A gut hormone that causes people to eat more does so by making food appear more desirable, suggests a new report in the May issue of Cell Metabolism. In a brain imaging study of individuals, the researchers found that reward centers respond more strongly to pictures of food in subjects who had received an infusion of the hormone known as ghrelin.

The findings suggest that the two drives for feeding — metabolic signals and pleasure signals — are actually intertwined.

LONDON, May 6 /PRNewswire/ --

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) announced that it has been selected by the NATO C3 Agency (NC3A) to provide hardware and software support services for the roll-out of the Maritime Command and Control Information System (MCCIS) across NATO countries.

The MCCIS merges information gathered from satellites, wide area networks, computerized tactical data processors and machine-readable messages to create a common operating environment for maritime and other assets. It is integrated by NATO support staff and includes commercial-off-the-shelf products together with NATO-developed applications. The MCCIS is installed in every NATO maritime headquarters, which includes more than 300 workstations.

LONDON, May 6 /PRNewswire/ -- In their first year of entering, SRG were winners in two categories of the 2008 Recruiter Awards for Excellence. These awards are the biggest, most comprehensive and most prestigious covering the whole of the UK recruitment industry. The winning entries were for Best Candidate Care and Best Health Care/Medical Recruitment Firm

The judges' summary for Best Candidate Care Award stated that SRG had demonstrated that caring for its candidates is an important - if not the most important - business model that makes a recruiter stand out above its competitors. The judges found that SRG's processes supported candidates from start to finish of the recruitment experience.

ATLANTA and AUCKLAND, New Zealand, May 6 /PRNewswire/ --

- Advanced corporate online booking tools align to provide Corporations and Travel Management Companies a unified global service experience to customers with international travel programs

TRX, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRXI), a global technology company that develops and hosts software applications to process data records and automate manual processes and SERKO, the supplier of SERKO Online, today announced the launch of a global sales and marketing alliance for on-line booking.

LONDON, May 6 /PRNewswire/ --

- Landmark Global Market Research Reveals

Over 2,700 consumers and businesses from 35 countries participated in the new three-dimensional research study - Understanding Gluten and Allergen-Free Experiences of Guests & Hospitality Worldwide. The international findings deliver an innovative 360 degree view of market trends and expectations based on quantitative & qualitative insights from customers living with food allergies, coeliac / celiac and/or gluten-free diets, as well as food service providers.

More and more U.S. college students are smoking tobacco using hookahs, a kind of water pipe, and it’s becoming a growing public health issue, according to a new study led by a Virginia Commonwealth University researcher.

In a hookah, tobacco is heated by charcoal, and the resulting smoke is passed through a water-filled chamber, cooling the smoke before it reaches the smoker. Some waterpipe users perceive this method of smoking tobacco as less harmful and addictive than cigarette smoking.

Principal investigator Thomas Eissenberg, Ph.D., associate professor in the VCU Department of Psychology, notes that current and prospective waterpipe tobacco smokers should be made aware that waterpipe tobacco smoking is not as benign as they might think. Waterpipe and cigarette smoke contains some of the same toxins -- disease-causing tar and carbon monoxide, as well as dependence-producing nicotine. Additionally, the exposure to these toxins through waterpipe smoking may be greater due to longer periods of use.

It has long been known that type 2 diabetes is linked to obesity, particularly fat inside the belly. Now, researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center have found that fat from other areas of the body can actually reduce insulin resistance and improve insulin sensitivity.

In a study published in the May issue of Cell Metabolism, a team lead by C. Ronald Kahn, M.D. found that subcutaneous fat -- fat found below the skin, usually in the hips and thighs -- is associated with reduced insulin levels and improved insulin sensitivity.

A new revision of clinical guidelines to help doctors manage patients with depression has challenged the rationale behind the UK government’s policy of rolling out of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for milder depression.

According to a comprehensive review of treatments for depression, there is a lack of evidence for CBT being more helpful than other forms of psychological support in mild depression or for its efficacy in severe depression. There is also good evidence for antidepressants being effective in depression, with benefit increasing the more severe the depression. This is contrary to recent reports that antidepressants don’t work except in the most severe depression.

Dr Ian Anderson, Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist, Neuroscience and Psychiatry Unit, University of Manchester, UK, says the cost effectiveness of CBT should be thoroughly investigated before it is adopted more widely because it is likely to be offered to people with milder depression where the evidence is poorest.

Gambling activity is widespread among U.S. adolescents and young adults ages 14 through 21, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University at Buffalo’s Research Institute on Addictions (RIA).

Results of the first national survey of its kind show problem gambling -- described as gambling with three or more negative consequences (for example, gambling more than you intended or stealing money to gamble) in the past year -- occurring at a rate of 2.1 percent among youth 14 to 21. That ppercentage projects to approximately 750,000 young problem gamblers nationwide.

In addition, 11 percent of the youth surveyed gambled twice per week or more, a rate that describes frequent gambling. Sixty-eight percent of the youth interviewed reported that they had gambled at least once in the past year.

LONDON, May 6 /PRNewswire/ --

Thomson Reuters, the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, today published two issues of World IP Today, analyzing global patent activity and technology innovations for the year 2007. Both reports draw on data mined from Thomson Innovation(SM), the new standard in IP research and analysis, and give a highly detailed view of recent IP developments across the globe.