The proliferation of voluntary carbon offset programs seems like a great way for individuals to help fight climate change. But do carbon offset programs really work? That's the question for Bill Stanley, Science Lead for Carbon Strategies, Climate Change Team at The Nature Conservancy.

Lawrence Hamilton, of Charlotte, VT, asks:

"Are carbon offset programs and forest protection efforts providing real solutions for reducing global carbon emissions? And how do these programs help reduce pollution from mercury, arsenic and other "baddies" that often accompany carbon emissions?"

Bill Stanley, Science Lead for Carbon Strategies, Climate Change Team, replies:

IRVINE, California and LONDON, June 24 /PRNewswire/ --

- Application Jukebox Lite Allows Everyone to Discover the Ease of Creating and Deploying Streamable Applications

Endeavors Technologies, the pioneer in application streaming and virtualization technology today announced Application Jukebox Lite, a free, fully functional version of Application Jukebox, its application streaming and virtualization software. Application Jukebox Lite is available at the TryItNow site (http://tryitnow.endeavors.com), which also includes streamable applications, community forums, FAQs and other information to get you started.

For lemurs, genetic diversity and scent complexity go hand in hand during the breeding season, say researchers from Duke University and the Centre d'écologie fonctionnelle et évolutive (CNRS / Universités Montpellier 1, 2 and 3 / ENSA Montpellier / CIRAD / École pratique des hautes études de Paris).

Male lemurs are able to signal their genetic quality through an olfactory cue. The perfume attracts females and provides the basis for their choice of reproductive partner.

Olfaction, little studied in primates until now (1), is a significant means of communication in certain monkeys, and especially in lemurs. These mammals, which live almost exclusively in Madagascar, include more than thirty species. One of the best known is the ring-tailed lemur, Lemur catta, a highly social species that lives in small, female-dominated groups. In this species, olfactory communication plays an essential role in social relations.

NEW YORK, June 24 /PRNewswire/ --

- First Rotating Skyscraper to be Self Powered and Completely Prefabricated

Visionary Italian architect Dr. David Fisher today announced the launch of the revolutionary Dynamic Tower, the world's first building in motion, to be constructed in Dubai and Moscow with other locations planned worldwide.

LONDON, June 24 /PRNewswire/ --

Morria Biopharmaceuticals Plc, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel anti-inflammatory drugs, today announced that it has initiated a Phase II equivalent study of MRX-4, in a nasal aerosol formulation, in 105 patients suffering from allergic rhinitis (AR). The two-arm, randomized, multi-dose, double-blind, placebo-controlled study includes Rhinocort(R) as the steroid comparator arm. The study is expected to be completed by the end of Q3 2008.

LONDON, June 24 /PRNewswire/ -- In order to reduce the amount of time spent travelling to and from meetings and enable colleagues to be more productive with their time, Sainsbury's Logistics Division, has selected BCS Global to supply the very latest visual communications technology. By using BCS Global's IP video conferencing solution, Virtual Presence, in ten locations across the UK, the Sainsbury's Logistics division plans to utilise new channels for collaboration, reduce the hassle of scheduling meetings and introduce new ways of working that support its CSR principles.

A new study of African lions says climate extremes, which would include the increased frequency of droughts and floods predicted by global warming models, can create conditions in which diseases that are tolerated individually might converge and cause mass extinction of livestock or wildlife.

The study suggests that extreme climatic conditions are capable of altering normal host-pathogen relationships and causing a "perfect storm" of multiple infectious outbreaks that could trigger epidemics with catastrophic mortality.

Led by scientists at the University of California, Davis, the University of Illinois and the University of Minnesota, the research team examined outbreaks of canine distemper virus (CDV) in 1994 and 2001 that resulted in unusually high mortality of lions in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater. CDV periodically strikes these ecosystems, and most epidemics have caused little or no harm to the lions.

LONDON and BOSTON, June 24 /PRNewswire/ --

Hotech Edge, a leader in wireless building management networks, has developed and implemented a range of innovative wire-free building security and energy conservation applications for the hospitality industry based on Ember's ZigBee networking technology.

Hotech Edge's G-Mesh networks cover entire buildings in a wireless mesh infrastructure for real-time online management of digital guest safes, door-locks, climate control and other devices. The ZigBee-enabled system improves guest services, automates building management, reduces operational and energy costs, and creates new revenue opportunities for hotels and student residences.

FREMONT, California, June 24 /PRNewswire/ --

- New Fully-Buffered 800MHz 4GB DIMM Kit Joins Corsair Mac Memory Line

Corsair(R) http://www.corsair.com, a worldwide leader in high performance computer and flash memory products, announced today the launch of their new Mac Memory kits made especially for the newest Mac Pro desktop systems. The new Corsair Mac Memory kits are fully-buffered 800MHz solutions, available immediately in 4GB (2 x 2GB modules) DIMM kits.

Utilizing Mac Pro-specific heat sinks and performance IC's, these new memory modules help unleash the high performance potential of Mac Pro desktop platforms. All Corsair Mac memory modules are qualified at Apple Test Labs in California and are 100% compatibility-guaranteed with a lifetime warranty.

ROUSSET, France, June 24 /PRNewswire/ --

- Extends Atmel's Market-leading AT91SAM Microcontrollers to Next-generation ARM Technology

Atmel(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML) announced today that it has licensed the ARM(R) Cortex(TM)-M3 32-bit RISC processor for the next generation of its market-leading AT91SAM ARM technology-based microcontrollers. This reinforces Atmel's commitment to the ARM architecture, complementing its existing licenses for the ARM7TDMI(R), ARM926EJ-S(TM) and ARM1176JZ-S(TM) processors.