A type of plastic that exhibits metallic and semi-conductor-like properties will be described in an inaugural doctoral lecture at the University of Leicester on Wednesday June 4th(*).

In his lecture, Dr. M. A. Mohamoud will discuss a novel class of materials called “conducting polymers.” Conducting polymers are smart materials that can mimic biological systems and can be used as components of artificial nerves, electronic noses/tongues, drug-release-and-delivering systems, and artificial muscles.

They can also be used as energy storage devices in battery technology, electrochromic display devices (in smart window technology and light emitting diodes), and biological sensor technology.

LONDON, May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Another top 10 Irish law firm, Mason Hayes+Curran, has appointed Solcara to provide an integrated search solution across its business, bringing together all primary legal resources in the Irish, UK and EU jurisdictions, as well as Interwoven's document management system.

Mason Hayes+Curran has implemented SolSearch to search internal and online legal content. SolSearch reduces the time to find information and improves productivity across the firm. The SolSearch integrated search solution is a favourite in Ireland, used by four of the top five legal firms.

Tony Burke, a Senior Partner at Mason Hayes+Curran said:

Satellites currently use radio waves to exchange data. Now the data rate has been increased a hundredfold in two test satellites by using lasers instead of radio signals.

The tests between German satellite TerraSAR-X and US satellite NFIRE, covering more than 5000 kilometers in space without any errors, was special in that the space tests recently performed by Tesat-Spacecom was that the data was transmitted by laser.

The bandwidth achieved in the test was a hundred times greater than during conventional communication by radio waves, enabling a data rate equivalent to roughly 400 DVDs per hour. This could make it possible to transmit large data packets between several satellites in the future, for instance to send image data from Earth observation satellites to a ground station. That has not been possible until now, as the bandwidth of radio waves is not large enough. Another advantage of this new form of communication is that lasers are easier to focus than radio waves, which means that data transmissions can be directed more accurately.

COPENHAGEN and STOCKHOLM, May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Infor today announced that Patrik Svanström has been named Regional Manager in the Nordic region. Svanström is charged with managing Infor's sales strategy and operations in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, executing Infor's strategic growth plan for the EMEA region.

Svanström has an extensive background, spanning 20 years of sales in the software industry. He previously served as CEO of BayMind AB, a consulting company he created which evaluated go-to-market models, sales strategies and execution levels. Prior to founding BayMind, Svanström led technology sales for EMC and Selectica Nordics, as well as ERP sales for Oracle Corp. in the Nordic region.

BROOKFIELD, Wisconsin, May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- NetEconomy, the global leader in financial crime management and compliance solutions and a business unit of Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), today announced that IBS Publishing has ranked NetEconomy as the top-selling provider of global anti-money laundering (AML) solutions. IBS determined the ranking by analyzing the AML market for the number of new name wins achieved in 2007.

"NetEconomy has had an exceptional year, leading the way with 38 new customer wins in the United States and Western Europe, putting it ahead of the rest of the field," said James Ling, sales league table editor of IBS.

LONDON, May 13 /PRNewswire/ --

- Application Connects Mobile, Online Communities, Social Networks - All in One Place

Nimbuzz (http://www.nimbuzz.com) today announces the UK launch of an application to provide mobile users and online communities with "free calls, chat and more." Nimbuzz offers an all-in-one solution for free mobile VoIP calling, conference calling, instant messaging, chat and group chat, and photo and file sending across multiple IM communities, including Skype, MSN, Google Talk, Yahoo!, AIM, Jabber and ICQ, plus 23 social networks, including Facebook and Myspace.

NEW YORK, May 13 /PRNewswire/ --

- Separate Editions Deliver Specialized Pre-Market Content to Corporate Bond, Eurobond & Emerging Market Professionals Who Use the MarketAxess Trading Platform or Corporate BondTicker(TM) Service

ISTANBUL, Turkey, May 13 /PRNewswire/ --

- Japanese Pharmaceutical Company Establishes its own Turkish Subsidiary

- Important Step in Global Expansion

DAIICHI SANKYO, one of the world's leading research-driven pharmaceutical companies based in Japan, is establishing its own subsidiary in Turkey. The company, to be called DAIICHI SANKYO Ilaç Tikaret Ltd., will be headquartered in Istanbul and will initially focus on marketing the osteoporosis medication Evista (Raloxifen).

SAN FRANCISCO, May 13 /PRNewswire/ --

WeatherBill (www.weatherbill.com) today announced that Jens Boening, a weather risk management industry leader, has been appointed as Managing Director, Europe and Asia for the company. Boening will be based out of WeatherBill's new United Kingdom branch office, and will be positioned to better serve the needs of WeatherBill's rapidly growing European and Asian client base of weather-sensitive companies. Boening will report directly to WeatherBill's CEO and Founder David Friedberg.