Science is great at finding new rules for expectant mothers.  They already can’t have alcohol, caffeine, or cigarettes. They also need to stay away from their cat’s litterbox, stay off of planes and rollercoasters, stay off of antidepressants, drop their acne medication, and forgo even a well-considered vegan diet.

Now they have to avoid the Hong Kong flu, too.  The Annals of Neurobiology recently published a study that suggested that exposure to the Hong Kong virus during the first trimester of pregnancy may contribute to decreased adult intelligence.  

The Hong Kong flu is fairly easy to avoid now.  But it was everywhere in 1969 and 1970.  It reached its Norwegian apex in the spring of 1970, affecting up to 40% of the population.  

LONDON, April 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Pharmacies across Great Britain should look out for new patient guidance on counterfeit medication and its dangers which will be delivered from May 2009.

The two sided postcard sized leaflet has been produced by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPSGB) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to encourage patients to access medicines in the safest way.

Pharmacists are being asked to distribute the postcards to patients in prescription bags, targeting those taking specific products that have been previously counterfeited for UK sale. These are;

ANTONY, France, April 15 /PRNewswire/ --

- 1st Quarter 2009: Favourable Developments

- Continuing Strong Growth: +15% (Organic* +14%)

- Successful Launch of Oralair(R) in Germany

- Net Financial Debt: Down 50%

(EUR millions) 2008 08/07 2009 09/08 Million EUR % Sales % Million EUR % Sales % change Southern Europe (1) 37.9 78 14 41.8 74 10 Other EU countries (2) 9.4 19 16 12.7 23 36 Other markets 1.7 3 45 1.7 3 0 SLIT 40.8 83 18 47.2 84 16 SCIT 6.3 13 1 6.9 12 11 Other products 1.9 4 7 2.1 4 11 Q1 sales 49.0 100 15 56.2 100 15 (1) Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Greece. (2) Including Switzerland

Sales growth

The setup to the classic Melting Ice Cube problem goes something like this: “Fifty grams of ice are melting in a 100-mililiter cup of 35-degree water.” Using simple principles of energy transfer, we can estimate what the final temperature of the water will be, and how much energy transfer was required to make the ice melt.  

But what if that ice cube was 20,000 square miles and the cup of water was 300 million cubic miles?  What if the ice reflected incoming heat but the water absorbed it?  And what if hurricanes, droughts, and forest fires depended on the outcome?  

REDMOND, Washington, April 15 /PRNewswire/ --

- Furthering the company's commitment to public safety, Microsoft announces support of INTERPOL's Global Security Initiative.

Today at the Worldwide Public Safety Symposium, Microsoft Corp. announced two ways the company is helping governments increase multiagency operational effectiveness, reduce costs, and improve collaboration and information sharing to help combat threats to public safety and security.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO)

LONDON, April 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Inmarsat plc (LSE: ISAT), the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services, today confirms that it has completed the acquisition of Stratos Global Corporation ('Stratos'). Inmarsat has also signed new distribution agreements with all of its major partners. Trading under the new agreements begins today.

Bora has posted an interesting draft policy on social media from an unidentified "Big Research Institution" (BRI).

It's already stimulating some good discussion (follow the link for more links) - no surprise, since the policy guidelines contain juicy quotes like these:

All BRI social media output is the intellectual property of BRI.

Whether you are setting up new BRI social media pages within the BRI website or on an existing social media site such as Flickr or Facebook, they need to follow the BRI interactive project process.

BROOMFIELD, Colorado, April 15 /PRNewswire/ --

- New Business Spin-off to Focus on Drug Development for Neurological Conditions

Accera, Inc., a biotechnology company delivering breakthrough therapies in central nervous system (CNS) diseases, announced today the formation of Neuera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a drug development company. The new company will focus on the discovery and development of proprietary small molecule drugs for acute and chronic neurological conditions where the mechanism of defective energy metabolism or hypometabolism is involved.

ZURICH, April 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Qnective, Inc., a U.S. public company, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, is appointing Joseph Nançoz to its Advisory Board as of 15th of April 2009. This appointment will provide Qnective, Inc. with strong support to assist it with successfully expanding further its activities and market position.

Oswald Ortiz, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Qnective, remarked that, Qnective is absolutely pleased to be able to appoint another experienced telecom expert, Mr. Joseph Nançoz, as a new member of its Advisory Board as of 15th April 2009.

WILMINGTON, Massachusetts, April 15 /PRNewswire/ --

Analog Devices, Inc. (NYSE: ADI) and Digi-Key Corp. announce the following TechOnline/EETimes Webinar:

What: Understanding and Optimizing Sampled Data Systems (Part I) When: Wednesday, April 22, 2009, @ 9:00 a.m. (Pacific) / 12:00 p.m. (Eastern) Where: http://w.on24.com/r.htm?e=139651s=1k=F17B3927B0DE7BDF7C383E84 E9AD117Dpartnerref=4PRN How: Broadcast over the Internet -- Simply log on to the web at the address above. Contact: Jim Surber (jim.surber@analog.com)