A new small satellite about the size of a loaf of bread and called Firefly is designed to help solve the mystery of the most powerful natural particle accelerator in Earth's atmosphere - TGFs, or terrestrial gamma-ray flashes - which likely result from thunderstorms.

The mission is the second project under the NSF CubeSat program. A CubeSat satellite consists of three cubes attached end to end in a rectangular shape.

Two of our galaxy's most massive stars, until recently shrouded in mystery, have been viewed by the Hubble Space Telescope, unveiling greater detail than ever before.
 
The image shows a pair of colossal stars, WR 25 and Tr16-244, located within the open cluster Trumpler 16. This cluster is embedded within the Carina Nebula, an immense cauldron of gas and dust that lies approximately 7500 light-years from Earth. The Carina Nebula contains several ultra-hot stars, including these two star systems and the famous blue star Eta Carinae, which has the highest luminosity yet confirmed.  

A new "barcode chip" developed by researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) promises to revolutionize diagnostic medical testing. In less than 10 minutes, and using just a pinprick's worth of blood, the chip can measure the concentrations of dozens of proteins, including those that herald the presence of diseases like cancer and heart disease. 

The device, known as the Integrated Blood-Barcode Chip, or IBBC, was developed by a group of Caltech researchers led by James R. Heath, the Elizabeth W. Gilloon Professor and professor of chemistry, along with postdoctoral scholar Rong Fan and graduate student Ophir Vermesh, and by Leroy Hood, president of the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, Washington. 

In 1970, a Japanese roboticist named Masahiro Mori described what he called the "uncanny valley" - a point on a graph relating human affinity for a machine to its likeness of humans themselves, where human affinity plummets as the likeness becomes nearly indistinguishable from ourselves. As robots become more humanlike, our fondness for them increases.

LONDON, November 24 /PRNewswire/ --

- The countdown is on as best eBay alternative shares major milestone success with sellers

On the brink of a major milestone, eBid.net announces today that it is awarding a cash bonus of GBP 1,500 to the successful seller that lists the 2 millionth item on its site.

Says Co-founder, Mark Wilkinson: I am delighted with the pace of our growth and this promotion is our way of thanking customers who are joining us in substantial and consistent numbers enabling us to record double digital monthly growth ahead of the market.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic studying Parkinson’s disease have made a breakthrough therapy that could slow progression of the disease or even halt its onset.

Previous research has discovered that patients with Parkinson’s have an abnormal abundance of alpha-synuclein, a protein, which is believed to be the cause of the disease. Targeting this protein has since taken forefront of their studies and researchers have developed a method to reduce the expression of alpha-synuclein in the brain.

CARDIFF, Wales, November 24 /PRNewswire/ --

- ISP-I(TM) Solution Will Provide Active Testing

The Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) of Singapore has selected Epitiro to supplement its broadband performance monitoring activities as part of the country's plan to create a competitive business environment. Epitiro will supply and maintain a deployment of ISP-I(TM) to assess the quality, including latency and throughput, of broadband services provided in Singapore.

BELIZE CITY, Belize, November 24 /PRNewswire/ --

Smugglers Run Plantation, Belize's first master planned golf resort community now taking shape, has gone interactive with the early November activation of its website, http://www.smugglersrunplantation.com/

BERLIN, November 24 /PRNewswire/ --

- For Non-US/Non-UK Media Only

A coalition of European cancer specialists today called for major change in the provision of emotional support for lung cancer patients. In conjunction with the International Psycho-Oncology Society, they issued a Mandate for Change, highlighting basic rights for patients in terms of their emotional wellbeing and quality of life.

Lung cancer is Europe's most common cancer killer, claiming almost 1,000 lives every day.(1) More than half of all lung cancer patients with advanced cancer experience anxiety and depression,(2) but one in three say they don't receive the emotional support they need to help them cope with this debilitating disease.(3)

BEERSE, Belgium, November 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Janssen-Cilag announced today that ustekinumab, the first in a new class of biologics, has received a positive opinion for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis from the European Committee for Medical Products for Human Use (CHMP). This positive opinion takes patients living with the physical and mental burdens of psoriasis a step closer towards a convenient new therapeutic option. The CHMP's positive opinion is now referred for final action to the European Commission.