Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), chemicals used as fire retardants, can be found in numerous items in the home, such as the television, computer, toaster and the sofa. Now, as reported in a KNBC story on Nov. 28, they are being found in alarming concentrations, in human blood and breast milk – a potentially major concern for human health.

In addition, these industrial chemicals have been associated with cases of feline hyperthyroidism, a potentially fatal condition in cats.

UC Riverside scientists interviewed for the KNBC story have done research using rat tissue that shows that PBDEs disrupt mechanisms that are responsible for releasing hormones in the body.

As the United Nations climate negotiations proceed in Bali, Indonesia, researchers have taken a first step toward quantifying the "socioclimatic" exposure of different countries to future climate change.

The research team from Purdue University and the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy, found that China, India and the United States - major greenhouse gas-emitting nations that are currently unbound by the Kyoto treaty - face substantial exposure relative to other nations, but that every area of the world faces high exposure in at least one category.

MIAMI, December 10 /PRNewswire/ --

In recognition of the growing need for anti-money laundering (AML) training and guidance in the Middle East and North African regions, the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) has introduced a detailed Arabic-language AML guide.

"The MENA region is critical to businesses and regulators the world over. As this part of the world becomes a more influential world financial center, combating money laundering and fraud has emerged as a more immediate priority," said Gregory Calpakis, CAMS, Executive Director of ACAMS. "We developed the guide in response to frequent requests raised by leading banks in the region with whom we partner to offer customized AML training programs."

LONDON, December 10 /PRNewswire/ --

- OPEC-10 Output Fell Due to UAE Field Maintenance, Platts Survey Shows

Overall oil production by the 12 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) rose to 31.15 million barrels per day (b/d) in November, according to Platts' latest survey of OPEC and oil industry officials just released. This is up 40,000 b/d from October's production of 31.11 million b/d, as higher volumes from Saudi Arabia and Iraq helped offset a large field maintenance-related drop in UAE output.

Excluding Iraq and Angola, the ten OPEC members bound by new output allocations which came into effect at the beginning of November, pumped 26.97 million b/d, down 110,000 b/d from October's 27.08 million b/d.

When a female is attracted to a male, entire suites of genes in her brain turn on and off, show biologists from The University of Texas at Austin studying swordtail fish.

Molly Cummings and Hans Hofmann found that some genes were turned on when females found a male attractive, but a larger number of genes were turned off.

“When females were most excited—when attractive males were around—we observed the greatest down regulation [turning off] of genes,” said Cummings, assistant professor of integrative biology. “It’s possible that this could lead to a release of inhibition, a transition to being receptive to mating.”

A new genus and species of dinosaur from the Early Jurassic has been discovered in Antarctica. The massive plant-eating primitive sauropodomorph is called Glacialisaurus hammeri and lived about 190 million years ago.

The recently published description of the new dinosaur is based on partial foot, leg and ankle bones found on Mt. Kirkpatrick near the Beardmore Glacier in Antarctica at an elevation of more than 13,000 feet.

“The fossils were painstakingly removed from the ice and rock using jackhammers, rock saws and chisels under extremely difficult conditions over the course of two field seasons,” said Nathan Smith, a graduate student at The Field Museum.

NEW YORK, December 10 /PRNewswire/ --

- Expands dynamic-pricing model to sell Manga and anime as well as mp3s

Today AmieStreet.com announced the launch of Amie Street Japan (AmieStreet.jp), a joint venture with the leading Asia-Pacific Linux distributor, TurboLinux.

This launch marks the first stage in AmieStreet.com's expansion into international markets as well as into the video and animation sectors.

AmieStreet.jp will sell DRM free mp3s, like its American counterpart, as well as Japanese video anime, and Manga, a format of Japanese comic books that was a US$4.4 billion market in Japan in 2006.

We all know that if there's one thing certain to happen to professional tennis players who get hurt in skydiving accidents, it's that a clandestine para-military organization will swoop in and replace the now defective natural parts with über-awesome cybernetic ones.

A collaboration of over 50 astronomers, The IPHAS consortium, led from the UK, with partners in Europe, USA, Australia, has released today (10th December 2007) the first comprehensive optical digital survey of our own Milky Way. Conducted by looking at light emitted by hydrogen ions, using the Isaac Newton Telescope on La Palma, the survey contains stunning red images of nebulae and stars. The data is described in a paper submitted to the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

To date, the IPHAS survey includes some 200 million unique objects in the newly released catalogue. This immense resource will foster studies that can be at once both comprehensive and subtle, of the stellar demographics of the Milky Way and of its three-dimensional structure.

Vanessa Hull, 25, a Ph.D. candidate at Michigan State University, is in the snowy, remote mountains of the Sichuan Province of China--the heart of panda habitat. She's hoping to capture, collar and track up to four wild pandas using advanced global positioning systems.

Along with her research gear, Hull, a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Fellow and MSU University Distinguished Fellow, is lugging a small digital video camera and a laptop computer.