Common Sense 101: if benefits outweigh the costs, generally people will opt in to whatever action is under consideration. If you can prevent or reduce your chance of death from cancer by early screenings at a nominal fee, you will probably get screened. Now throw a twist into the equation. Say that screening is only 50 percent effective at catching early cancer. On the benefit side, screening will still prevent or reduce cancer. On the cost side, you may not catch a tumor; you may be exposing yourself to harmful radiation (which ironically could contribute to the cancer you’re trying to prevent), emotional stress from false positives and possible physical harm from false negatives; and you’re spending money on a service that only works half the time. (Using the same idea, if your airbag only worked in 50 percent of accidents, would you pay for it to be installed in your car, or would you demand that auto manufacturers developed an airbag with 100 percent efficiency?)

COPENHAGEN, May 13 /PRNewswire/ --

- Circadin(R) Improves Quality of Sleep and Morning Alertness

A new, first in class sleep medication is launched today, offering hope for thousands of sufferers of insomnia in Europe. Circadin(R), sustained-release melatonin, provides natural sleep by increasing the body's own level of this naturally occurring hormone throughout the night. (1)

ATHENS, May 13 /PRNewswire/ --

- Significant Increase by 31,6% in Sales and 10,3 % in Net Profitability for KORRES Natural Products Group - Increase by 31,6% of the Consolidated Sales to EUR 11,3m in the First Quarter of 2008 (from EUR 8,6m in the Corresponding Quarter of 2007) - Increased by 12,7% of the Consolidated EBITDA to EUR 2,6m (from EUR 2,3m in the Respective Period of 2007) - Net Profits (EAT) Increased by 10,3% to EUR 1,5m (from EUR 1,4m in the First Quarter of 2007)

LOS ANGELES and GÜTERSLOH, Germany, May 13 /PRNewswire/ --

- Companies Combine Technologies to Support Multilingual Applications in Technology Partnership

Language Weaver, a leading software company developing enterprise software for the automated translation of human languages, and empolis, a leading service technology company based in Gütersloh Germany, have entered into a strategic technology agreement that will support multilingual translation of enterprise applications. empolis will integrate Language Weaver's automated translation software into its e:SLS (empolis:Service Lifecycle Suite) application for customer service and into its e:IAS (empolis:Information Access Suite) information management application for cross-lingual enterprise search.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, May 13 /PRNewswire/ --

- Attendees to Learn Secure E-mail Innovations for Supplier Bases

Marc Speltens, European outreach director of the Transglobal Secure Collaboration Program (TSCP), will present the vision and framework for secure e-mail communication at SMi's Cyber Defence Conference.

REYKJAVIK, Iceland, May 13 /PRNewswire/ --

- With Photo

- Human growth factors produced in barley grain, using renewable, geothermal energy

ORF Genetics (http://www.orfgenetics.com), an Icelandic biotechnology company, announced today the opening of new and revolutionary 22,000 ft^2 (2043m^2) cultivation facilities in Grindavik, Iceland. Utilizing its unique Orfeus(TM) protein production system in barley, ORF Genetics produces and markets biorisk-free ISOkine(TM) human growth factors for use in medical research, drug discovery and cosmetics.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080513/DC22192 )

LEUVEN, Belgium, May 13 /PRNewswire/ --

- Regulated Information

LEUVEN, Belgium, May 13 /PRNewswire/ --

ThromboGenics NV (Euronext Brussels: THR), a biotechnology company focused on innovative treatments for vascular disease, eye disease and cancer, is today issuing a business update for the three month period ended 31 March 2008.

DOVER, Delaware, May 13 /PRNewswire/ --

- E-learning Courses for High End IT Education

Increasingly, as organizations are going global and are hugely IT driven, there is an acute need to reduce skill gap and massive shortfall of trained professionals. With the severe recession around the corner, the focus is on cutting costs and reducing cycle times with projects getting more and more complex, there is a strong requirement for anytime, anywhere and cost effective training. To address this enormous need of training and talent shortage in the IT industry, http://www.qaiasia.com (QAI), announced their e learning venture http://www.edistalearning.com (EdistaLearning)

LEEDS, England, May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- In a bid to help alleviate the current "demographic timebomb" facing pharmacy in the UK, Teva UK Limited, the UK's leading generics manufacturer, is launching a Student Bursary Scheme.

The company is a keen supporter of pharmacy in the UK, and already has several initiatives in place to help pharmacists make the most of their role in the ever-changing UK healthcare climate. And now it's extending this support to include the pharmacists of the future. The Student Bursary will be available to students who want to gain a degree-level qualification in pharmacy or similar but may suffer hardship without additional financial support.

I’m reading a delightful history of chess, The Immortal Game, by David Shenk, and got to the chapter dealing with the dark side of chess: the fact that a small but significant number of top players throughout history have gone off the deep end -- including the famous American world champion Bobby Fisher.

As is usual with correlations (playing chess <=> your brain goes bonk), it is not clear which way the causality goes, if at all. It could be that playing chess at the highest levels affects the mind in negative ways; it may be that abnormal minds are more likely than others to be attracted by the game; or it could simply be that the correlation is spurious, i.e. non-causal.

Shenk does not take sides on this debate, but he does report the pronouncements of a number of Freudian psychoanalysts on the matter. For instance, Ernest Jones (Freud’s biographer and protege), confidently stated that “It is plain that the unconscious motive activating [chess] players is not the mere love of pugnacity characteristic of all competitive games, but the grimmer one of father murder.” What?? That’s right, it’s the good ‘ol Oedipus complex -- itself rooted in the all-encompassing Freudian explanation for human behavior, sex drives -- that pushes players to protect their Queen (=mother) and checkmate the King (=father). Here is some more nonsense from Jones (p. 147 of Shenk’s):