MELBOURNE, Australia, June 2 /PRNewswire/ --

The battle to get kids off the couch and playing outside just reached a truce. The Hidden Park, an ingenious iPhone app developed by an Australian studio, takes the fun of playing computer games outdoors.

We wanted to create a gaming environment that gets kids off the couch and out into the great outdoors, without compromising their enjoyment of digital entertainment, says James Kane, director of Bulpadok, the studio behind The Hidden Park.

TEL AVIV, Israel, June 2 /PRNewswire/ --

- In a Release Being Distributed Today to Over 100 Countries, Picaphone Website Calls the Public Worldwide to Enter the Site and Participate in the Creation of the World's First International Telephone Directory and Email Database

Today http://www.picaphone.com launched one of the biggest international projects on the Web - the world's first international phone book. In today's press release in over 100 countries around the globe, the public is invited to participate in the new Internet project, in order to create, for the first time ever, an international telephone directory that is open to all, and that will enable users to make free phone calls to any place in the world.

SUNNYVALE, California, June 2 /PRNewswire/ --

- Spirent UTS, Mobile Robot Take Mobile Device Test Automation to New Level

MADRID, June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Link2One, provider of the world's fastest growing multi-lateral roaming hub, announced today that it has passed yet another important membership milestone and continues to record exceptional growth. The number of operator members more than doubled in the quarter just ended and Link2One now has over 60 operator members in 50 countries worldwide.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090602/348665 )

VEENENDAAL, The Netherlands, June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Nucletron BV, the innovative cancer radiation solutions company, today announced the creation of an exclusive partnership and plan to merge with sector peer Isodose Control BV for an undisclosed sum. The two companies, headquartered in Veenendaal and Ede, the Netherlands, are complementary and the combination will strengthen Nucletron's position as global leader in the market for high-precision radiation therapy equipment and software, or brachytherapy.

The merger plans were announced by the two companies CEOs on Monday June 1 in Toronto, Canada, at the American Brachytherapy Society's annual conference.

SAN FRANCISCO, June 2 /PRNewswire/ --

- Do it yourself at www.blinkx.com

blinkx, the world's largest video search engine, today announced a new partnership with BobVila.com. Clips from home improvement television host Bob Vila's Web site are now easily available at www.blinkx.com. Leveraging its unique AdHoc platform, blinkx will also place contextually relevant advertising against these videos, and share resulting advertising revenue with BobVila.com.

Electronic memory chips may soon gain the ability to bend and twist, thanks to  engineers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)(1).   Not too exciting, right?   You probably don't spend a lot of time bending memory chips now but electronic components that can flex without breaking are coveted by portable device manufacturers for less Stretch Armstrong-type reasons; people have a tendency to drop their mp3 players and they could lead to small medical sensors that can be worn on the skin to monitor vital signs such as heart rate or blood sugar, benefitting patients with conditions that require constant maintenance.

Though some flexible components exist, creating flexible memory has been a technical barrier, according to NIST researchers.

Harmless gossip with a girlfriend can do wonders for a woman's mood and a University of Michigan study says they have an answer why: feeling emotionally close to a friend increases levels of the hormone progesterone, helping to boost well-being and reduce anxiety and stress.

A sex hormone that fluctuates with the menstrual cycle, progesterone is also present in low levels in post-menopausal women and in men. Earlier research has shown that higher levels of progesterone increase the desire to bond with others, but the current study is the first to show that bonding with others increases levels of progesterone. The study also links these increases to a greater willingness to help other people, even at our own expense.

When women  apply for faculty positions in math, science, and engineering at major research universities, they are interviewed and hired at rates equal to or higher than those for men, says a new report from the National Research Council.   Women are still underrepresented among those considered for tenure, but those who are considered receive tenure at the same or higher rates than men.

That means the gender gap is closing without quotas and with a consistent expectation of excellence.

The congressionally mandated report examines how women at research-intensive universities fare compared with men at key transition points in their careers. Two national surveys were commissioned to help address the issue.

ELAD, the Extracorporeal Liver Assist Device,  is a bedside system that treats blood plasma, metabolizing toxins and synthesizing proteins just like a real liver does.

Artificial livers have been attempted since the 1960s but because previous designs didn't use human liver cells, they couldn't adequately filter toxins or create chemicals essential to metabolism and blood-clotting.  ELAD is the first artificial organ for liver patients that uses immortalized human liver cells.

In cell biology, 'immortalization' is when a genetically engineered cell line can reproduce indefinitely.