White dwarfs are good timekeepers, and as such, hold clues about the age of the cosmos.

“Once a white dwarf forms, all it does is sit and cool, so we can measure the temperature of a white dwarf, and, using some theoretical understandings, figure out how long it took the star to cool to that temperature, and hence determine how old it is,” says Judi Provencal, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Delaware, director of the Delaware Asteroseismic Research Center (DARC), and resident astronomer at Mt. Cuba Astronomical Observatory in Greenville, Del.. “The coolest white dwarf we know of is about 2,500 degrees,” she notes. “This corresponds to an age for the galaxy of about 10 billion years.”

Gram-negative bacteria, like E. coli and salmonella, destroy pathogenic bacteria by disabling the mechanism that produces their protective coating. Scientists have discovered two key proteins that guide one of the two groups of bacteria to make their hardy outer shells -- their defense against the world.

The team discovered the proteins through an extended process of elimination. The scientists looked at microbes in the guts of carpenter ants. The bacteria, which have lived there for millions of years -- passed on over many generations -- have lost many of the traits necessary for survival in the outer world. As a result, their collection of genes, known as a genome, is far smaller and simpler than the genome of E. coli.

FREMONT, California, March 26 /PRNewswire/ --

Breathe Technologies, Inc., which is developing innovative, patient-friendly medical devices to treat respiratory problems associated with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis, and influenza announced today that it has closed on US$15 million in its second round of venture funding. The investment was led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) with participation from existing venture investors, including Synergy Partners International, Delphi Ventures and Life Science Angels.

HONG KONG, March 26 /PRNewswire/ --

- DotAsia Announces 'Hot or Not' Contest, Invites Everyone to Participate

- 'Cyberport.Asia' Launches to exemplify Hong Kong as Asia's World City

DotAsia Organisation announces Go Live of the ".Asia" registry, signifying the start of first-come-first-served registrations, allowing anyone around the world to get their ".Asia" domain instantaneously. "With over 10 million domains registered in China alone and over 150 million worldwide, the potential for ".Asia" is only now starting to be realized. There are millions of great ".Asia" domains still available on a first-come-first-served basis," says Edmon Chung, CEO of DotAsia.

HONG KONG, March 26 /PRNewswire/ --

Multiple presentations by interventional cardiologists at the American College of Cardiology's 57th Annual Scientific Session (ACC.08) will feature OrbusNeich's Genous Bio-engineered R stent.

The presentations at the conference, which will take place March 29 - April 1 in Chicago, include:

CALGARY, Canada, March 26 /PRNewswire/ --

- Initiation of Study Puts Company on Track for Phase I/II Trial

LONDON, March 26 /PRNewswire/ -- FIS Software is pleased to announce that Columbian Financial Group (CFG) in Binghamton, NY has selected ALIS as its strategic policy administration platform. CFG will utilise ALIS to support its new business initiatives as well as its in-force policies. ALIS will administer the insurer's complete product offering including participating and non-participating whole life, pre-need, final expense, universal life, annuities and worksite.

BASINGSTOKE, England and PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, March 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY, TSX: SHQ), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, announces the release on March 25, 2008, of ordinary shares of 5 pence in the capital of Shire plc ("Shares") in connection with the Shire Long Term Incentive Plan ("LTIP").

In accordance with the rules of the LTIP, the following Shares were released:

Name of PDMR Number of Shares Released Mr M Emmens 75,408 Mr A Russell 46,634 Ms T May 30,746 Mr J Rus 23,365 Ms A Graham 18,843

OXFORD, England, March 26 /PRNewswire/ --

- Safety-Engineered Catheter Specially Designed to Help Minimize Risk of Transmitting Bloodborne Pathogens

BD Medical, a segment of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), today announced that the BD Venflon(TM) Pro Safety IV Catheter earned a "red dot: best of the best" product design award in the prestigious international competition, that included more than 3,203 submissions from 51 countries, sponsored by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Essen, Germany.

LAS VEGAS, March 26 /PRNewswire/ --

- Company Initiates Litigation to Prohibit Team Gordon from Associating Itself with Vanguard Trademarks -

Vanguard Integrity Professionals, Inc. announced today that on Jan. 30, 2008 it terminated its sponsorship of Team Gordon, Inc. for the 2008, 2009 and 2010 Dakar Rallies.

On Jan. 4, 2008, the Dakar Rally 2008 was cancelled by the Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) due to threats of terrorist attacks by al Qaeda against the Rally and its participants.