2-3 percent of children are born with mental retardation. It can sometimes be attributed to external factors (such as a shortage of oxygen at birth) or to defects in the DNA but, in 80% of the cases involving DNA, scientists do not know which genes are responsible.

Researchers at VIB, the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, connected to the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, in collaboration with an Australian research team, have discovered that, in a portion of these patients, the mental retardation is caused by a twofold production of two proteins (HSD17B10 and HUWE1). This is the first time that scientists have found that duplication of a protein leads to mental retardation.

Baking soda is one of those wonder substances with useful applications far beyond simple baked goods. We all know we can open a box and leave it in our fridge to combat odors. But as a result of innovative work done by Skyonic Corporation in Texas, baking soda may become one of our greatest weapons against carbon emissions and global warming as well.

Skyonic has developed a “post-combustion carbon capture and sequestration technology that works with any large-scale stationary CO2 emitter” (e.g.- coal, natural gas or oil fired power plant). The process removes heavy metals, acid gasses, and carbon dioxide from conditioned at-temperature flue gas. The carbon emissions are then stored as stable sodium bicarbonate (better-than-food-grade baking soda) for long-term storage as land or mine fill. The clean flue gas is then returned to the plants stack for release.

BRUSSELS, January 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Today's Commission proposal for 20% renewable energy by 2020 paves the way for a massive expansion of wind energy in the 27 Member States and a new energy future for Europe. It proposes a stable and flexible EU framework in which Member States keep control of their renewable energy policies through successful national support systems. In addition, cross-border transfer of guarantees of origin can only take place where Member States have met or exceeded their interim targets. For the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), these two elements are crucial for maintaining investor confidence and encouraging substantial investments in green electricity.

HALIFAX, Canada, January 23 /PRNewswire/ -- ImmunoVaccine Technologies Inc. (IVT) announced today that it has met with Health Canada's regulatory affairs division, the Biologics and Genetic Therapies Directorate, to discuss requirements for a Phase I clinical trial application. For Phase I human clinical trials, IVT plans to combine novel antigens with its vaccine-enhancement technology, the VacciMax(R) platform.

"We are seeing impressive pre-clinical results with the VacciMax(R) platform," said Dr. Randal Chase, president and CEO of IVT. "The comments from the Biologics and Genetic Therapies Directorate are much appreciated because they give us direction as we proceed with our clinical development in Canada," said Dr. Chase.

Researchers today closed out the inaugural season on an unprecedented, multi-year effort to retrieve the most detailed record of greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere over the last 100,000 years.

The dust, chemicals, and air trapped in the two-mile-long ice core will provide critical information for scientists working to predict the extent to which human activity will alter Earth’s climate, according to the chief scientist for the project, Kendrick Taylor of the Desert Research Institute of the Nevada System of Higher Education.

Working as part of the National Science Foundation’s West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide (WAIS Divide) Ice Core Project, a team of scientists, engineers, technicians, and students from multiple U.S.

Traditional gene therapy has focused on supplying a normal copy of a faulty gene. RNAi turns off a problematic gene. These contrasting approaches share some of the same techniques and challenges, including delivery of a therapeutic gene or siRNA into cells. RNA interference (RNAi) represents an innovative new strategy for using small RNA molecules to silence specific genes associated with disease processes.

At least six clinical trials using RNA interference (RNAi) have been approved, “with many more coming down the pipeline,” according to the Editorial by Mark A. Kay, MD, PhD, an Associate Editor of Human Gene Therapy and the Dennis Farrey Family Professor in Pediatrics and Professor of Genetics at Stanford University School of Medicine.

REDWOOD CITY, California, January 23 /PRNewswire/ --

Codexis, Inc., a private biotechnology company and leading developer of clean manufacturing processes, today announced the opening of Codexis Laboratories Hungary Kft (CLH) in Budapest.

Quick use of fingertips is common for anyone text messaging on their cell phone but researchers at the University of Southern California say that this seemingly trivial action is the result of a complex neuro-motor-mechanical process orchestrated with precision timing by the brain, nervous system and muscles of the hand.

USC Viterbi School of Engineering biomedical engineer Francisco Valero-Cuevas is working to understand the biological, neurological and mechanical features of the human hand that enable dexterous manipulation and makes it possible for a person to grasp and crack an egg, fasten a button, or fumble with a cell phone to answer a call.

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have found that field mice have evolved a unique way of ensuring faster fertilization, a phenomenon which could explain some cases of infertility in humans.

The team, in collaboration with Charles University, Prague, found that field mice sacrifice some of their immunity protection in favor of a more rapid fertilization process. This occurs due to the absence of a protein, called CD46. Present in both animals and humans, it helps protect the body’s cells from attack by its immune system. Over time, field mice have lost the ability to produce this protein, resulting in instability of a cap-like structure, called the acrosome, present over the head of the sperm.

IRVINE, California and LONDON, January 23 /PRNewswire/ --

- Logibanque Solution Helps Groupe Moniteur Quickly Evolve to SaaS Offering

Endeavors Technologies, the pioneer in application streaming and virtualization technology, and its parent company, Tadpole Technology plc, today announced Wallace Systems has incorporated AppExpress into its Logibanque software distribution and management system. Wallace Systems has implemented its first large-scale deployment of Logibanque at Groupe Moniteur in France, enabling Groupe Moniteur to immediately offer its extensive information catalogs via a web-based system and avoid a time consuming, expensive move to web 2.0 technologies.