New evidence that chemical contaminants are finding their way into the deep-sea food web has been found in deep-sea squids and octopods, including the strange-looking "vampire squid". These species are food for deep-diving toothed whales and other predators.

In a study to be published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin, Michael Vecchione of NOAA Fisheries' National Systematics Laboratory and colleagues Michael Unger, Ellen Harvey and George Vadas at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science of The College of William and Mary report finding a variety of chemical contaminants in nine species of cephalopods, a class of organisms that includes octopods, squids, cuttlefishes and nautiluses.

Cephalopods are important to the diet of cetaceans, a class of marine mammals which includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. Cephalopods are the primary food for 28 species of odontocetes, the sub-order of cetaceans that have teeth and include beaked, sperm, killer and beluga whales and narwhals as well as dolphins and porpoises.

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) robs the brain of a protein that plays a major role in the way neurons communicate and that is essential for brain development, learning and memory.

A team of scientists has discovered new information about how FXS interferes with signaling between the nucleus of neurons and the synapse, the outer reaches of the neuron where two neurons communicate via chemical and electrical signals. The discovery should help lead the way to the development of new treatments for FXS, the most common form of inherited mental retardation and also a genetic contributor to some types of autism and epilepsy.

Translation of an organism's genetic information begins in the nucleus of a cell, where the DNA sequence (gene) is copied into an mRNA molecule, then exported into the cell's cytoplasm and translated into protein molecules.

LIVERPOOL, England, June 13 /PRNewswire/ --

- ATTN: Liverpool / North West Editors:

LONDON, June 13 /PRNewswire/ --

- Visual Matching Succeeds where Text-based Matching Fails

http://www.trace.com, an on-line, real-time registry of valuables for identifying the ownership and authenticity of valuable goods, announced today that it has identified a painting at a US museum that may have been looted during the Nazi era. The images appear identical despite very different text descriptions.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080613/AQF040 )

Trace.com experts estimate the value of the painting at over US$250,000. It was originally reported looted by the Belgian government.

BOSTON, June 13 /PRNewswire/ --

RISI, the leading information provider for the global forest products industry, today announced the launch of a new online service, PPI Markets & Prices. The new service combines content from four of RISI's industry newsletters (Pulp & Paper Week, PPI This Week, PPI Asia News and PPI Latin America News) and its Price Services into one streamlined source of pulp and paper market prices and news.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080521/NEW122LOGO )

PLEASANTON, California, June 13 /PRNewswire/ --

- Test offers more reliable detection of Chlamydia trachomatis, the most commonly reported sexually transmitted disease in Europe.

An important component of early genetic material found in meteorite fragments is extraterrestrial in origin, say scientists from Europe and the USA. They say their research in Earth and Planetary Science Letters provides evidence that life’s raw materials came from sources beyond the Earth.

The materials they have found include the molecules uracil and xanthine, which are precursors to the molecules that make up DNA and RNA, and are known as nucleobases. The team discovered the molecules in rock fragments of the Murchison meteorite, which crashed in Australia in 1969.

They tested the meteorite material to determine whether the molecules came from the solar system or were a result of contamination when the meteorite landed on Earth. The analysis shows that the nucleobases contain a heavy form of carbon which could only have been formed in space. Materials formed on Earth consist of a lighter variety of carbon.

PARIS and AACHEN, Germany, June 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Results from two phase III clinical studies of tapentadol immediate release tablets (IR) suggest a significantly improved gastrointestinal tolerability(1) as well as safety(2) profile compared to oxycodone HCl IR. The data were presented by the German pharmaceutical company Grunenthal at this year's Annual Congress of the European League against Rheumatism (EULAR, June 11-14, Paris, France).

LONDON, June 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Solcara, the market-leading provider of software for the control, management and searching of digital information, has announced the appointment of three senior sales managers for Financial Services, Legal & Professional Services and the Commercial Sector.

Commenting on the expansion of Solcara's sales force Rob Martin, Managing Director, said:

"Solcara has reached a stage in its development where we are confident in accelerating our growth plans and extending our client base in these critical business sectors. Through senior hires, new product development, and the growth of our channel sales partnership, we are taking the necessary steps to consolidate and strengthen our leadership position."

The appointments are: