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Toxic Chemical DBT In Some Paint And PVC Tubes Affects The Immune System

Toxic Chemical DBT In Some Paint And PVC Tubes Affects The Immune System

Oct 28 2008 | comment(s)

An international team of researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the University of Basel in Switzerland have issued a report on the mechanism of toxicity of a chemical compound called Dibutyltin (DBT).

DBT is part of a class of high toxic and widely distributed chemical compounds called organotins, DBT is most commonly used as an anti-fouling agent in paint, for example in the fishing and shipbuilding industries. It is also used in the production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic tubes and bottles.
Arctic Mystery - Ice Thinning But Not Because Of Warming

Arctic Mystery - Ice Thinning But Not Because Of Warming

Oct 28 2008 | comment(s)

The thickness of sea ice in large parts of the Arctic declined by as much as 19% last winter compared to the previous five winters, according to data from ESA's Envisat satellite.

Using Envisat radar altimeter data, scientists from the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling at University College London (UCL) measured sea ice thickness over the Arctic from 2002 to 2008 and found that it had been fairly constant until the record loss of ice in the summer of 2007. Unusually warm weather conditions were present over the Arctic in 2007, which some scientists have said explain that summer ice loss. However, this summer reached the second-lowest extent ever recorded with cooler weather conditions present. 
NASA Prize Goes To Armadillo Aerospace In Lunar Challenge

NASA Prize Goes To Armadillo Aerospace In Lunar Challenge

Oct 28 2008 | comment(s)

Armadillo Aerospace of Rockwall, Texas, earned $350,000 in NASA prize money during the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge in Las Cruces, N.M. 

The challenge is a two-level, $2 million competition designed to accelerate commercial space technology and is sponsored by NASA's Centennial Challenges program. After Armadillo's $350,000 first place win for level one this year, $1.65 million remains as available prize money for future competitions. 
Martin Oxley Of BuzzBack Market Research To Speak At The Green Consumer Conference In London

Martin Oxley Of BuzzBack Market Research To Speak At The Green Consumer Conference In London

Oct 28 2008 | comment(s)

LONDON, October 28 /PRNewswire/ --

- Oxley to discuss results of BuzzBack study on Consumer Attitudes about Environmentalism and 'Being Green'

Martin Oxley, Managing Director Europe of BuzzBack Market Research, will be a speaker at The Green Consumer Conference on Nov. 19 at the Lewis Media Centre in London.

Egypt Named Outsourcing Destination Of The Year At The 2008 National Outsourcing Association Awards

Egypt Named Outsourcing Destination Of The Year At The 2008 National Outsourcing Association Awards

Oct 28 2008 | comment(s)

LONDON, October 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Egypt was awarded the prestigious title of Outsourcing Destination of the Year at the National Outsourcing Association's 2008 Awards held in London, beating rivals Philippines and Romania to the accolade.

The CEO of Egypt's Information Technology Industry Development Agency, (ITIDA) Dr. Hazem Abdelazim, received the award on behalf of his government during a glamorous ceremony at the Park Plaza Riverbank.

More than 350 high-level executives and outsourcing professionals attended the event, hosted by comedian presenter Dominic Holland.

Health Of College Undergrads Plays Key Role In GPA

Health Of College Undergrads Plays Key Role In GPA

Oct 28 2008 | comment(s)

College students are under quite a bit of pressure these days. Trust me, I know. Working to make enough for tuition, fighting with endless hours of homework and worrying about living expenses on top of the exam you have to study for... it can be quite overwhelming. With all the complaints of stress affecting a student's academic performance, University of Minnesota researchers decided to test the reliability behind them.
Jennifer Aniston Gets Neuron Named After Her - And Maybe We Get A Clue To Mind Reading

Jennifer Aniston Gets Neuron Named After Her - And Maybe We Get A Clue To Mind Reading

Oct 28 2008 | comment(s)

It seems not everyone can forget the "Friends" television show.   Angelina Jolie may have gotten Brad Pitt but Jennifer Aniston is the one with her own namesake neuron.

Professor Rodrigo Quian Quiroga, neuroscientist and bio-engineer, whose research was recently cited among the top papers in the world, is to reveal details of his studies into what has been dubbed the ‘Jennifer Aniston neuron’ during a public presentation at the University of Leicester.
Undecided Voters And Bigfoot - One May Exist But How Many There Are Is Whatever You Want To Believe

Undecided Voters And Bigfoot - One May Exist But How Many There Are Is Whatever You Want To Believe

Oct 28 2008 | comment(s)

Political polls show Barack Obama ahead in the minds of confirmed voters but a nebulous grey area, the 'undecided' voter, coupled with margin of error, means anything can happen

Political parties spend a great deal of money trying to appeal who declare themselves undecided and there is a great deal of research that goes into figuring them out. The biggest question for psychologists; do undecided voters actually make their choices before they realize? University of Virginia psychology professor Brian Nosek and colleagues set out to find an answer.

Forty-Six Per Cent Of UK Employers Have Caught A Lie On A CV, According To CareerBuilder.co.uk Survey

Forty-Six Per Cent Of UK Employers Have Caught A Lie On A CV, According To CareerBuilder.co.uk Survey

Oct 28 2008 | comment(s)

LONDON, October 28 /PRNewswire/ --

- Hiring Managers Share the Most Unusual and Most Common CV Mistakes and Offer Tips for Creating an Effective CV

Is your CV more fact or fiction? While only 12 per cent of workers in the United Kingdom say they have lied on a CV, 46 per cent of employers say they have caught a lie on a CV according to a new CareerBuilder.co.uk survey of employers and workers in the UK. Of those employers who caught a lie, 42 per cent automatically dismissed the applicant and 48 per cent still considered the candidate, but did not hire him/her.

CareerBuilder asked hiring managers to share the most memorable or outrageous mistakes they came across on CVs. Examples include:

Chiltern Is A Nominee On The SCRIP CRO Of The Year Award Shortlist

Chiltern Is A Nominee On The SCRIP CRO Of The Year Award Shortlist

Oct 28 2008 | comment(s)

LONDON, October 28 /PRNewswire/ --

Chiltern, a leading global clinical research organization, announced that it is a nominee on this year's shortlist for the SCRIP Awards in the Best Contract Research Organization category. The winners will be announced at the fourth annual SCRIP awards ceremony on December 10, at the London Hilton on Park Lane.

I am delighted that Chiltern made the shortlist for this esteemed award, commented Glenn Kerkhof, Chiltern's CEO. This nomination provides recognition for the overall achievements that Chiltern and its employees have accomplished during this past year.

Acision Market Share Exceeds 80%* In Latin America

Acision Market Share Exceeds 80%* In Latin America

Oct 28 2008 | comment(s)

SAO PAULO, Brazil, October 28 /PRNewswire/ --

- SMS and MMS Messages Represent Over Half of all Data Traffic

Acision, the world's leading messaging company, celebrates the first anniversary of its Latin America offices, with a market share of over 80%. Conservative estimates are that by 2011 the mobile messaging market in Latin America will have grown by a further 25 per cent.

Acision's messaging solutions support 31 operators across the 35 countries in Latin America. This includes 9 of the top 10 market leaders who together have a combined market share of over 85% of the Latin American mobile data services market, according to information from Teleco.

Forty-Six Percent Of Swedish Employers Have Caught A Lie On A Resume, According To Jobbguiden.se Survey

Forty-Six Percent Of Swedish Employers Have Caught A Lie On A Resume, According To Jobbguiden.se Survey

Oct 28 2008 | comment(s)

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, October 28 /PRNewswire/ --

- Hiring Managers Share the Most Unusual and Most Common Resume Mistakes and Offer Tips for Creating an Effective Resume

Is your resume more fact or fiction? While only 8 percent of workers in Sweden say they have lied on a resume, 46 percent of employers say they have caught a lie on a resume according to a new Jobbguiden.se survey of employers and workers in Sweden. Of those employers who caught a lie, 54 percent automatically dismissed the applicant and 31 percent still considered the candidate, but did not hire him/her.

Jobbguiden asked hiring managers to share the most memorable or outrageous mistakes they came across on resumes. Examples include:

Not Just Sky - Oceans CO2 Levels Will Cause Coral Reefs To Crash

Not Just Sky - Oceans CO2 Levels Will Cause Coral Reefs To Crash

Oct 28 2008 | comment(s)

Rising carbon dioxide levels in the world's oceans could deliver a disastrous blow to the ability of coral reefs to withstand climate change.

A major new investigation by Australian scientists has revealed that acidification of the oceans from human CO2 emissions has the potential to worsen the impact of the bleaching and death of reef-building organisms expected to occur under global warming.

