As everyone in the autism community knows all too well, April is Autism Awareness month and a good time to release autism documentaries.

LIMBURGERHOF, Germany, April 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- April 25th marks the fourth annual  World Malaria Day, again to focus on the goal of achieving near zero malaria deaths by 2015, and how different stakeholders are contributing to reaching this target.    BASF is marking the day by telling the story of how a simple initiative can stop the spread of the disease, one step at a time. 

Dieting is hard work.  While ingesting the calories to gain weight is simple, the loss of those calories and the mental 'hunger' and the exercise it requires is no small thing.

Given that, it's no surprise dieters who look for healthy food choices are happy to suspend disbelief it it allows them to abdicate responsibility to a menu in a restaurant - and so they are more likely than non-dieters to choose unhealthy foods that are labeled as healthy, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. It seems that dieter focus on food names can work to their disadvantage.

LONDON, April 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In a report published today, the European Alliance For Access to Safe Medicines (EAASM) has uncovered very serious consequences for patient safety when health care decisions are not made in the best interest of the patient, but as a result of cost cutting allowed by regulatory vagaries and loopholes. 

WASHINGTON D.C., April 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In Washington DC today, eight Supreme Court justices heard oral argument of the appeal for i4i v Microsoft. Microsoft has asked the Supreme Court to lower the standard of proof, for challenges to the validity of a properly issued patent, from clear and convincing evidence to a preponderance of evidence.

Seth Waxman, of WilmerHale, who was Solicitor General in the Clinton Administration, argued on behalf of i4i. The United States argued in favor of i4i's position, and was represented by Malcolm L. Stewart, Deputy Solicitor General.

COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) today introduced major enhancements to its SciFinder(R) research tool. One new feature is SciPlanner(TM), a ground-breaking interactive workspace that enables scientists to more quickly identify synthesis options for designing the best research pathways and approaches. 

 SciPlanner allows users to create customized reaction pathways as well as organize and manage SciFinder results in ways they find most useful. Users can integrate reactions, experimental procedures, substances, and references from multiple documents. Specifically, the new tool enables researchers to: 

In the 'we need to make sure all people can abdicate any responsibility for their actions' department, a new study makes obesity exculpatory by determining that a mother's nutrition during pregnancy influences the child's risk of obesity many years later.

Whew.  And here you were worried too many pizzas would influence the risk of obesity.

The downside to epigenetics studies is that they run the risk of turning legitimate aspects of biology into the DNA equivalent of evolutionary psychology by making bizarre correlation-causation claims.

Ozone is a known pollutant at low levels in the earth’s atmosphere, which causes harmful effects on the respiratory system and sensitive plants.    Ozone forms as hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides emitted into the air react with sunlight. Two of the largest emitters of these pollutants are vehicles and electricity generating units (EGUs) but as Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) have risen in popularity over the past decade the positive impact on the environment due to lack of fossil fuel exhaust fumes is offset by increased ozone.

LONDON, April 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The tax increase imposed by the UK government has invoked wide spread condemnation from the oil and gas industry with the threat of major North Sea projects being halted.

SMi Group's Taxation in Oil and Gas conference will investigate the effect that this increase could have on North Sea oil and gas ventures as the tax implications are factored into exploration and production companies' financial forecasts and the economics of these projects are reassessed.

Children eat fewer Easter eggs during the Easter holidays if parents let them decide how many they can have, according to Saima Ehsan and colleagues from the University of Surrey, who will present their research at the British Psychological Society's Annual Conference in Glasgow May 4th-6th.