ASCOT, England, April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Therakos, Inc., a pioneer for more than 20 years in immune cell therapy, announced receipt of a CE Mark in Europe for THERAKOS(TM) CELLEX(TM) Photopheresis System, a therapy for the treatment of patients with immune-mediated diseases such as acute or chronic graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). THERAKOS(TM) CELLEX(TM) Photopheresis System is the next generation in a product line that offers the only validated, automated and integrated systems that are CE Marked to perform extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP).

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080414/300639)

LONDON, April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Over 98 per cent of cyclists may be putting themselves at financial risk because they do not have specialist insurance that offers third party cover, according to the Environmental Transport Association.

The recent 83 per cent increase in London cycling reflects a two-wheeled renaissance in urban areas, but most cyclists seem unaware that if they are involved in an accident that causes damage to a person or property, they can find themselves facing a claim for compensation.

HAIFA, Israel, April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- ES Vascular Ltd. announced today that it has received a CE Mark approval for its Open Aortic Stapler (OAS) system for mechanical suturing technology of aortic synthetic grafts during open repair of AAA and other aortic reconstructions, enabling commercialization of the device in most European countries. Based on its proprietary stapling technology, the OAS stapler is a unique device that enables one shot stapling of synthetic grafts to aorta in open repair of abdominal and thoracic aneurysmal and occlusive disease, replacing lengthy and cumbersome manual suturing in these major procedures.

TAIPEI, Taiwan, April 14 /PRNewswire/ --

Accton Technology (TAIEX: 2345) is proud to announce the availability of its Internet radio modules, integrating WiFi, Ethernet, and multimedia capabilities into one module. This enables radio and audio equipment manufacturers to upgrade their devices to support multimedia and Internet radio functions an electronic BOM cost approaching USD15 (note) per module.

DÜSSELDORF, Germany, April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- The rating agency Standard & Poor's has raised the Gerresheimer Group's rating from BB to BB+ with "Outlook stable". This means that Gerresheimer is now only one step away from an investment grade rating.

In its justification for the upgrade, Standard & Poor's emphasises the positive operating trend for the Group, with rising sales and EBITDA. Gerresheimer, it says, will be able to sustain this growth in the short to medium term. It notes that Gerresheimer enjoys leading positions in a growing market characterised by high entry barriers.

A study by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, in collaboration with the Charite University Hospital and the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience in Berlin says that several seconds before we consciously make a decision its outcome can be predicted by unconscious activity in the brain.

The researchers from the group of Professor John-Dylan Haynes used a brain scanner to investigate what happens in the human brain just before a decision is made. "Many processes in the brain occur automatically and without involvement of our consciousness. This prevents our mind from being overloaded by simple routine tasks. But when it comes to decisions we tend to assume they are made by our conscious mind. This is questioned by our current findings."

A team of European scientists has triggered electrical activity in thunderclouds for the first time - deliberately.

They did it by aiming high-power pulses of laser light into a thunderstorm. Next, they say, could be man-made lightning.

At the top of South Baldy Peak in New Mexico during two passing thunderstorms, the researchers used laser pulses to create plasma filaments that could conduct electricity akin to Benjamin Franklin's silk kite string. No air-to-ground lightning was triggered because the filaments were too short-lived, but the laser pulses generated discharges in the thunderclouds themselves.

The nature vs. nurture debate is familiar to most people, and modern conclusions usually predict a balance between the two. A new paper shows that there is a similar balance between inherited genes - nature - and the environment - nurture - in determining thousands of traits in yeast.

As we approach the age of personal genomics, in which each of us knows something about the genetic variations we carry, it is important to understand how genes and the environment interact in order to draw medically sound conclusions from the information available, e.g. whether exercise can reduce risks that are increased because of a genetic predisposition towards a certain illness.