HELSINKI, Finland and FRANKFURT, Germany, June 23 /PRNewswire/ --

- Scandinavian Market of Interest Because of Large Volumes

Equens, one of the largest European payment processors started with the processing of payments for OP-Pohjola Group, the leading finance group in Finland. Via its single common platform, which is highly efficient, scalable and economical, Equens processes SEPA payments as well as regular cross border euro payments for the OP-Pohjola Group. The foothold gained in Finland is viewed by Equens as an opportunity to establish itself in the Scandinavian market which is characterised by a high level of automation.

LONDON and TOKYO, June 23 /PRNewswire/ --

Chiltern International Limited (Chiltern), a global Clinical Research Organization (CRO) that provides clinical development and staffing services in Europe, North America, Latin America and India today announced that it had entered into a global partnership agreement with EPS International Co., Ltd. (EPS INTERNATIONAL), a wholly owned subsidiary of EPS Co., Ltd., a leading provider of a clinical development services in the Asian region.

LONDON, June 23 /PRNewswire/ --

IRVINE, California, June 23 /PRNewswire/ --

Relsys International, the leading provider of drug safety, pharmacovigilance and risk management solutions for the pharmaceutical industry, announces that Mr. Bruce Palsulich has joined the company as Chief Innovation & Strategy Officer, reporting directly to the CEO. In this role, he will oversee Relsys' future product development and direction, and drive corporate strategic initiatives.

The discovery of an ancient city buried beneath the sands of modern-day Syria has provided evidence for a Hellenistic settlement that existed for more than six centuries extending into the time of the Roman Empire. The site provides a unique insight into the structures of a pre-Roman Hellenistic settlement. The project, funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, sheds new light on city life in the Hellenistic period.

The Syrian deserts have long kept an important secret hidden deep beneath their sands ­ the remains of the pre-Roman Hellenistic settlement of Palmyra. Until now, the only evidence for the existence of such a settlement was to be found in historical writing. As part of an FWF-funded joint project, the Institute of Classical Archaeology at the University of Vienna, the German Archaeological Institute and the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums in Syria have been the first to track down the location of this early city.

Researchers have shown that the pre-hatching calls of baby Nile crocodiles actually mean something to their mothers - and even to their siblings.

To us, they sound like "umph! umph! umph!" but to the others in the nest it's a signal that it's time to hatch, according to the report in Current Biology. When the mother hears those cries, she also knows it's time to start digging up the nest.

The new findings, made from a series of "playback" experiments, confirm what had only been suspected on the basis of prior anecdotal observation, according to the researchers Amélie Vergne and Nicolas Mathevon of Université Jean Monnet in France. The researchers said that the calling behavior is probably critical to the early survival of the young crocodiles.

The hardiest plants and those most likely to survive the climatic shifts brought about by global warming are now easier to identify, thanks to new research findings by a team from Queen's University.

Populations of plants growing at the outer edges of their natural "geographic range" exist in a precarious balance between extinction of existing populations and founding of new populations, via seed dispersal into vacant but suitable habitat. "Policy makers concerned with preserving plant species should focus not only on conserving land where species are now, but also where they may be found in the future," says Queen's Biology professor Christopher Eckert.

ROAD TOWN, TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands, June 22 /PRNewswire/ --

Conference Call for media: CIC Energy Corp. TSX: ELC BSE: CIC Energy Monday June 23, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. EST, Toronto, Canada (16:00 SAST)

Greg Kinross, President, and Warren Newfield, CEO and Co-Chairman, will host a conference call for media to provide an update on CIC Energy Corp.'s Mmamabula Energy Project. A question and answer session will take place following the call. Access details are as follows:

Date: Monday June 23, 2008 Time: 10:00 a.m. EST, Toronto, Canada (16:00 SAST) Dial In: 1-800-814-4890 toll free in North America or 416-644-3419 for international callers. Please allow 10 minutes to be connected to the conference call.

LONDON, June 23 /PRNewswire/ --

- As Food Waste Awareness Week Starts, Ocado Reveals That Brits Throw Away Enough Food at Dinnertime to Feed 19 million.

The kitchen is the heart of the home but over-enthusiastic Brits are cooking up enough food at mealtimes to lay an extra place at the table in every one of the nation's homes(1). This waste food could feed the British Army 51 times over(2).

California thinks you shouldn’t be allowed to see your OWN fingerprints (of the DNA variety) without a doctor’s permission. Last week, the California Department of Public Health sent "Cease And Desist" orders to 13 private companies that were set up during the last several months to provide curious individuals with information about their own DNA.   The crux of the letter is that California regulations "prohibit the offering of a clinical laboratory test directly to the consumer without a physician order, unless specifically exempt.  Genetic tests are NOT exempt." According to Karen Nickel, the official who signed the letter, "the genetic tests have not been validated for clinical utility and accuracy, and they are scaring a lot of people to death."