Creationists have put us into a bizarre, alternate universe, at least when it comes to curriculum design. Their latest attempt to undermine science education involves inserting the code words 'strengths and weaknesses' into the public school science standards. The idea is that, whenever something religious fundamentalists find controversial crops up in science class, teachers have to teach the "strengths and weaknesses" of that particular topic. Fortunately, this creationist code has just been kept out of the Texas state science standards, but you can bet the code is going to crop up again at some point.

It's worth taking a moment to think about how whacked this whole debate over strengths and weaknesses has become.

Botox and face lifts only give the appearance that you've turned back the clock, and although expensive procedural looks are deceiving, your telomeres don't lie.  As your cells divide, telomeres become shorter, eventually leading to cell death over time. 

Unfortunately, scientists are far from curing this universal "disease" known as aging.  However, understanding the mechanisms of aging will have a more immediate impact on the development of stem cell therapies, and researchers at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden have discovered that the female egg is capable of reversing this telomere molecular clock.

LONDON and TOKYO, March 27 /PRNewswire/ --

Chiltern International Limited (Chiltern), a global Clinical Research Organization (CRO) that provides clinical development and staffing services in Europe, the Americas and India and its Asian partner EPS International Co. Ltd. (EPS INTERNATIONAL), a wholly owned subsidiary of EPS Co. Ltd., a leading provider of clinical development services in the Asian region, have jointly organized a seminar in Tokyo, Japan on 24th April 2009 to coincide with the 3rd anniversary of EPS International.

Behind every major scientific effort is a story. Beadle and Tatum's story is one of persistence. They began with a hypothesis: each gene causes the production of a single enzyme, and that enzyme catalyzes a biochemical reaction within an organism.

The seeds of this hypothesis were spawned by Sir Archibald Garrod, who reported in 1909 that alkaptonuria - an inherited condition in which the urine is colored dark red by the chemical alkapton - results from a single recessive gene, which causes a deficiency in the enzyme that normally breaks down alkapton.

LONDON, March 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Brookdale Care, the independent provider of residential care services for people living with Autism and other Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD), is inviting MPs and care commissioners to spend a day with residents and staff at four of its residential locations in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and North London, as part of a campaign to raise understanding of Autism and ASD in conjunction with World Autism Awareness Day on 2nd April, 2009.

World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD) was first instituted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2007 with the aim of raising awareness about Autism and ASD in every member state. Each year charities and providers of support undertake awareness raising activities around this day.

This Saturday night, a global effort is set to take place to promote energy conservation – the 3rd annual Earth Hour. To join in on the effort, simply turn off your lights from 8:30 – 9:30pm in your local time zone. This worldwide effort is designed to demonstrate that each person has a choice in their energy consumption - and at any time can simply choose to use less.

Turning off your lights is an easy way to reduce your energy usage, as well as reduce your energy bill. But as with many things, it’s always more fun to do it with friends. So 8:30-9:30pm on March 28th 2009 has been designated as the specific time when people and cities around the world will dim their lights to show their acknowledgement that sometimes little actions can have big impacts.

The Alliance For Human Research Protection, a non-profit advocacy group for responsible and ethical medical research practices, has called for the suspension of JAMA editor-in-chief Catherine DeAngelis and exec deputy editor Phil Fontanarosa, and for an an investigation into allegations that they threatened a researcher who criticized a study published in the journal, according to the Wall Street Journal.

ELMSHORN, Germany, March 27 /PRNewswire/ --

- Digital Satellite TV now Supported by Windows Media Center of Windows Vista

Shuttle Inc., the market leader in the Mini-PC segment and manufacturer of Multi-Form-Factor solutions, today introduces the XPC H7 4500H complete system for satellite TV reception. Unlike present proprietary solutions, the H7 4500H now comes with satellite television conveniently and reliably integrated in Windows Vista.

The whole feature set of Windows Media Center that had previously been available for DVB-T tuners and analogue cable TV only, can now be used with a DVB-S TV tuner card as well. Timeshifting (pausing TV programmes), EPG (Electronic Program Guide) and recording, all this can be done right from the sofa by remote control.

LONDON, March 27 /PRNewswire/ --

- Employees Point to Reducing Energy use as an Easy win

Employees are increasingly accepting responsibility for helping save money around the workplace according to new research released today by the Carbon Trust, with the majority (87%) saying it's important for them to help their employer cut costs in the current climate, and 78% willing to be more energy efficient to save money.

Almost half (46%) of UK employees say they are now more likely to try to help their employer save money than before the credit crunch kicked in.

BRUSSELS, March 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Gianni Ciserani, President for Procter Gamble, Western Europe, told an audience of European business leaders that in a world of uncertainty, European consumers could continue to rely on PG to provide products that delivered great value, performance and sustainability. He said that PG was investing in products offering reduced environmental footprint and stated that the company will significantly increase targets for its 2012 sustainability goals. He also shared details of the company's latest initiative to reduce road transportation in Europe by increasing its use of rail.