PHILADELPHIA and LONDON, January 24 /PRNewswire/ --

Thomson Scientific, part of The Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC) and leading provider of information solutions to the worldwide research and business communities, has signed an agreement with the Accredited Standards Committee X9, Inc. - Financial Industry Standards (ASC X9) to make Thomson Scientific's Techstreet (www.techstreet.com) the primary distributor for ASC X9 publications in print and electronic format. ASC X9 publications can be ordered through the new online publications store at www.X9.org, operated by Techstreet.

SINGAPORE, January 24 /PRNewswire/ --

- Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) Awards Certification to SingTel

Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) today announced the certification of its suite of business Ethernet services by the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF), the international standards-setting authority on Carrier Ethernet services.

SingTel's MEF Certification is the first of its kind in ASEAN, and is poised to set new standards for the delivery of carrier grade Ethernet services in the region.

The Syrian Archeological Team discovered parts of an architecture that included several tombs and funeral findings at Tal Shair site in the northeastern area of Hasaka dating back to the Middle Bronze Age in the 3rd millennium B.C.

Member of the Executive Bureau and in Charge of Tourism, Archeology and Arts Department Mohammad Shamsuddin in Hasaka Governorate said the team also discovered parts of another architecture made of stones and traditional ancient building blocks dating back to the Islamic period and part of a building dating back to the second half of the 3rd millennium B.C.

He added that the French archeological team also unearthed parts of another building as well as clay jars and spinning tools at Tal al-Faras site dating back to the 4th millennium B.C.

DENVER, January 23 /PRNewswire/ --

Direct Petroleum Bulgaria, Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Direct Petroleum Exploration, Inc. ("DPE"), has completed drilling and logging of the Deventci-R1 well, its first exploratory well on the A-Lovech Block in northwest Bulgaria. Total depth is 5,888 meters (19,313 ft.) in the Lower Triassic Alexandrovo formation. The Deventci R1 is the deepest well drilled in Bulgaria in the last 30 years.

The well encountered gas saturated reservoirs in the Dolni Dabnik member of the Middle Triassic Doirentsi formation. Other potential reservoirs are in the Upper Triassic Rusinovdel and the Lower Jurassic Ozirovo formations.

Casing has been run to 5,876 meters (19,280 ft.) in preparation for extensive testing operations.

SAN DIEGO, January 23 /PRNewswire/ --

- Revenues US$2.44 Billion, Diluted EPS US$0.46

- Pro Forma Diluted EPS US$0.52, up 21 percent year-over-year

- Reaffirms Fiscal 2008 Pro Forma Earnings Guidance

Qualcomm Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM) today announced results for the first fiscal quarter of 2008 ended December 30, 2007.

Total Qualcomm (GAAP) First Quarter Results

Total Qualcomm results are reported in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

It is commonly suggested by anti-evolutionists that recent discoveries of function in non-coding DNA support intelligent design and refute "Darwinism". This misrepresents both the history and the science of this issue. I would like to provide some clarification of both aspects.

A new study has shed light on the genetic roots of obesity – a condition that is increasing dramatically in North America and has been linked to heart disease, diabetes and some forms of cancer.

The new findings may also help to unlock the mystery of how our nervous systems control obesity.

Researchers at Queen's University and the University of Toronto teamed up to work with tiny, transparent worms that have similar neurotransmitters (chemicals that transmit nerve impulses) as humans. They discovered that when a specific nerve receptor is deleted, the worms lose interest in foraging for food, become slow-moving and accumulate fat at a much higher rate than normal, non-modified, worms.

In discussions about the quality and equity of our educational system, one thing lost in political arguments about unions and ideological bias and No Child Left Behind is empirical data of what difference teachers make in actual education.

A special issue of Public Finance Review tackles the impact of teachers, focusing especially on the hiring and retention of qualified teachers, including in disadvantaged districts.

Some of the topics addressed:

LONDON, January 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr Judith Bryans, Director of The Dairy Council said: "We are pleased to see that the government report on obesity released today highlighted both food and physical activity. Very often the physical activity aspect of obesity is ignored, but in order to adequately address the issue of obesity both aspects must be given equal importance. Although food is part of the equation, we must be careful to ensure that the public is educated about portion sizes and the importance of eating from all of the food groups, including dairy, in order to stay healthy as well as achieve and maintain a healthy weight."

http://www.milk.co.uk

SAO PAULO, Brazil, January 23 /PRNewswire/ --

The Brazilian Sugar Cane Industry Association (UNICA) welcomes the proposal by the European Commission released today as a sensible approach to meet the ambitious binding targets agreed on by heads of government from the European Union last March. The draft directive paves the way for biofuels to make up at least 10% of transport fuels in Europe by 2020, which goes a long way towards the development and consolidation of a biofuels market in Europe.