WAKEFIELD, Massachusetts, February 2 /PRNewswire/ --

- International payment brand executive to bring years of security management experience to development of PCI Data Security Standards

The PCI Security Standards Council, a global, open industry standards body providing management of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), PCI PIN Entry Device (PED) Security Requirements and the Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS), today announced that Lib de Veyra, vice president, emerging technologies at JCB International, and member of the Council's Executive Committee, has taken over as chairperson of the Council, effective January 1, 2009.

When most of us, especially in the SB community, think of supercomputers we usually think of large-scale hydrodynamics or fusion reaction simulations which stretch our knowledge of the universe and provide us with a validation or a denial or of some complicated physical theory.

Indeed, this is what most supercomputers are up to: simulating climate change, the structure of proteins, or the dynamics of a supernova, while producing awesome pictures like this one:


An awesome picture of the ascending Space Shuttle and the pressure coefficients of the outside. Photo Credit: NASA Advanced Supercomputing Facility

If you have not already chosen your new love, researchers suggest you stay away from those with big chins as they have a tendency to cheat. Researchers from four universities across the US and Canada prodded into the sexual habits of chinny and relatively chin-less females to determine these results.

Throughout history, scientists, philosophers, mathematicians and Phd students lacking funding for actual research have turned to the thought experiment in hopes of discovering something publishable, thereby retaining tenure and/or attracting the admiration of comely undergraduates. The best thought experiments throw light into dark corners of the universe and also provide other scientists, philosophers, mathematicians and destitute Phd students a way to kill time while waiting for the bus.

Below is a classic thought experiment, pillaged from my book The Geeks' Guide to World Domination (Be Afraid, Beautiful People). I'll post a new thought experiment each day this week.

LAVAL, Quebec, February 2 /PRNewswire/ -- BioSyntech, Inc. (TSX: BSY), a biotechnology company developing biotherapeutic thermogels for regenerative medicine, today announced that it has completed enrolment for the Canadian-European pivotal trial of its cartilage repair device, BST-CarGel(R). The Company achieved its planned objective of enrolling 80 patients into the randomized trial.

CAMBRIDGE, England, February 2 /PRNewswire/ --

- http://www.nec-enterprise.com/microsoft.php

NEC Philips Unified Solutions http://www.nec-enterprise.com/ today announces that through the Microsoft Partner Program it has fulfilled the qualifications necessary to achieve Voice specialisation within the Microsoft Unified Communications competency.

OAKLAND, California, February 2 /PRNewswire/ --

- Online Webinars Offer Free Professional Development for Educators Teaching Writing-intensive Courses

Turnitin, the world leader in originality checking and plagiarism prevention services, today introduced The WriteCycle Academy, a series of free interactive webinar workshops geared toward taking high school and college instructors of writing-intensive classes beyond plagiarism prevention and toward a writing pedagogy.

LEUVEN, Belgium, February 2 /PRNewswire/ --

A 74-year-old prostate cancer patient has become the first person in Belgium to be treated using a new, faster form of radiotherapy that extends more advanced care to more patients. The University Hospital of Leuven delivered the faster treatment using RapidArc radiotherapy technology from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR).

The patient, a retired military aircraft engineer from Kortenberg near Leuven, said he was pleased to be the country's first to receive this advanced form of image-guided intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). By coincidence, his older brother was also treated for prostate cancer at the hospital two years ago, receiving a successful course of conventional IMRT.

LONDON, February 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Callax Ltd., a leading UK telecommunication provider today launched its new calling service ZeroP at http://www.zerop.co.uk. Customers can make cheap phone calls to any national or international phone without switching their phone or phone service provider. Calling rates are as low as 0 pence per minute with a low connection fee of 4p per international and 5p per national phone call. Customers can save up to 90% of their phone charges by using ZeroP instead of their regular phone service provider.

MCKINNEY, Texas, February 2 /PRNewswire/ --

Torchmark Corporation (NYSE: TMK) will release Fourth Quarter 2008 earnings after the market closes on Wednesday, February 4, 2009. In conjunction with Torchmark's Fourth Quarter 2008 Earnings Release, you are invited to listen to a conference call that will be broadcast live over the Internet on Thursday, February 5, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. At that time a copy of the Company's Q4-2008 earnings press release and any other financial and statistical information about the quarter will be available on the Company's website at www.torchmarkcorp.com on the Investor Relations page.