Money is important for survival and for entertainment, and it is often used as a reward, but recent studies have shown that money is also a factor in personal performance, interpersonal relations and helping behavior, as well.

In a recent set of experiments, psychologists Kathleen D. Vohs of the University of Minnesota, Nicole L. Mead of Florida State University and Miranda R. Goode of the University of British Columbia found that participants’ personal performance improved, and interpersonal relationships and sensitivity towards others declined, when they were reminded of money.

To set up one of the experiments, the researchers used four different types of reminders about money.

Terrace-like elevations of just a few nanometres can form during production of organic thin films made from electrically conductive material. This phenomenon was previously only known from inorganic materials and is crucially important for future production of a new generation of semi-conductor components based on organic thin films.

Inorganic semi-conductors have a simple construction and have made high-performance computers possible. In contrast, organic semi-conductors are complex but enable production of innovative electronic circuits, as vividly demonstrated by the first prototypes for roll-up screens. Yet these benefits of organic semi-conductors can only be fully harnessed when the response of their organic molecular layer - whose thinness is crucial in functional terms - is better understood.

The national research network (NRN) "Interface controlled and functionalised organic thin films" of the Austrian Science Fund FWF is contributing to precisely this understanding.

At Wally’s Bicycle Works in San Luis Obispo there is more than what meets the eye. At his shop Wally Ajanel keeps a stash of something other than bicycle paraphernalia—something that he claims is 100 percent pure which is very rare for constituents of this kind. Ajanel claims that the Mayan Chocolate that he keeps in his office is probably the only fully pure chocolate source in the U.S.

CALGARY, Canada, July 8 /PRNewswire/ --

- CAD$2 billion Invested in Carbon Capture and Storage; CAD$2 Billion in Public Transit

The provincial government of Alberta, Canada is surging ahead on its climate change action plan with a CAD$4-billion investment in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The province has created a CAD$2-billion fund to advance carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects while a second CAD$2-billion fund will propel energy-saving public transit.

"We're tackling both sides of the emissions challenge," said Premier Ed Stelmach. "We're reducing the impact of industrial emissions with carbon capture and storage and investing in public transit to reduce the impact from our tailpipes."

SEATTLE, July 8 /PRNewswire/ --

- Foundation announces additional US$150 million for Polio Eradication

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation released the following statement regarding the G8 Summit:

TOYAKO, Japan, July 8 /PRNewswire/ --

- One billion people suffer from preventable, treatable diseases around the world

- Statement by Dr. Paul Antony, medical director Global Health Progress

In Greek “Onycho” means fingernail or toenail and “phagia” is to eat or consume. Hence, “Onychphagia,” the clinical name for nail biting as a habit, which affects nearly 45 percent of adolescents. It may seem minor in comparison to addictions such as the excessive consumption of drugs or alcohol, but the biting of the nails can trigger oral herpes, dental problems like gingivitis, viral infections and studies have even shown loss of IQ due to the consumption of lead. A scene in the 1998 movie “Great Expectations” shows an interaction between a convict played by Robert De Niro and a young boy who gets temporarily captured into aiding the escaped man. As the pressures of the moment set in for the boy, he nervously begins biting his nails. When the criminal notices what his acquaintance is doing he takes it upon himself to teach the kid a lesson. “You bite your nails? It’s a bad habit. People always tell you that the eyes are the windows to the soul. Bullshit it’s your hands, that’s the sign of a gentleman.”

MAIDENHEAD, England, July 8 /PRNewswire/ --

- PREVENAR Vaccine to Help Protect Children Against the Leading Vaccine-Preventable Cause of Death in Young Children

Wyeth applauds the countries of Cyprus, Hungary, the Kingdom of Bahrain, Republic of Ireland, Slovak Republic and Sweden for announcing their decisions to routinely immunize infants and young children against pneumococcal disease by adding PREVENAR(TM) PCV7 (Pneumococcal Saccharide Conjugated Vaccine, Adsorbed) to their national immunization programs(1). This announcement makes it 24 countries across the world that have now included Prevenar in their immunizations schedules(1).

EGHAM, England, July 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals (P&GP) welcome the new Final Appraisal Determination (FAD) Guidance for the primary and secondary prevention of osteoporosis from NICE.

The revised NICE FAD recommends risedronate - alongside etidronate - as the first alternative treatment option to generic alendronate for postmenopausal women who are unable to comply with the special administration instructions, have a contraindication to, or are intolerant of alendronate (and also meet certain criteria such as BMD T- scores (a measurement of Bone Mineral Density), age and independent risk factors for fracture)(i,ii).

PARIS, July 8 /PRNewswire/ --

- Students address environmental sustainability with innovative technology; torch passes to Egypt for Imagine Cup 2009.