Dice-size crumbs of bright material have vanished from inside a trench where they were photographed by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander four days ago, convincing scientists that the material was frozen water that vaporized after digging exposed it.

"It must be ice," said Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson. "These little clumps completely disappearing over the course of a few days, that is perfect evidence that it's ice. There had been some question whether the bright material was salt. Salt can't do that."

The chunks were left at the bottom of a trench informally called "Dodo-Goldilocks" when Phoenix's Robotic Arm enlarged that trench on June 15, during the 20th Martian day, or sol, since landing. Several were gone when Phoenix looked at the trench early today, on Sol 24.

LONDON, June 20 /PRNewswire/ --

The Board of Endeavour International Corporation (Amex: END) (LSE: ENDV) confirms that on 19 June 2008 it wrote to the Board of Ithaca Energy Inc. ("Ithaca") setting out a non-binding proposed offer (the "Proposed Offer") to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Ithaca for a combination of cash and shares of Endeavour.

The Proposed Offer is at an indicative price of US$3.25 per Ithaca share, representing, at current exchange rates(1) a premium of approximately 44.2 percent to Ithaca's closing price on 18 June 2008, the last dealing day prior to the date of Endeavour's formal approach.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California, June 20 /PRNewswire/ --

Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALXA) announced today that its corporate presentation will be webcast live during the Piper Jaffray Third Annual Europe Conference on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 8:20 a.m. local time (3:20 a.m. Eastern Time). The presentation will be webcast from The ANdAZ Hotel in London.

To access the presentation via the Web, please go to the Investor Relations tab at http://www.alexza.com or at http://www.corporateir.net/ireye/conflobby.zhtml?ticker=ALXA&item id=1870754. A replay of the webcast will be made available approximately 24 hours after the live presentation and the replay will be archived for 14 days.

LONDON, June 20 /PRNewswire/ --

EMBARGOED: Not for publication before 00:01 BST on Friday June 20

- Att'n: Scotland Editors

Administration staff working for Scotland's biggest teaching union are to strike today (Friday 20th June) over management's failure to secure a pay settlement which should have been paid from 1st April 2008.

The 32 Unite members at the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) were forced to ballot for industrial action and were to begin a continuous overtime ban when management came back with a final offer of a five year pay deal.

The deal was not in line with the real rising cost of living (as measured by the RPI). Staff rejected it, voting 100% in favour of a strike.

Researchers have determined that there are hundreds of biological differences between the sexes when it comes to gene expression in the cerebral cortex of humans and other primates. These findings indicate that some of these differences arose a very long time ago and have been preserved through evolution. These conserved differences constitute a signature of sex differences in the brain.

Many more obvious gender differences have been preserved throughout primate evolution; examples include average body size and weight, and genitalia design. This study, believed to be the first of its kind, focuses on gene expression within the cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortex is involved in many of the more complex functions in both humans and other primates, including memory, attentiveness, thought processes and language.

We grow closer and closer to an understanding of the mechanisms underlying addictions, and with that knowledge we also learn about other illnesses. It is not new to think of eating disorders as addictions, but the connection has often been one of analogy, not brain function.

In a piece in Scientific American magazine, an interesting exploration of the underlying mechanisms that may be at play with anorexia nervosa:

Addicted to Starvation: The Neurological Roots of Anorexia

"What is more, cultural cues cannot easily explain why the afflicted, who are shockingly skinny, misperceive themselves as fat.

NEW YORK, June 19 /PRNewswire/ --

The following is a letter from DCML LLC to shareholders of Danka Business Services PLC (OTC Bulletin Board: DANKY).

Fellow Danka Shareholders:

Recent communications from Danka Business Services PLC (the "Company") compel us to respond, highlight inaccuracies and half-truths, and expose in our opinion the utter disregard of the Company's Board of Directors ("Board") and management for the interests of ordinary shareholders.

SUNNYVALE, California, June 19 /PRNewswire/ --

- Cytori and UC lose rights to Adipose-Derived Stem Cells; business agreements and activity under other patents likely affected.

It has been long been known that bacteria swim by rotating their tail-like structure called the flagellum. The rotating motion of the flagellum is powered by a molecular engine located at the base of the flagellum. Just as engaging the clutch of a car connects its gear to its engine and delivers power to its wheels, engaging the molecular clutch of a bacterium connects its gear to its engine and delivers power to its flagellum.

Now, a paper appearing in Science describes, for the first time, how the flagellum's rotations are stopped so that bacteria stop moving.

Here's how the stopping mechanism works: while a bacterium is swimming, it releases a protein (shown in red in the stationary bacterium in the figure) that flows between its gear and engine. The presence of this protein detaches the bacterium's gear from its engine and thereby stops the delivery of power to its flagellum. This process is analogous to disengaging the clutch of a car, which detaches its gear from its engine and thereby stops the delivery of power to its wheels.

Once the delivery of power to bacterium's flagellum stops, the flagellum stops rotating, and the bacterium's swimming ends.

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, June 19 /PRNewswire/ --

Agendia BV has announced the official opening of the company's new headquarters yesterday at Amsterdam's Science Park at Watergraafsmeer, Kruislaan 406. The Grand Opening ceremony was officiated by Dr. Rene Bernards, Chief Scientific Officer at Agendia and the Honourable Director General Mrs. R.M. Bergkamp, on behalf of the Honourable Mrs. Maria van der Hoeven, Minster of Economic Affairs for The Netherlands.