powder were given to approximately 750 U.S. Olympic athletes and 250 coaches as they boarded their flights to China earlier this month.

The company says their process enhances the nutritional value of foods by reintroducing ground apple peel into the manufacturing process.

PHILADELPHIA and LONDON, August 13 /PRNewswire/ --

The Scientific business of Thomson Reuters today announced the addition of new features to the Citation Impact Center -- a Web-based resource devoted to scholarly resources and discussion about the many facets of citation-based evaluation.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080424/NYTH069LOGO )

REHOVOT, Israel and JERSEY CITY, New Jersey, August 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Rosetta Genomics (Nasdaq: ROSG), today announced it will release first quarter financial results on August 19, 2008, before the U.S. markets open. Rosetta Genomics will host a conference call with a simultaneous webcast to discuss these results at 8:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, August 19.

To access the live conference call, U.S. and Canadian participants may dial 1-866-966-5335; international participants may dial +44-20-3023-4460. To access the 24-hour audio replay, U.S. and Canadian participants may dial 1-866-583-1035; international participants may dial 44-20-8196-1998. The access code for the replay is 181543#. The replay will be available until August 26, 2008.

LONDON, August 12 /PRNewswire/ --

Platts -- The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) 13 members boosted their collective crude oil production by 300,000 barrels per day (b/d) in July to average 32.77 million b/d over the month, according to a Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials just released.

Excluding Iraq, the 12 members bound by output agreements produced an average 30.31 million b/d in July, or 330,000 b/d more than June's 29.98 million b/d and 637,000 b/d in excess of their 29.673 million b/d target, the survey showed.