LONDON, March 11 /PRNewswire/ --

- Production down 900,000 barrels per day

Platts -- The 12 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) (http://www.opec.platts.com/) pumped an average 28.07 million barrels per day (b/d) in February, as the oil producer club continued its efforts to slash oversupply and prevent oil prices falling further, according to a Platts survey of OPEC, oil industry officials and analysts just released. This is down 900,000 b/d down from January's 28.97 million b/d.

Show Me The Science Month Day 23 Installment 23



Thanks to your parents, you have two copies of each chromosome, which means that you have maternal and paternal copies of every gene. In most cases, having two copies of a gene is no problem, but in some cases, two is too much, and your cells have to shut one copy down. How does a cell do it?

Shutting down one copy of a gene (or an entire section of a chromosome) is called genomic imprinting. (This is not the same thing as the newly hatched duckling that latches on to the first thing it sees, obviously). Genomic imprinting is a critical process used by placental and marsupial mammals to control the dosage of many genes, but how did this process evolve?

The answer, in part, has been discovered by an analysis of the platypus genome. Genomic imprinting appears to have evolved from a defense mechanism used by cells to knock down parasitic DNA.

SAN FRANCISCO, March 11 /PRNewswire/ --

- Digital Realty Trust Turn-Key Datacenters(SM) Provide Highly Reliable Environment for Mission Critical IT Infrastructure

Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: DLR), the world's largest wholesale datacenter provider, has achieved five 9s of uptime in its Turn-Key Datacenters(SM) once again with a another year of 99.999% availability across its portfolio of facilities in North America and Europe in 2008. These uptime metrics are based on a comprehensive evaluation of the company's Turn-Key Datacenter(SM) facilities in the US and Europe using standard industry methodology.

LONDON, March 11 /PRNewswire/ --

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) announced that its air traffic management systems subsidiary, Park Air Systems, will be showcasing its latest air traffic control systems products and capabilities at the ATC Global 2009 exhibition.

ATC Global 2009 is the world's leading air navigation services exhibition and conference and takes place from 17-19 March at the RAI exhibition centre, Amsterdam. Northrop Grumman Park Air Systems will be exhibiting at Stand H600 in Hall 11.

LONDON, March 11 /PRNewswire/ --

- With Photo

To mark this year's No Smoking Day, three 'mini' entrepreneurs today went head-to-head to win a GBP2,000 investment from TV Dragon Duncan Bannatyne. In a re-enactment of the TV challenge, the school children faced their toughest challenge yet when they presented their big ideas on how they could encourage parents to give up smoking.

Shannon Stokes, 9, from Neith, South Wales, won with her proposal to support parents who want to quit. Shannon's Sweet Success reminds parents of the reasons they are giving up and rewards their quit attempts using sweets.

Because of the importance of computational genomics, I am writing this article with utmost urgency in hopes of unifying geneticists and biochemists once and for all. 

MAIDENHEAD, England, March 11 /PRNewswire/ --

- Improvements in Purification Process Represent Important Advance in the Treatment of Haemophilia A

Wyeth announced today it has received a positive decision from the European Commission for a variation of the marketing authorisation for ReFacto moroctocog alfa (Recombinant Coagulation Factor VIII), a treatment for haemophilia A. The manufacturing process for ReFacto has been modified, and the name has been changed to ReFacto AF moroctocog alfa (Recombinant Coagulation Factor VIII). The decision by the European Commission follows a positive recommendation from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use on 18 December 2008.

TORONTO and LONDON, March 11 /PRNewswire/ --

With world markets and the global economy still in turmoil, an event to be held in London, UK later this month takes a timely look at the financial crisis.

The discussion will be based on The Finance Crisis and Rescue: What Went Wrong? Why? What Lessons Can Be Learned?, a book recently published by Rotman/UTP Publishing, an imprint of University of Toronto Press, in partnership with the Rotman School of Management. The book features thought leaders from the Rotman School explaining the financial crisis and rescue from a variety of perspectives including economics, public policy, behaviour finance, corporate governance, and leadership.

LONDON, March 11 /PRNewswire/ --

The 2009 World Iris Recognition Entrepreneurial Company of the Year Award, is presented to IrisGuard Inc. (IrisGuard) in recognition of its unique iris recognition technologies.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081117/FSLOGO)

The company's focus on RD, design and manufacture of exceptional iris recognition products promise to meet the ever-increasing security needs of different industries, notes Frost Sullivan Research Manager Matia Grossi. Strong technological and product innovation have successfully positioned IrisGuard as a leading specialist in iris recognition solutions worldwide.

LONDON, March 11 /PRNewswire/ --

BancTec Ltd., a global provider of advanced, high-volume, document and payment processing services and solutions, has signed a three-year agreement with Allied Irish Banks (AIB) to image-enable AIB's cheque clearing system with an online archive and retrieval solution. The automated solution replaces AIB's legacy microfilm system.

BancTec has developed a robust archive and retrieval solution that will significantly increase the efficiency of our clearing operation, said Donal Coogan, Clearing Operations Manager, AIB. This managed service will deliver operational efficiencies, reduce operational risk and help us deliver better customer service.