CERGY, France, April 2 /PRNewswire/ -- As in the previous two years, SPIE achieved good results in 2008. The growth in revenues to nearly EUR3.8 billion and the increase in operating income from ordinary activities (EBIT) to EUR172.9 million attest to the solidity and effectiveness of our development model. This was achieved despite the deteriorated financial environment in the second half. The year ended also saw acquisitions remain at a high level with EUR200 million in annual production.

In 2008 there was also continuous improvement in our financial structure with negative working capital requirements for the third consecutive year generating excellent cash flow to self-finance our growth.

COPENHAGEN, April 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Nuevolution A/S today announced that Merck Co. Inc. has chosen to proceed to the second phase of the collaboration agreement announced in June 2008 to apply Nuevolution's proprietary Chemetics(R) drug discovery technology to identify novel small molecule leads against several drug targets.

By entering the second phase, Merck gains access to a new multi-million member proprietary library of small molecule drug candidates. In addition, this development triggers the payment of an undisclosed technology access fee to Nuevolution from Merck.

LUXEMBOURG, April 2 /PRNewswire/ --

- MACH Positioned for Growth With Global HR Leadership

MACH today announced the appointment of Dea-Anne D'Amico as Vice President Global Human Resources and member of MACH's Executive Team, reporting to MACH CEO, Guy Dubois.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090402/343039-a )

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090402/343039-b )

In this role, Ms D'Amico will lead all aspects of MACH's Human Resources organization worldwide, as well as global executive and employee communications. As a member of the company's worldwide leadership team, she will help set global strategic direction for the business spanning North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America.

LONDON, April 2 /PRNewswire/ -- E-Health Insider has started its search to uncover and reward this year's outstanding work and achievement within the healthcare IT sector. Entries for the annual E-Health Insider Awards are now being accepted via the website http://www.ehealthawards.com.

Jon Hoeksma, editor of E-Health Insider said: 2009 will see the third running of the awards and we would like to acknowledge once again the support and involvement of BT and our other sponsors within this prestigious awards programme.

     In the summer of 1981, a colleague at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountainview, California, gave me a small black stone wrapped in aluminum foil that changed the course of my life.

BERLIN, April 2 /PRNewswire/ --

- Pan-European Developer Event to Connect Peers, Luminaries, and Business Professionals Worldwide in Cologne, Germany August 17-19

Online registration for the 2009 Game Developers Conference(R) Europe (GDC Europe) is now open through August 18. GDC Europe will play host to over 80 lectures, panels, and keynotes from top international speakers-serving as the country's premier professional event and addressing the needs and opportunities for developers and business professional throughout Europe today. Early registrants to GDC Europe receive additional discounts before the end of Professional Discount Day, July 29.

DUSSELDORF, Germany, April 2 /PRNewswire/ --

- Group Sales in the First Quarter of 2009 at Prior Year Level; Sales up Almost 3% in the Core Business Despite Difficult Market Environment

- Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 17.1% in the Core Business, Continued Operating Earnings Strength

- CEO Dr. Axel Herberg: Despite the difficult overall economic environment we continue to aim for profitable sales growth of around 6% to 7% in our core business for 2009.

Some of the brightest colors in nature are created by tiny nanostructures with a structure similar to beer foam or a sponge, according to Yale University researchers.    Most colors in nature—from the color of our skin to the green of trees—are produced by pigments. But the bright blue feathers found in many birds, such as Bluebirds and Blue Jays, are instead produced by nanostructures. Under an electron microscope, these structures look like sponges with air bubbles.
 

If you’ve ever been sleep-deprived, you know how it correlates to baseball and the feeling that your brain is batting below the Mendoza Line and you just aren't seeing the ball very well.      Or you just feel muddled.

A study published in Science has molecular and structural evidence  saying proteins that build up in the brains of sleep-deprived fruit flies drop to lower levels in the brains of the well-rested - basically spring training, or a good cleaning, for your brain. The proteins are located in the synapses, those specialized parts of neurons that allow brain cells to communicate with other neurons. 

Scientists, this is your future research partner.    A 'Robot Scientist' named Adam has been created and the group behind it believe it is the first machine to have independently discovered new scientific knowledge. Adam is a computer system that fully automates the scientific process.