Widespread damage to plants from a sudden freeze that occurred across the Eastern United States from 5 April to 9 April 2007 was made worse because it had been preceded by two weeks of unusual warmth, according to an analysis published in BioScience.

The authors of the report, Lianhong Gu and his colleagues at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and collaborators at NASA, the University of Missouri, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, found that the freeze killed new leaves, shoots, flowers, and fruit of natural vegetation, caused crown dieback of trees, and led to severe damage to crops in an area encompassing Nebraska, Maryland, South Carolina, and Texas. Subsequent drought limited regrowth.

SACRAMENTO, California, March 3 /PRNewswire/ --

ROBODOC, a Curexo Technology Company, and IBM announced today that they have entered into a major patent Cross licensing agreement. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed by either party.

In addition to its current surgical robotics patents, this agreement gives ROBODOC, access to more than 40,000 patents in IBM'S Global Portfolio and particularly, IBM's surgical robotics patents.

BEACHWOOD, Ohio, March 3 /PRNewswire/ --

Aleris International, Inc. will issue its fourth quarter and full year 2007 results before the market opens on Tuesday, March 18, 2008. That same day at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time Steven J. Demetriou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Sean M. Stack, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will host a conference call to discuss results.

The live conference call can be accessed by dialing 800-901-5217 or +1-617-786-2964 and referencing passcode 52887147 at least 10 minutes prior to the presentation, which will begin promptly at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time. In addition, the conference call will be broadcast live over the Internet at www.aleris.com.

After I saw that flaxseed oil probably affected my circle-game performance, I wondered how to make its effect clearer. One possibility was to change the input device. I was using the trackpoint on my Thinkpad to move the cursor; what about the touchpad? Might be a more natural task. So I played the game several times using the touchpad. I was a lot slower, presumably because in ordinary usage I’ve used the trackpoint.

I wondered: Could I get better on the touchpad? I made a little game to practice. Here is the initial screen.

GRIESHEIM, Germany, March 3 /PRNewswire/ --

- Company Will Showcase its HughesNet(R) Enterprise VPN Solutions

Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES) announced today that its European operating unit is showcasing its comprehensive portfolio of HughesNet broadband solutions and managed services on March 4 - 9, 2008 at CeBIT 2008, booth E 33, Hall 13. Available continent-wide, the suite of HughesNet Managed Network Services means enterprises of all sizes can enjoy the benefits of high performance broadband connectivity at any number of locations, and including VPN solutions for optimized networks, high-availability networks and access continuity services.

HOLMDEL, New Jersey, March 3 /PRNewswire/ --

- Leading Russian Wireless Service Provider Deploys OnePlan Network Resource Planning to Reduce Backhaul Expenses and Strengthen Network for Next Generation Services

Call it Wireless 2.0. Seeing their voice service revenues plateau, wireless service providers are bringing a new generation of data services to market in the hopes of invigorating subscriber revenue growth (ARPU). Launching those new services, however, requires providers to strike a perfect balance between adding sufficient backhaul support to ensure a superior quality of experience (QoE) for users and minimizing backhaul expenses to grow net revenue and not just ARPU.

HANNOVER, Germany, March 3 /PRNewswire/ --

- Steve Ballmer discusses environmental sustainability efforts from Microsoft and general availability of enterprise products.

ANN ARBOR, Michigan, March 3 /PRNewswire/ --

Terumo Heart, Inc. announced today that they have received conditional approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin enrollment in the US Pivotal Trial of the DuraHeart (TM) LVAS for a Bridge-to-Transplant (BTT) indication.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070227/CLTU043LOGO ) (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080303/CLM012 )

BASINGSTOKE, England and PHILADELPHIA, Pennysylvania, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Shire plc (LSE: SHP)(NASDAQ: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, notes that Renovo Group plc, (LSE: RNVO) ("Renovo") has today announced the results of Renovo's latest Phase 2 studies of JUVISTA(R) (human recombinant TGFbeta3) in scar revision surgery (RN1001-319-1009) and in breast augmentation (RN1001-319-1010).

Renovo’s press release can be found on http://www.renovo.com.

The two trials announced by Renovo are part of a broad global Phase 2 clinical program to assess the safety, efficacy, dose and dose frequency of JUVISTA in a variety of surgical procedures.

CANTON, Massachusetts, March 3 /PRNewswire/ --

- IML Enhances Audience Response System Offering and Technology in the US

Computershare Ltd. (ASX: CPU) announced today its continued international expansion of IML, a Computershare company, with the acquisition of Machine Dreams Inc.'s business. Under terms of the deal, Computershare will acquire the majority of the assets of Machine Dreams, an audience response specialist and IML distributor. IML is a leading supplier of audience response systems, which bring sophisticated interactive communications and data capture to events and meetings.