The study, by a team led by Dr Ken Anthony of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and the University of Queensland, published in this week's Proceedings of the (US) National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) concludes that earlier research may significantly understate the likely damage to the world's reefs caused by man-made change to the Earth's atmosphere.
Methylmercury Brain Damage Risk Will Put CFL Bulbs In The Spotlight Again

Methylmercury Brain Damage Risk Will Put CFL Bulbs In The Spotlight Again

Oct 28 2008 | comment(s)

Methylmercury is a chemical compound formed in the environment from released mercury. Unfortunately, the methylmercury can be transported quickly around the body and may enter the brain. In a pregnant mother, serious problems will ensue if important developmental processes are blocked.  There's only one chance for a baby brain to develop.

Recent studies hint that exposure to the toxic chemicals such as methylmercury can cause harm at levels previously considered safe. A new analysis of the epidemiological evidence in the International Journal of Environment and Health suggests that we should take a precautionary approach to this and similar compounds to protect unborn children from irreversible brain damage.
Epilepsy Anti-Seizure Drug Propofol Use Could Be Fatal - Study

Epilepsy Anti-Seizure Drug Propofol Use Could Be Fatal - Study

Oct 28 2008 | comment(s)

Patients treated for their prolonged seizures with the sedative propofol may be at high risk for complications and even death. New research presented at CHEST 2008, the 74th annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), shows that the use of propofol as an antiepileptic agent in patients with refractory status epilepticus (RSE), prolonged seizures that do not respond to initial treatment, was associated with significant mortality and morbidity. 
Green Neighborhoods Mean Less Obesity - Study

Green Neighborhoods Mean Less Obesity - Study

Oct 28 2008 | comment(s)

Childhood obesity can lead to type 2 diabetes, asthma, hypertension, sleep apnea and emotional distress. Obese children and youth are likely to be obese as adults, experience more cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and stroke and incur higher healthcare costs. In an article published in the December 2008 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers report that children living in inner city neighborhoods with higher "greenness" experienced lower weight gains compared to those in areas with less green space.
Noses, Not Eyes, Are Where We Look First

Noses, Not Eyes, Are Where We Look First

Oct 28 2008 | comment(s)

While general wisdom says that you look at the eyes first in order to recognize a face, UC San Diego computer scientists now report that you look at the nose first.

The nose may be the where the information about the face is balanced in all directions, or the optimal viewing position for face recognition, the researchers from UC San Diego's Jacobs School of Engineering propose in a paper recently published in the journal Psychological Science.
Blondes? No, Men Like Any Women That Wear Red

Blondes? No, Men Like Any Women That Wear Red

Oct 28 2008 | comment(s)

A study by two University of Rochester psychologists in  the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology adds color, literally and figuratively, to the age-old question of what attracts men to women.

Through five psychological experiments, Andrew Elliot, professor of psychology, and Daniela Niesta, post-doctoral researcher, demonstrate that the color red makes men feel more amorous toward women. And men are unaware of the role the color plays in their attraction.
Hot Acid Microorganism Reveals New Cell Division Mechanism

Hot Acid Microorganism Reveals New Cell Division Mechanism

Oct 28 2008 | comment(s)

A novel cell division mechanism has been discovered in a microorganism that thrives in hot acid. The finding may also result in insights into key processes in human cells, and in a better understanding of the main evolutionary lineages of life on Earth.

The research group at the Department of Molecular Evolution at Uppsala University has identified a completely new cell division machinery. The discovery was made in Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, a microorganism belonging to the third domain of life, the Archaea, which originally was isolated from a hot spring in Yellowstone national park in Wyoming, USA. Because of the extreme conditions, in which the cells grow optimally in acid at 80ºC, the organism is of interest for a wide range of issues.
Voters Believe Presidential Candidates Different On Key Issues (No, Really)

Voters Believe Presidential Candidates Different On Key Issues (No, Really)

Oct 28 2008 | comment(s)

There's a presidential election happening, in case you didn't know. If you talk to the fringes who are most actively mobilized, they certainly feel the differences are key; if John McCain gets elected, Democrat zealots contend, abortions will be banned and Creationism will be taught in science classes. If Barack Obama is elected, Republican zealots contend, the tax rate will be raised to 100% and gay porn will be taught in science classes.

What's surprising is how the average voter believes one rich politician is more likely than another to enact substantial policy changes, on issues like health care and others, that rely more on Congress than they do the Executive branch of government.