Biologists at Harvard University have determined that some African frogs puncture their own skin with sharp bones in their toes when threatened, using the bones as claws capable of wounding predators. It's not quite the X-Men's Wolverine (they can't cut through Magneto) but it's a nifty defensive mechanism.

"Most vertebrates do a much better job of keeping their skeletons inside," said David C. Blackburn, a doctoral student in Harvard's Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. "It's surprising enough to find a frog with claws. The fact that those claws work by cutting through the skin of the frogs' feet is even more astonishing. These are the only vertebrate claws known to pierce their way to functionality."

Homer's Odyssey, be it history or fiction, had one potentially true part that has fascinated readers throughout the ages - namely whether Odysseus returned home to experience a total solar eclipse.

Total eclipses, when the moon briefly but completely blocks the sun, happen pretty rarely. In fact, they're so rare that if what Homer describes is truly an eclipse, it could potentially help historians date the fall of Troy, which was purported to occur around the time of the events described in the Iliad and the Odyssey.

After arguing about the point for hundreds of years, historians, astronomers and classicists finally agreed that there was no corroborating evidence and tabled the discussion. Now, Marcelo O. Magnasco, head of the Laboratory of Mathematical Physics at Rockefeller, and Constantino Baikouzis of the Proyecto Observatorio at the Observatorio Astronómico in La Plata, Argentina, believe they have found some overlooked passages that, taken together, may shed new light on the timing of an epic journey.

CHANGZHOU, China, June 23 /PRNewswire/ --

Niutang Chemical, a leading global manufacturer of food additives, pharmaceutical intermediates and curing agents, has recruited Alan Turner to lead its new office in the United Kingdom. As sales director of Niutang U.K. Ltd., Mr. Turner will spearhead all of Nuitang's sales and marketing in the U.K., including sweeteners and folic acid. He will particularly focus on the company's fast-growing businesses in aspartame and sucralose.

LONDON, June 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Unite, the UK's largest trade union, has criticised the Government for reneging on a proposal that would have given workers the right to paid time off for training.

Under new proposals outlined last week, from 2010, employees will be entitled to request time off work for training after six months in a job. However, Skills Minister David Lammy has stated that employers would not be obliged to pay an employee's salary while they were undertaking training, neither would they be obliged to organise or pay for the training.

Commenting on the minister's statement Graham Goddard, Deputy General Secretary of Unite, said;

COPENHAGEN and TALLINN, June 23 /PRNewswire/ --

- European Health Ministers Meet to Focus on Link Between Health and Economic Success. New Charter on Health Systems Expected to be Signed

It has long been accepted that greater wealth allows people to make better health choices, but does the reverse apply? Does greater health lead to greater wealth, both on a personal and a national level?

Want to put your computer to good use while you sleep? Muhammad Zaman, assistant professor in biomedical engineering, recently introduced Cellular Environment in Living Systems @Home or CELS@Home for short. The program already has more than 1,000 computer users worldwide contributing to the project and the numbers are growing.

The idea is based on grid computing so instead of using local computing resources, which are almost always limited, Internet users worldwide can contribute their idle computer time, creating a "virtual" supercomputer to solve a difficult problem. In this case, the grid computing program is calculating cellular interactions in different environments to help understand the principles of cell migration and cancer cell metastasis, or the spread of cancer from the original tumor to other parts of the body.

LONDON, June 23 /PRNewswire/ --

National Floor Show is pleased to announce the involvement of Homes & Gardens magazine at this years event, held from 2-4 September 2008.

Homes & Gardens, one of the UK's leading home and lifestyle magazines, will be carrying out some extensive research into the flooring industry over the next few months, setting up focus groups to discover buyers' thoughts and views within the industry, their product preferences and to ascertain the buzzing trends within the industry.

LONDON, June 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Responding to today's announcement of a Healthcare Commission-regulated website selling contraceptive pills online, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) recognises that there are some benefits to such a service. When used safely and appropriately, online access to medicines and healthcare advice can offer benefits to patients in terms of convenience and accessibility, especially for people who are busy and can not get to the doctor.

NERYUNGRI, Russia, June 23 /PRNewswire/ --

Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL), one of the leading Russian mining and metals companies, announces that on June 22nd at the 60th kilometer landmark of Verhny Ulak Station of Baikal-Amur Mainline, together with Transstroy Engineering Corporation ZAO, a ceremony for the railway construction start-up was held. This spur-track will connect the Elga deposit with the Baikal-Amur mainline.

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, June 23 /PRNewswire/ -- CPA, the world's premier intellectual property (http://www.cpaglobal.com) (IP) management specialist, today announced the release of CPA Inprotech (http://www.cpaglobal.com/software) 4.0, the latest version of proprietary software designed to provide law firms specializing in IP with the ability to effectively and efficiently manage their practice.

A full service IP management solution that allows law firms to customize its functionality, CPA Inprotech ( http://www.cpaglobal.com/software/cpa_inprotech) 4.0 includes a new, comprehensive series of financial modules that address a wide range of financial management needs.