Science Education & Policy

NEW YORK, March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- SunGard (http://www.sungard.com) today announced that it has acquired Advanced Portfolio Technologies, Inc. (APT), a leading global provider of risk management systems and portfolio optimization software for asset managers, hedge funds, pension funds, broker/dealers and proprietary traders. The acquisition, the terms of which were not disclosed, is not expected to have a material impact on SunGard's financial results. Founded in 1985, APT provides multi-factor risk models, portfolio analysis and optimization tools, and risk-management software. Its key…

Solving a long-standing biological mystery, UCLA stem cell researchers have discovered that blood stem cells, the cells that later differentiate into all the cells in the blood supply, originate and are nurtured in the placenta. The discovery may allow researchers to mimic the specific embryonic microenvironment necessary for development of blood stem cells in cell culture and grow them for use in treating diseases like leukemia and aplastic anemia, said Dr. Hanna Mikkola, a researcher in the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research and senior author of the…

LONDON, March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Unite, Britain's biggest trade union, is using World Book Day tomorrow (Thursday 6th March) to build on the successful work initiated by Union Learning Reps in hundreds of workplaces. Unite wants it's 2600 Union Learning Reps (ULRs) to set up libraries, book shelves, reading groups and book swaps, to get the union's two million members hooked on books. Unite the union has secured an extra GBP2.7 million from the Government's learning fund to continue to build a learning culture that supports, encourages and aids it's members in their lifelong learning journey…

LONDON, March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- - Leading Glaucoma Experts Act to Help Prevent Vision Loss as 50 Percent of Patients Remain Undiagnosed LONDON, March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- On the first World Glaucoma Day (March 6, 2008), leading glaucoma experts globally are asking those who may be at risk of the condition not to leave their vision to chance - with a clear message that 50 percent of people with open-angle glaucoma and more than 50 percent of people with angle-closure glaucoma are unaware they have it.(1),(2) In addition, 50 percent remain untreated until a large amount of irreversible vision…

ZUG, Switzerland, March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Swiss Hawk AG's portfolio company Vitaboost International BV announced that it will start selling the Vitaboost Activator Multipack in supermarkets and drugstores starting from the 4th of March. Vitaboost started selling its Single Pack during December 2007. Today, Vitaboost Activator is available at Fitness First, Shell, D.A. Drugstores, Total, Texaco, Esso and BP. Vitaboost is growing rapidly and is expanding distribution on a daily basis. The main distribution channels for the Vitaboost products are: drugstores, supermarkets, fitness…

NEW YORK, March 4 /PRNewswire/ -- - Reese Witherspoon and Suze Orman among the Featured Speakers at Global Summit for Better Tomorrow in Celebration of International Women's Day- - The Largest One-Year Corporate Contribution Ever Received by the Fund- Today, UNIFEM, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, and Avon Products, Inc. are announcing a public-private partnership to promote women's empowerment and end violence against women. As a result, Avon is committing US$1 million to the UNIFEM-managed UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women. The contribution will be made through the…

RALEIGH, North Carolina, March 4 /PRNewswire/ -- DARA BioSciences(TM) (Nasdaq: DARA) announced today the appointment of David J. Drutz, MD to the Board of Directors. Dr. Drutz was appointed to fill a Board vacancy and will serve on the Company's Compensation Committee as well as Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee. The appointment was effective February 26, 2008. Richard Franco, Sr., DARA's Board Chairman, commented, "It is a pleasure to announce David's appointment. Considering his varied background and successful experiences, David will add another positive dimension to our Board…

Are smart people drawn to the arts or does arts training make people smarter? Or neither? According to research led by Dr. Michael S. Gazzaniga of the University of California at Santa Barbara, children motivated in the arts develop attention skills and strategies for memory retrieval that also apply to other subject areas. “A life-affirming dimension is opening up in neuroscience,” said Dr. Gazzaniga, “to discover how the performance and appreciation of the arts enlarge cognitive capacities will be a long step forward in learning how better to learn and more enjoyably and productively to…

Curing cancer with 'natural' products used to be dismissed as shaman quackery but many chemotherapies that fight cancer in modern medicine are natural products or were developed on the basis of natural substances. Thus, taxanes used in prostate and breast cancer treatment are made from yew trees. The popular periwinkle plant, which grows along the ground of many front yards, is the source of vinca alkaloids that are effective, for example, against malignant lymphomas. The modern anti-cancer drugs topotecan and irinotecan are derived from a constituent of the Chinese Happy Tree. Looking for…

LONDON, March 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Brendon Grunewald has joined Element Six as head of E6 Ventures to set up and run the group's new venture business to identify and invest in new business opportunities. As part of the group's ambitious growth programme, Element Six has made significant funds available to support strategic investment in innovative businesses using synthetic diamond as an important enabling technology. The aim is to provide investments that range from seed funds for research and start-ups, through to spin-outs, spins-offs and joint ventures with the aim of bringing a strong…