Researchers say they have found evidence that supports the idea that the emergence of agriculture in prehistory took much longer than originally thought.

Until recently researchers say the story of the origin of agriculture was one of a relatively sudden appearance of plant cultivation in the Near East around 10,000 years ago, spreading quickly into Europe and dovetailing conveniently with ideas about how quickly language and population genes spread from the Near East to Europe. Initially, genetics appeared to support this idea but now there are questions about the evidence underpinning that model

A team led by Dr Robin Allaby from the University of Warwick's plant research arm, Warwick HRI, have developed a new mathematical model that shows how plant agriculture actually began much earlier than first thought, well before the Younger Dryas (the last "big freeze" with glacial conditions in the higher latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere). It also shows that useful gene types could have actually taken thousands of years to become stable.

NEW YORK, September 18 /PRNewswire/ --

- Credit Crisis Threatens Leading Financial Services Brands Coca-Cola Maintains its No. 1 Spot; Google's Brand Soars; Merrill Lynch's Plummets

Google, Apple, Amazon.com, Zara and Nintendo are among this year's top gainers in Interbrand's annual ranking of The Best Global Brands, and not surprisingly, financial services giants Merrill Lynch, Citi and Morgan Stanley are among the companies that have slipped dramatically down the list.

Coca-Cola (No. 1) remains the best global brand for the eighth year in a row. Yet, a notable shift in this year's rankings was made by IBM, which took over the No. 2 position from Microsoft (No. 3). Google also moved into the top 10 brands, at No. 10, after ranking at No. 20 in 2007.

This summer, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Take this quiz to find find out how NASA knowledgeable you really are.

You consider yourself a staunch supporter of space travel. As a child, you spent many a day lying under your mother's dining room table, pushing imaginary overhead buttons in your very own spaceship. When Apollo 13 opened in movie theaters, you spent all 140 excruciating minutes questioning its historic accuracy while your date slumped over snoozing. You even know that Starfleet Headquarters is located in San Francisco.

But how much do you really know about NASA, the US agency that's been pushing to explore that final frontier for the last fifty years?

LONDON, September 18 /PRNewswire/ --

- Firex India - 16-18 October 2008 - Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India

One of India's most influential associations, the Fire and Safety Association of India (FSAI), has voiced its support of the inaugural Firex India exhibition, which is launching on the 16-18 October at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India. Firex India has been developed to run alongside security event IFSEC India 2008 in response to the rapid national economic development of India and the increasing role the fire industry plays in this development.

BEIJING, September 18 /PRNewswire/ --

As the Paralympic Games draw to a close, the official Language Training and Testing Supplier of the Beijing Olympics, aifly Education Technology Company, continues to work with volunteer organizations in China and internationally to give China's Olympic volunteers opportunities to take their passion and message of friendship and hope to people all over the world.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080918/CNTH032 )

While international guests and athletes journey back to their homes abroad, the 15 million volunteers who trained for and served them over the last two months are looking forward to bringing the spirit of volunteerism to the entire nation and beyond.

LETCHWORTH, England, September 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Navevo, the UK's leading specialist GPS software developer, has today announced the launch of BBNav, the first dedicated Blue Badge sat-nav solution, specifically designed to support disabled drivers and those caring for the disabled, such as their families or carers.

To assist Blue Badge holders in finding suitable parking locations and points of interest, Navevo has exclusively teamed up with PIE (Public Information Exchange), the UK's leading publisher of disabled parking guides. Covering 150 major cities and towns across the UK including all the London boroughs, BBNav provides users with greater flexibility and choice when shopping, driving into town or just going out for the day.

LONDON, September 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Computershare is delighted to announce that the 2008 Capital Analytics Survey of Registrars places us at No.1 for Overall Satisfaction with Registrar.

Computershare, an Australian listed company with a uniquely global footprint, arrived in the UK 10 years ago via its acquisition of RBS Registrars. Since that time, we have invested significantly in the business, both in terms of people and technology.

Over the last three years, we have undertaken a radical restructuring and overhaul of our UK business, designed to improve the service we deliver to our clients and their shareholders, as Chris Morris, Executive Chairman and Managing Director for the EMEA region comments:

TORONTO, Canada, September 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Trillium Therapeutics Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of innovative therapies for the treatment of immune-mediated disorders, announced today that it has secured CDN$12 million in new financing from its existing investors, VenGrowth Private Equity Partners, BDC Capital and Canadian Medical Discoveries Fund (CMDF).