Basil can protect against the harmful effects of ageing, according to research presented at the British Pharmaceutical Conference (BPC) in Manchester.

Holy basil, (Latin name Ocimum sanctum), is a close relative of the herb commonly used in Western cooking. Native to India, its extract has long been used in the ancient system of Ayurvedic medicine practiced in India and other parts of Asia as a rejuvenation drug, to promote a youthful state of physical and mental health.

In the first formal study of the herb, pharmacy researchers found that holy basil extract was effective at actively searching for and eliminating harmful molecules and protecting against damage caused by some free radicals in key organs such as the heart, liver and brain.

Ramadan is a Muslim religious observance in which participants do not eat or drink anything from dawn until sunset.

Researchers from the departments of Department of Nutrition and Bromatology and Department of Chemistry-Physics of the University of Granada have carried out a study in which they have revealed the need of counterbalancing the diet of the population who follow Ramadan.

According to the collected data, in this period of time macronutrient consumption levels are not appropriate if compared with the reference recommendations. The number of daily ingestions drops to 2 or 3, with regard to the 4 or 5 ingestions of the rest of the population in this period. In addition, scientists have established that, because of the diet, corporal fat increases and muscular mass falls.

Tom Learner isn’t afraid of taking a scalpel to multi-million dollar Monets or Picassos. But he also knows his way around equipment that sounds pretty high tech: Scanning Electron Microscopes, Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assays, and Mass Spectrometers. He knows about Neo-Dada, he digs Degas, and he’s pretty handy when it comes to High Performance Liquid Chromatography. He loves science, but he’s doing it all in the name of art. Dr. Learner is a conservation scientist; as the Senior Scientist at the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) in Los Angeles, he gets to combine his love for both art and science in an amazing way. He says he still gets a feeling of awe when he's standing nose-to-nose with an original van Gogh. The GCI's scientific department has about 25 scientists who feel the same way, with expertise in chemistry, geology, materials science, physics, and engineering. Is there a draft in here? Image of "The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden," before and after restoration.

Staying healthy is a tasteless job. Linseed is said to protect against cancer, for example, but not many people like the taste. Researchers have now isolated the valuable components of the flax seeds so when they are incorporated in bread, cakes or dressings, they support the human organism without leaving an unpleasant aftertaste.

Seriously? Cake that protects against cancer and noodles that lower cholesterol? Throw in cigars that clear our arteries and we'll join the health food bandwagon right now.

Research scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV in Freising have isolated valuable components of linseed and lupin seeds and experimentally incorporated them in various foodstuffs: the linseed in cakes, bread, dressings and sauces, the lupins in bread, rolls and pasta.

Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., a physician-geneticist and leader of the Human Genome Project, has been awarded with the new Inamori Ethics Prize from the Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence at Case Western Reserve University.

LONDON, September 5 /PRNewswire/ --

Global Crossing (Nasdaq: GLBC) will conduct a conference call on Thursday, September 11, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. EDT/2:00 p.m. BST. Jean Mandeville, CFO and Anthony Christie, managing director for Global Crossing UK (GCUK) and Europe, will discuss GCUK's financial results for the second quarter of 2008.

The call may be accessed by dialing +1-212-231-2900 or +44(0)20-3300-0097. Callers are advised to dial in 15 minutes prior to the start time. The call will also be Webcast at http://investors.globalcrossing.com/results.cfm.

SAO PAULO, Brazil, September 5 /PRNewswire/ --

- Event will be held September 17-20 at the Transamerica Expo Center

- Those interested in the visits can now register for the Congress and reserve a space

The World Federation of Investors Corporation Congress (WFIC), which will take place September 17-20 at the Transamerica Expo Center in Sao Paulo, will be offering participants the opportunity to tour the installations of two of the country's largest companies: Petrobras and Vale.

PITTSBURGH, September 5 /PRNewswire/ --

Tube City IMS Corporation, a service provider to steel mills and foundries throughout the world, today announced it has completed the acquisition of Hanson Resource Management Limited and its subsidiary Hanson Support Services Limited ("Hanson").

Hanson, headquartered in Scunthorpe, England, operates throughout the UK. Since its founding in the early 1960s, Hanson has grown to its present status as a strategic partner to a diverse industrial client base with a primary focus on providing a broad range of low-cost, high value services and solutions to world-class steelmakers delivering these services through a dedicated and skilled work force of more than 600 employees.

LONDON, September 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The Disciplinary Committee of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons yesterday (4 September 2008) directed that veterinary surgeon William Angus Baird be restored to the RCVS Register after his removal in July 2007 for serious professional misconduct.

Mr Baird, who at the time of the original one-day hearing owned the Happy Pet Veterinary Clinic in Yeovil, but is now based in New Zealand, was convicted of a Charge relating to his refusal to attend a 14-year-old German Shepherd-cross bitch, 'Cassie', at the home of owners Mr and Mrs McConnell, when he knew, or ought to have known, that the visit was necessary.

LONDON, September 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Most government and learning disability organisations are still failing to give the UK's 1.5 million people with learning disabilities (LD) a voice and a say in how their services are 'personalised'.

UK Government's policy is now that people with LD should receive personalised social care. Multimedia provides a proven tool to help people with LD achieve this. But the technology seems too challenging for the majority of social carers, says Andy Minnion, director of the Rix Centre.