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Progress On Full Pension For Women Welcomed By Unite

Progress On Full Pension For Women Welcomed By Unite

Oct 24 2008 | comment(s)

LONDON, October 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Welcoming the announcement today from the government that more women and carers will be able to take action to ensure they receive the full state pension, Diana Holland, Assistant General Secretary of the TG section of Unite the union said:

For too long, too few women have been able to receive a full state pension. Caring responsibilities, part-time working and unequal and low pay have all resulted in further disadvantage on retirement.

The state pension is about solidarity between generations. Today's announcement recognises the vital contribution to our society made by so many women in previous generations and today. This is an important step on the road to dignity in retirement for all.

Novexel To Present Five Posters At The Joint Annual Interscience Conference On Antimicrobial Agents And Chemotherapy And The Infectious Disease Society Of America (ICAAC/IDSA) Meeting

Novexel To Present Five Posters At The Joint Annual Interscience Conference On Antimicrobial Agents And Chemotherapy And The Infectious Disease Society Of America (ICAAC/IDSA) Meeting

Oct 24 2008 | comment(s)

PARIS, October 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Novexel, a speciality pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel antibiotics designed to overcome the significant global problem of microbial resistance, announces that its pipeline will be the subject of five posters at the joint annual meeting of the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy and the Infectious Disease Society of America (48th annual ICAAC/IDSA 46th annual meeting), which takes place in Washington, DC, October 25-28, 2008.

VocaLink And BGC Win 'Innovation In Outsourcing' Award

VocaLink And BGC Win 'Innovation In Outsourcing' Award

Oct 24 2008 | comment(s)

LONDON, October 24 /PRNewswire/ -- VocaLink, the payment transaction specialist, and BankGiroCentralen (BGC), the Swedish Automated Clearing House (ACH), have won the National Outsourcing Association (NOA) Award for Innovation in Outsourcing. The award has been given in recognition of the groundbreaking clearing and settlement business model that was developed to outsource the processing of Sweden's automated payments to VocaLink. The deal represented the first time the processing for a national payments scheme has been transferred to a non- domestic player.

Science on Spore.

Science on Spore.

Oct 24 2008 | comment(s)

The current issue of Science features a new installment of "The Gonzo Scientist" by writer John Bohannon. This edition is all about Spore, the game that is based on "evolution" from primordial ooze to interstellar society [Flunking Spore]. I had heard about the game on blogs, but I had not really planned to play it until John asked a few of us to give our perspective on the science behind it.
4th Global Plastic Electronics 2008: New Awards To Honor Top Innovations

4th Global Plastic Electronics 2008: New Awards To Honor Top Innovations

Oct 24 2008 | comment(s)

BERLIN, October 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Electronic books, super sharp flat-screen TVs, and printed solar cells are all being produced in Germany, helping to make the German printed electronics industry a world leader in innovation and product development: Excellence and innovation in the field of printed electronics will be honored at this year's Global Plastic Electronics conference in Berlin, running from October 27-29, when the Plastic Electronics Foundation presents its Awards for Innovation.

Technique For Rapidly Reprogramming Adult Cells Into Stem Cells Published In PLoS Biology

Technique For Rapidly Reprogramming Adult Cells Into Stem Cells Published In PLoS Biology

Oct 24 2008 | comment(s)

CAMBRIDGE, England, October 24 /PRNewswire/ --

- Technology In-Licensed by Stem Cell Sciences From University of Cambridge

- (Stem Cell Sciences, SCS, the Company)

Northern Trust Adds New Messaging Format Enabling Straight Through Processing For New OTC Derivative Trades

Northern Trust Adds New Messaging Format Enabling Straight Through Processing For New OTC Derivative Trades

Oct 24 2008 | comment(s)

LONDON, October 24 /PRNewswire/ --

Northern Trust has become one of the first asset servicers to adopt the Financial Product Mark-up Language (FpML) messaging format in processing over the counter (OTC) derivative trades. As part of Northern Trust's move towards increasing automation and straight through processing (STP) in OTC derivative trade processing, this format can be used for Northern Trust's clients across the globe.

FpML is a messaging format which automates the flow of information between an asset servicer like Northern Trust and its clients and operates independently of any underlying software or hardware infrastructure pertaining to derivative trades.

