Scientists have discovered that mice genetically engineered to lack the VGLUT3 protein in the brain have profound deafness and seizures. The finding suggests a pathway for exploring the hereditary causes of deafness and epilepsy in humans.

More broadly, the discovery provides an entry point for gaining new insight into the role of glutamate, the chemical messenger carried by the protein, says the team, led by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco. Glutamate is involved in virtually every brain function, including sensory perception, learning and memory.

The missing protein is a particular “vesicular neurotransmitter transporter,” a machine within nerve cells that ferries chemical messengers, or “neurotransmitters,” from the fluid-filled cytoplasm into vesicles that are positioned at the tips of nerve cells and serve to release neurotransmitters onto neighboring cells. Transporters and neurotransmitters work together to make possible essentially all neural communication in the brain.

When the Stardust mission returned to Earth with samples from the comet Wild 2 in 2006, scientists knew the material would provide new clues about the formation of our solar system, but they didn’t know exactly how.

Contrary to expectations for a small icy body, much of the comet dust returned by the Stardust mission formed very close to the young sun and was altered from the solar system’s early materials.

New research by scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and collaborators reveals that, in addition to containing material that formed very close to the young sun, the dust from Wild 2 also is missing ingredients that would be expected in comet dust.

HERTEN, Germany, January 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Aqua Society GmbH has concluded a strategic sales agreement with Switzerland's Prescience AG to cover not only the Middle East but also Turkey, Australia and Britain. Prescience is located in Baar in the canton of Zug, and has additional sales offices in Europe and Saudi Arabia. It represents European technology firms aiming at the global marketing of innovative products in the fields of water and energy. Both partners regard the implementation of the AHC (aqua, heat, cold) container developed by Aqua Society as especially promising for the numerous coastal building projects in the Gulf states.

BRUSSELS, January 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Ansell Healthcare, the world leader in barrier protection, will be presenting its wide range of medical gloves at Arab Health in Dubai, from 28 to 31 January next. The Middle East medical exhibition, with ever-staggering participation and attendance figures, is an ideal platform for Ansell to highlight its hand protection expertise amongst some of the most important and influential professionals in the booming Arab healthcare market.

Has substantial progress been made in computers that can see like humans? Not as much as thought, according to MIT researchers. They say recent results are misleading because the tests being used are stacked in favor of computers.

Computer vision is important for applications ranging from “intelligent” cars to visual prosthetics for the blind. Recent computational models show apparently impressive progress, boasting 60% success rates in classifying natural photographic image sets.

LONDON, January 24 /PRNewswire/ --

Level 3 Communications' European Markets Group today announced that it has been working collaboratively with BT Global Services to expand backbone capacity in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). BT Global Services targets the top 10,000 global multi-site organisations worldwide, providing global reach and a complete range of networked IT solutions and services to its customers. The expanded relationship with Level 3 is part of BT's ongoing commitment to transformation and is in line with BT Global Services' strategy of focusing on the service layer and optimization.

HEERLEN, The Netherlands, January 24 /PRNewswire/ --

- EUR 170 Billion Available for Balanced Energy Mix

The government should use the revenues from the sale of natural gas to speed up the changeover to clean, renewable forms of energy. In doing so it will choose even more explicitly in favour of reducing CO2 emissions. The transition to sustainable energy will also make the Netherlands less dependent on politically unstable regions such as Russia and the Middle East, which are currently the key suppliers of oil and gas.

LONDON, January 24 /PRNewswire/ --

Playhouse Disney today announced it is joining forces with the Pre-school Learning Alliance on the biggest ever trial of educational materials to teach preschoolers about the environment through play. The trial will see 7,300 nurseries receive a free pack as part of Playhouse Disney's Playing for the Planet campaign launched earlier last year.

The move follows new independent research(i), which found that 3 out of 4 parents (74%) believe the subject of the environment should be included on the preschool curriculum. Nurseries will be invited to share their comments on the materials and offer their own ideas to help hone the content and pave the way for a greener future.

ROCHDALE, England, January 24 /PRNewswire/ --

- With Photo

Summary: Wireless CCTV's new covert "one box" solution is an innovative, completely autonomous mobile surveillance device that can be instantly deployed, even in the harshest of operating conditions.

Wireless CCTV launches its most autonomous mobile surveillance solution to date, which can be instantly deployed for covert operations. The military style case and connectors are fully waterproof which means the equipment can even be buried underground and still function at optimum levels.

UTRECHT, The Netherlands and STOCKHOLM, Sweden, January 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The 'flu' has arrived in Europe, according to the European Influenza Surveillance Scheme (EISS) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The two organisations confirm an upsurge in the number of laboratory confirmed cases of influenza in several European countries.