The number of scientists is increasing along with the number of scientific journals and published papers, the latter two thanks in large part to the rise of electronic publishing. Scientists and other researchers are finding it more difficult than ever to zero in on the published literature that is most valuable to them.

A team of researchers from Northwestern University say they have developed a mathematical method to rank scientific journals according to quality.

The team analyzed the citation data of nearly 23 million papers that appeared in 2,267 journals representing 200 academic fields and that spanned the years from 1955 to 2006; their analysis produced 200 separate tables of journal rankings by field.

Biologists have elucidated the mechanism of a plant gene that controls the amount of atmospheric ozone entering a plant’s leaves and their finding helps explain why rising concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may not necessarily lead to greater photosynthetic activity and carbon sequestration by plants as atmospheric ozone pollutants increase.

It also provides a new tool for geneticists to design plants with an ability to resist droughts by regulating the opening and closing of their stomata—the tiny breathing pores in leaves through which gases and water vapor flow during photosynthesis and respiration.

CAMBRIDGE, England, February 27 /PRNewswire/ --

- New Games Portal Offers Greater Depth of Gameplay and Community Features

Jagex Ltd, the online games developer behind RuneScape, today launched FunOrb, their latest games offering. FunOrb is an engaging website that offers an array of online games, which have greater depth of play than traditional casual games.

NEW YORK, February 27 /PRNewswire/ --

- U.S. District Court Allows Claims Brought by Swiss-Based In-House Counsel To Proceed against Altria Group, Inc. and Phillip Morris International, Inc.

Some of the oldest tales and wisest mythology allude to the snake as a mischievous seducer, dangerous foe or powerful iconoclast; however, the legend surrounding this proverbial predator may not be based solely on fantasy. As scientists from the University of Virginia recently discovered, the common fear of snakes is most likely intrinsic.

Evolutionarily speaking, early humans who were capable of surviving the dangers of an uncivilized society adapted accordingly. And the same can be said of the common fear of certain animals, such as spiders and snakes: The ancestors of modern humans were either abnormally lucky or extraordinarily capable of detecting and deterring the threat of, for example, a poisonous snake.

CLOSTER, New Jersey, February 27 /PRNewswire/ --

- Ericom(R) PowerTerm(R) WebConnect for Windows Server 2008 is the first comprehensive and commercially supported FREE application access solution to extend the value and increase the adoption of Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services

Ericom Software, a leading global provider of Application Access and Virtualization solutions and a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, today announced a special version of its flagship product line -- PowerTerm WebConnect for Windows Server 2008 -- that provides enhancements to Microsoft's newest Terminal Services release. These enhancements are available now for FREE and are distributed through a download from Ericom's website at www.ericom.com/ws08.

SAN JOSE, California, February 27 /PRNewswire/ --

Atmel(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML) announced today the availability of a new family of AVR(R) 8-bit microcontrollers dedicated to motor control applications for automotive. The ATmega16M1 and ATmega32M1 are the first devices developed for the control of sensor and sensorless brushless DC (BLDC) motors for automotive applications.

ARNHEM, The Netherlands, February 27 /PRNewswire/ --

- Audio Webcast Conference Call

Scheduled for Monday March 3, 2008 9:00 AM EDT 8:00 AM CDT 7:00 AM MDT 6:00 AM PDT 3:00 PM CET

ARCADIS (Euronext: ARCAD) intends to release its full year 2007 results on Monday, March 3, 2008. In conjunction with this release, ARCADIS will conduct an audio webcast of the analyst meeting/conference call. Harrie Noy, Chief Executive Officer, Ben van der Klift, Chief Financial Officer and Joost Slooten, Director Investor Relations, will provide more insight into the FY 2007 results and will provide an update on market developments and strategy.

Hydrogen gas fueled vehicles could dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lessen the country’s dependence on sources of fossil fuel - but production and storage are obstacles. With current technologies, hydrogen gas storage tanks have to be as large as or larger than the trunk of a car to carry enough gas to travel even 100-200 miles.

Liquid hydrogen is denser and takes up less space but it is very expensive and difficult to produce. Its production It also reduces the environmental benefits of hydrogen vehicles. Widespread commercial acceptance of hydrogen vehicles will require finding the right material that can store hydrogen gas at high volumetric and gravimetric densities in reasonably sized light-weight fuel tanks.

BOSTON and DUBLIN, Ireland, February 27 /PRNewswire/ --

- B2BGateway, the World's Leading Software as a Service (SaaS) Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Solution, Expands Operations to Better Serve European Clients.

B2BGateway LTD (a subsidiary of USA based Shannon Systems/B2BGateway), an integration solution partner of NetSuite, QuickBooks, PeachTree, Ross, Interprise Suite and various other software packages, has expanded its EU operations in Dublin, Ireland. The US based Software as a Service (SaaS) Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) solution provider, has maintained offices in Dublin, Ireland since February 2007. The growing demand for easy and cost effective EDI solutions in the European marketplace, has necessitated the expansion of this office.