University Of Western Ontario Cameras Capture Meteorite 'Fireball' Near Guelph

University Of Western Ontario Cameras Capture Meteorite 'Fireball' Near Guelph

Oct 24 2008 | comment(s)

For the second time this year, The University of Western Ontario Meteor Group has captured incredibly rare video footage of a meteor falling to Earth. The team of astronomers suspects the fireball dropped meteorites in a region north of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, that may total as much as a few hundred grams in mass.

The Physics and Astronomy Department at Western has a network of all-sky cameras in southern Ontario that scan the sky monitoring for meteors. 

On Wednesday, October 15 at 5:28 a.m., all seven cameras of Western's Southern Ontario Meteor Network recorded a bright, slow fireball in the predawn sky. 

Obama's Tower Race

Obama's Tower Race

Oct 24 2008 | comment(s)

WILLEMSTAD, Curaçao, October 24 /PRNewswire/ --

- The New Flash Game From Fortunanzo

Fortunanzo Inc. is releasing Obama's Tower Race, the first online 3D flash game that features both Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and his Republican opponent, John McCain. The game is funny, cleverly built and rewards players with ton's of cash prizes.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081024/325911 )

Barack Obama is standing on top of a sky scraper, waving triumphantly. John McCain is standing at the base, angry.

See if you can move McCain along the side of the sky scraper, avoiding the windows that light up, breaking glass and falling objects, and kick Barack Obama from the top of this Tower of Power.

Tell Your Boss - Fewer Meetings Might Save The Environment

Tell Your Boss - Fewer Meetings Might Save The Environment

Oct 24 2008 | comment(s)

Does your boss  feel like an environmentally aware entrepreneur?   If so, it might  be worth mentioning that business travel, conferences and meetings have an  effect on the environment.   Virtual participation is possible but computers, networks and the entire data infastructure consume massive amounts of power as well.

What is needed is a way to quantify meetings in terms of energy use.   At a recent “Informatics Day at the Technopark Zurich" , a Microsoft booth allowed visitors were able to test how much CO2 they would save, if any, if they replaced a “real” meeting with a videoconference. Using life cycle analysis methods and the «ecoinvent» database, Empa researchers produced comparative data showing what environmental effects were created, and where.
Endeavour Announces Successful Well In Norwegian Brage Field

Endeavour Announces Successful Well In Norwegian Brage Field

Oct 24 2008 | comment(s)

HOUSTON, October 24 /PRNewswire/ --

Endeavour International Corporation (Amex: END) (LSE: ENDV) today announced a discovery at the site of the Knockandoo prospect in the Brage field located in PL055 in the Norwegian North Sea.

The Brage platform well 31/4-A-01 AT2 well found oil in the upper part of the Middle Jurassic Brent Group. The operator StatoilHydro estimates the size of the discovery is between 1.8 and 6.3 million barrels of oil recoverable. The well was not tested; however, extensive data was acquired during the drilling.

LAB Research's Hungarian Site Successfully Completes GLP Certificate Inspection - Site Also Subject To Favourable FDA Audit

LAB Research's Hungarian Site Successfully Completes GLP Certificate Inspection - Site Also Subject To Favourable FDA Audit

Oct 24 2008 | comment(s)

LAVAL, Quebec, October 24 /PRNewswire/ -- LAB Research Inc. (LRI or LAB Research) (TSX: LRI), a Canadian-based global non-clinical contract research organization (CRO), announced that its Hungarian site (LAB Hungary) successfully completed its biennial Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) inspection by the Hungarian authorities (OGYI: National Institute of Pharmacy) (the Inspection). Consequently, its GLP certificate remains in full force. In addition, to the Inspection, the site was also subject to a favourable audit of the chronic inhalation studies performed for one of its sponsors (the Audit), last August by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Audit was conducted in conjunction with the OGYI and did not alter the GLP status of the site.

The Inspection

Vega’s Zefiro 9-A Solid-Fuel Rocket Motor Gets A Test Fire

Vega’s Zefiro 9-A Solid-Fuel Rocket Motor Gets A Test Fire

Oct 24 2008 | comment(s)

Yesterday, the Zefiro 9-A motor successfully completed its first firing test at the Salto di Quirra Inter-force Test Range in Sardinia (Italy). This was the penultimate firing test for the engine prior to the Vega launcher’s qualification flight, scheduled to take place by the end of 2009.
 
The Zefiro 9-A (Z9-A) solid-fuel rocket motor, which will power the Vega launch vehicle’s third stage, left the production facility of Avio, in Colleferro (Italy), at the end of September and was installed at the test site over the last three weeks. 
 
