Writing in Genes & Development, a research team led by Dr. Richard Behringer at MD Anderson Cancer Center report they they switched the mouse Prx1 gene regulatory element with the Prx1 gene regulatory region from a bat and the resulting transgenic mice displayed abnormally long forelimbs despite being separated by millions of years of evolution.

While forelimb length is just one of several key morphological changes that occurred during the evolution of the bat wing, this unprecedented finding demonstrates that evolution can be driven by changes in the patterns of gene expression, rather than solely by changes in the genes, themselves.

Prx1 is a paired-box homeodomain transcription factor, with an established role in limb bone growth. Dr.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand, January 14 /PRNewswire/ --

www.voeveo.com and Aardvark Records are pleased to announce London-based act Riveraire as the grand prize winner in the audio category of the voeveo incubator competition. voeveo's incubator programme is all about supporting and helping creative people learn skills to build their mobile business.

The winning mobile fulltrack was "Down To The Ground", a rousing acoustic pop track with a bitter sweet lyric. Riveraire wins global digital distribution and promotion with the Cornwall-based independent record label Aardvark Records as part of the audio Grand Prize. Aardvark will license the winning track.

Psychotherapies such as cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) are under-regulated in the UK and should be subject to the same standards of evidence as drugs, assert two experts in psychological medicine writing in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

NEW YORK, January 14 /PRNewswire/ --

In a recent TV segment broadcast to more than 31 million homes in the US via News Corp's Fox Business network, market leaders MySpace, Google and FunkySexyCool were interviewed, including Aussie CEO Tim O'Connor from FunkySexyCool.

Social networking has been largely dominated by two players, Facebook and MySpace, but now FunkySexyCool, a company established in Australia, is earning international media interest for its innovative approach to the social networking phenomenon.

"FunkySexyCool is a fun, fast and easy way to socialise via a mobile phone or the web. It's a cool and exciting way in which anyone, anywhere in the world, can meet someone with the same interests in seconds," says O'Connor.

WINDSOR, England, January 14 /PRNewswire/ --

- DataFlux(R) dfPower(R) Studio Will Analyse, Improve and Control Data Within the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity Donations Database That Contains Over 3.5 Million Records

LONDON, January 14 /PRNewswire/ --

Perenco has completed the acquisition of Barrett Resources (Peru) LLC, a company holding oil and gas licences in Peru. The principal asset of Barrett, which will in future be known as Perenco Peru Limited, is its 100% interest in the licence contract for Block 67 in the Maranon Basin. Block 67 contains the Paiche, Dorado and Pirana Fields which together hold estimated 2P resources of over 300 million barrels. When the development is completed it is estimated that these fields will have potential to produce up to 100,000 barrels of oil per day.

Normal yeast organisms live about a week but using a combination of dietary and genetic changes, biologists have created baker’s yeast capable of living to 800 (in yeast years) without apparent side effects.

Study leader Valter Longo of the University of Southern California and his group put baker’s yeast on a calorie-restricted diet and knocked out two genes, RAS2 and SCH9, that promote aging in yeast and cancer in humans.

“We got a 10-fold life span extension that is, I think, the longest one that has ever been achieved in any organism,” Longo said.

“I would say 10-fold is pretty significant,” said Anna McCormick, chief of the genetics and cell biology branch at the National Institute on Aging and Longo’s program officer.

SANTA FE, New Mexico, January 14 /PRNewswire/ --

- Facility Will Initially Produce PV Modules and Receivers for Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Plants

- Opening in 2009, Facility Will Initially Bring 350 Cleantech Jobs To Region

- Plans Call for Investment to Grow to US$500 Million and Workforce to Expand to 1,500

SCHOTT AG of Mainz and Governor Bill Richardson's (D - NM) office today announced that the company will construct a new solar energy technology production facility in the Mesa del Sol region of Albuquerque, NM, USA.

CALGARY, Canada, January 14 /PRNewswire/ --

- Resverlogix Sees Early Success and Expedites Phase 2 Plans

New research from Vanderbilt University states that the brain processes aggression as a reward, similar to the way it processes sex and food, and this may help explain a propensity to fight and struggle or perhaps the enjoyment of violent sports like boxing.

“Aggression occurs among virtually all vertebrates and is necessary to get and keep important resources such as mates, territory and food,” Craig Kennedy, professor of special education and pediatrics, said.