A common weedkiller in the U.S., atrazine, already suspected of causing sexual abnormalities in frogs and fish, has now been found to alter hormonal signaling in human cells, scientists from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) report.

Atrazine is the second most widely used weedkiller in the U.S., applied to corn and sorghum fields throughout the Midwest and also spread on suburban lawns and gardens. It was banned in Europe after studies linked the chemical to endocrine disruptions in fish and amphibians.

In studies with human placental cells in culture, the UCSF scientists found that atrazine increased the activity of a gene associated with abnormal human birth weight when over-expressed in the placenta. Atrazine also targeted a second gene that has been found to be amplified in the uterus of women with unexplained infertility.

Health care in the United States is expensive, but its funding is crucial because it also is a major contributor to the economy and can better lives, according to an essay appearing in the June 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN).

Because of the cost of health care, this is not time to shrink the budget at the National Institutes of Health, which funds medical research that leads to potentially curative therapy, according to Dr. Eric Neilson, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, TN.

As the US population increases, health care costs are sure to rise. To help stem rising health care costs, government officials are taking money away from Medicare and Medicaid programs, and budget planners are reducing the funds used to support medical science. But experts question this strategy, noting that health care employs a large segment of the national workforce (and is, therefore, a fundamental feature of the economy) and medical research is a critical enterprise that over the long run will provide more affordable health care—so called “high technology,” as Lewis Thomas once phrased it.

CINCINNATI, May 6 /PRNewswire/ --

- Industry Veteran to Lead Global Contract Execution and Negotiation Efforts

Kendle (Nasdaq: KNDL), a leading, global full-service clinical research organization (CRO), today announced the appointment of Patricia Williams to the position of Vice President, Commercial Operations. In this newly created position, Williams will provide leadership for global contract execution and negotiation with the company's biopharmaceutical customers, including master service agreements and changes in scope. Williams will be based in Kendle's European headquarters in Crowthorne, England and will report directly to Chris Bergen, Chief Operating Officer.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030429/KNDLLOGO )

Genetic variation in the DNA of mitochondria – the 'power plants' of cells – contributes to a person’s risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD), say investigators in the first study to examine the mitochondrial genome for changes associated with AMD, the leading cause of blindness in Caucasians over age 50.

“Most people don’t realize that we have two genomes,” said lead author Jeff Canter, M.D., M.P.H., an investigator in the Center for Human Genetics Research. “We have the nuclear genome – the “human genome” – that makes the cover of all the magazines, and then we also have this tiny genome in mitochondria in every cell.”

Canter teamed with Jonathan Haines, Ph.D., and Paul Sternberg, M.D., experts in AMD genetics and treatment, to examine whether a particular variation in the mitochondrial genome is associated with the disease. The genetic change occurs in about 10 percent of Caucasians, referred to as mitochondrial haplogroup T.

LONDON, May 6 /PRNewswire/ --

Major leaders of the global telecommunications industry Tuesday (May 6) signed a construction and maintenance agreement (C&MA) to build the first direct, high-bandwidth optical-fiber submarine cable system from the United Kingdom to India. The Europe India Gateway (EIG) cable system, which will cost more than US$700 million, will significantly enhance capacity and diversity between the countries of these regions.

Sixteen telecommunications companies are investing in the project: AT&T; Bharti Airtel; BT; Cable &Wireless; Djibouti Telecom; Du; Gibtelecom; IAM; Libyan Post, Telecom and Information Technology Company; MTN Group Ltd; Omantel; PT Comunicacoes, S.A.; Saudi Telecom Company; Telecom Egypt; Telkom SA Ltd; and Verizon Business.

LONDON, May 6 /PRNewswire/ --

- Company's Participation in EIG Enhances Leading Global Network Capabilities

Verizon Business Tuesday (May 6) joined a consortium of 16 companies building a next-generation undersea optical cable system connecting Europe, the Middle East and India.

The new system, named the Europe India Gateway (EIG), is the third major submarine cable project Verizon Business has helped launch in the last four years and continues the company's global network leadership in delivering more capacity, reliability and speed for the data, video and voice services of its multinational customers.

NEW YORK, May 6 /PRNewswire/ --

Imtiaz Ahmad, Executive Director of Morgan Stanley's Carbon Trading group will present on the infrastructure of carbon trading in an interactive workshop setting outlining the mechanisms currently set in place and compare the pros and cons of alternative trading strategies and products. Other workshop leaders include Shawn Burns, CEO of Carbon Credit Corp, Milo Sjardin, Head of North America at New Carbon Finance, Tina Reine, Vice President, Carbon Markets at JP Morgan Chase, and Jeffrey Fort, Partner at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, May 6 /PRNewswire/ --

From May 7 to 9, Petrobras will advance discussions on issues such as sustainable development and biofuels during the Amsterdam Conference on Sustainability and Transparency. The event, held by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the world's biggest reference in sustainability report preparation, will bring more than a thousand participants together in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

PARIS, May 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) today announced that Michael Fabian, President of Industry and Public Sector for Alcatel-Lucent's services activities will deliver a media tutorial on the IPS market on May 20, 2008 at 3.00 PM Paris time (9 AM New York time). Michael Fabian will explain the communications needs of this sector and how Alcatel-Lucent is uniquely positioned to deliver solutions to solve its communications challenges.

LONDON, May 6 /PRNewswire/ --

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has announced the appointment of Eldar Hauge as managing director of its Northrop Grumman Park Air Systems operations in Norway. Northrop Grumman Park Air Systems is a leading provider of communication, navigation and surveillance systems for air-space operations worldwide.

A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://media.primezone.com/noc/

In this role, Hauge will be responsible for establishing and maintaining Northrop Grumman's relationships with existing and potential customers in Norway and for strengthening the company's ability to pursue new business opportunities in the international air traffic management market.