Want To Enjoy Ice Cream More? Lick It Instead Of Spooning It

Want To Enjoy Ice Cream More? Lick It Instead Of Spooning It

Oct 24 2008 | comment(s)

Does ice-cream actually taste better when it is licked from a cone than when eaten from a spoon?

Massey food technology senior lecturer Kay McMath thinks so. Although she is not aware of any specific scientific evidence to prove it, she says “there are some physical and physiological reasons why there are likely to be differences in flavour”.

“Flavour in ice cream is only released when the fat content – which carries the flavour – is warmed in the mouth to at least body temperature,” she says.
 
“During licking, the tongue is coated with a thin layer of ice-cream which is more quickly warmed and the flavour is detected by the large surface area of the taste buds present on the tongue.”
Eat Less, Live Longer? No, Smell Less!

Eat Less, Live Longer? No, Smell Less!

Oct 24 2008 | comment(s)

Some animals live longer when raised on low-calorie diets but now researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis say that they can extend the life spans of roundworms even when the worms are well fed — it just takes a chemical that blocks their sense of smell.

Three years ago, the researchers, led by Kerry Kornfeld, M.D., Ph.D., reported they found that a class of anticonvulsant medications made the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans live longer. But until now, they didn't quite know what the drugs did to give the worms their longevity.
Sun's Surface, Core And Radiative Zone All Spin At Different Rates

Sun's Surface, Core And Radiative Zone All Spin At Different Rates

Oct 24 2008 | comment(s)

The dense, hot, radioactive core of the Sun rotates significantly more slowly than the layer next to it, the radiative zone, a Stanford solar physicist has concluded. According to Peter Sturrock, professor emeritus of applied physics, the idea of a slower core has been hinted at before, but his paper published in the Astrophysical Journal provides for the first time a precise rotation rate.

- The core spins round once every 28.4 days

- The radiative zone rotates once every 26.9 days

- The surface rotates faster still-once every 25.2 days.
Cold Virus 'Manipulates' Genes

Cold Virus 'Manipulates' Genes

Oct 24 2008 | comment(s)

Sneezing, runny nose and chills? You might blame the human rhinovirus (HRV), which causes 30 to 50 percent of common colds. But in reality, it's not the virus itself but HRV's ability to manipulate your genes that is the true cause of some of the most annoying cold symptoms. 

For the first time, researchers have shown that HRV hijacks many of your genes and causes an overblown immune response that ends up with your nose being overblown. 

The research, published in the first issue for November of the American Thoracic Society's clinical research journal, the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, is the first study to comprehensively review gene changes caused by HRV. 
The Cognitive Answers To Why Some People Are Just Better At Learning A Second Language

The Cognitive Answers To Why Some People Are Just Better At Learning A Second Language

Oct 24 2008 | comment(s)

Learning a second language is usually difficult and often when we speak it we cannot disguise our origin or accent. However, there are important differences between individuals with regard to the degree to which a second language is mastered, even for people who have lived in a bilingual environment since childhood.
The Making Of Gray's Anatomy (The One That Isn't The TV Show)

The Making Of Gray's Anatomy (The One That Isn't The TV Show)

Oct 24 2008 | comment(s)

''Henry Grays Anatomy of the Human Body" - Gray's Anatomy, as it is commonly called, is among the most iconic scientific books ever published: an illustrated textbook of anatomy that is still a household name 150 years since its first edition, known for its rigorously scientific text and masterful illustrations as beautiful as they are detailed.

First published under the title "Grays Anatomy: Descriptive and Surgical" in 1858, Gray would not live to see its full impact.    He contracted smallpox from his nephew and died in 1861 at the age of 34.
US Ecologist Tells 1.5 Million Displaced Chinese Peasants To Find A Silver Lining In Three Gorges Dam

US Ecologist Tells 1.5 Million Displaced Chinese Peasants To Find A Silver Lining In Three Gorges Dam

Oct 24 2008 | comment(s)

China's farmers and merchants should take advantage of new agricultural and business opportunities that could help mitigate some effects of the annual flooding behind the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River, according to an Ohio State University wetland expert. The level of water in the reservoir behind the dam will top off at 575 feet above sea level during the coming winter. The reservoir pool, covering abandoned cities, houses and farm fields formerly populated by an estimated 1.5 million people, will extend over 400 square miles – equivalent to the land area of Hong Kong.