We read (and write here) a lot about gender issues in the scientific arena but usually topics are related to science education and promoting greater equality of numbers at the higher levels. There are a number of studies detailing the issues women face in a predominantly male science world but a University of Missouri religion professor has found that if the researcher is a male fieldworker studying women, the situation can be just as challenging.

His conclusions about male researchers studying female subjects are based on his extensive observations of the Diola (pronounced joe-la) people. Robert M. Baum, professor of religious studies in the College of Arts and Science has been traveling to southwestern Senegal on the African continent and conducting field research among the Diola communities, approximately 600,000 people, for more than 30 years. The modern Diola are primarily rice farmers.

Initially, Baum's work focused on pre-colonial Diola religious history during the era of the Atlantic slave trade, a period when there were male prophets. Later in his research, Baum studied the work and influence of Diola female prophets who began appearing after the French and Portuguese conquest of Diola lands in the late 1800s.

ALTRINCHAM, England, June 26 /PRNewswire/ -- ITIS Holdings plc, a UK Market-leader in real-time traffic information today announces the immediate availability of Next Generation Traffic Services over DAB.

Cars and Personal Navigation devices fitted with DAB TPEG Receivers are now able to receive the most up-to-date traffic information in the London area and nationally thereafter.

As Europe's first RDS-TMC broadcaster, today's announcement further extends ITIS' innovative and market-leading reputation.

ROCKVILLE, Maryland, June 26 /PRNewswire/ --

Pinnacle Biologics, a private, full service pharmaceutical and biotech solutions company, today announced that it has entered into a preferred stock purchase transaction with MedImmune, LLC, pursuant to which MedImmune has acquired certain unspecified number of preferred stock shares of Pinnacle Biologics, Inc. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Pinnacle Biologics owns the marketing and distribution rights to MedImmune's Ethyol(R), 50 mg/ml, powder for solution for infusion in Western Europe, Turkey and Israel.

"This is a highpoint for Pinnacle, as it signifies an additional milestone for our company," said Guillermo Herrera, Chairman of the Board of Pinnacle Biologics.

About Pinnacle Biologics

BASEL, Switzerland, June 26 /PRNewswire/ --

- Roche Also Announces Start of NCORE Study to Determine Best Length of Treatment in Patients who do not Experience a Rapid Response

Roche announced today that the European Commission has approved a shortened, 16-week course of treatment with Pegasys (peginterferon alfa-2a (40 KD)) plus Copegus (ribavirin) for certain hepatitis C patients.

PRINCETON, New Jersey, June 26 /PRNewswire/ --

Impliant, Inc., a developer of novel spine arthroplasty alternatives to fusion surgery, today announced that it has resumed European clinical activities on its TOPS(TM) System, a Total Posterior Arthroplasty device designed to treat spinal stenosis with or without facet arthrosis and spondylolisthesis. The procedure was performed by the Lead Clinician of the London Spine Clinic, Mr. John C. Sutcliffe, MB ChB, FRCS.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080527/NETU060LOGO )

JERUSALEM and NEEDHAM, Massachusetts, June 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Oridion Systems Ltd. - (SWX: ORIDN) Oridion Medical, the leading developer and manufacturer of innovative capnography monitoring solutions, announced that it won the 2008 Manufacturers Partnership Award from IMDA, the association of medical specialty sales and marketing companies. With this award, IMDA acknowledges the Company's achievements in market development and support of its Specialty distributors (part of the Oridion Distribution Network) to increase their sales of Oridion capnography products.

Pheromones are molecules that an organism releases to trigger a specific behavior in other members of its species. Insects make wide use of pheromones to attract mates, signal the location of food, warn of attackers and provide other signals.

A new study finds that genes significantly affect variation in voter turnout, shedding new light on the reasons why people vote and participate in the political system.

"Although we are not the first to suggest a link between genes and political participation," note the authors, "this study is the first attempt to test the idea empirically."

They do so by conducting three tests of the claim that part of the variation in political participation can be attributed to genetic factors. The results suggest that individual genetic differences make up a large and significant portion of the variation in political participation, even after taking socialization and other environmental factors into account. They also suggest that, contrary to decades of conventional wisdom, family upbringing may have little or no effect on children's future participatory behavior.

It has been commonly regarded as a good sign that the nation's homocide rate has remained flat but the big picture obscures a disturbing fact, say researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Namely that between 1999 and 2005, homicide involving firearms increased 31 percent among black men ages 25 to 44 and 12 percent among white men of the same age.

For the study, Susan Baker, MPH, co-author of the study and a professor with the Bloomberg School's Center for Injury Research and Policy, and her colleagues Daniel Webster and Gouqing Hu, the study's lead author, analyzed data from WISQARS™ (Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System), which includes information on injury-related deaths and mortality rates per 100,000 population from 1981-2005. Mortality data by urbanization level was obtained through the Wonder System at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Materials scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a process to build complex, three-dimensional nanoscale structures of magnetic materials such as nickel or nickel-iron alloys using techniques compatible with standard semiconductor manufacturing. The process, described in a recent paper, could enable whole new classes of sensors and microelectromechanical (MEMS) devices.

The NIST team also demonstrated that key process variables are linked to relatively quick and inexpensive electrochemical measurements, pointing the way to a fast and efficient way to optimize the process for new materials.