The ventrolateral nucleus (VL) of the thalamus is connected to the cerebellum and motor cortex and therefore thought to be involved in motor function. A new study to be published in Annals of Neurology, the official journal of the American Neurological Association, found that the VL also plays a role in sensory processing and that damage to this area leads to functional and neural changes.

(AP) -- Governments of almost 200 countries have agreed to speed the elimination of a major greenhouse gas that depletes ozone, U.N. and Canadian officials said Saturday, describing a deal they said was a significant step toward fighting global warming.

(AP) -- Dell Inc. announced a deal Monday to launch a retail presence in China by selling computers through the country's biggest chain of electronics stores as it struggles to capture a bigger share of the booming market.

Recent investigations of medications, diet and the molecular understanding of prostate cancer are defining potential prevention strategies for the disease, and herald a new stage in the management of this cancer, according to a new review.

Good news for lovers of fish and chips, Japanese scientists have come up with the perfect recipe to make a crispy batter which is also lower in fat, reports Joanna Harries in Chemistry & Industry

The struggling European navigation system Galileo faces yet another delay with a three-month postponement of its second satellite launch, a press report said Monday.

Local authorities and environmentalists are protesting construction of a $1 billion natural gas terminal in Mexico about 50 miles south of the U.S. border.

(AP) -- Microsoft Corp. said Sunday it has added 20 new advertising clients since the acquisition of online ad company aQuantive closed six weeks ago.

(AP) -- The social networking Web site MySpace is launching a free, advertising-supported cell phone version Monday as part of a wider bid by parent News Corp. to attract advertising for mobile Web sites.

Need an alibi for a tricky situation, something to get you out of the house, or into someone else's? Explain a missed meeting? Just log on to one of the increasingly available Internet sites that offer the latest in ebusiness, an alibi service.

(AP) -- A startup has come up with a new way to make money from phone calls connected via the Internet: having software listen to the calls, then displaying ads on the callers' computer screens based on what's being talked about.

(One of the best ways to encourage an individual to get screened for colorectal cancer is to use a personalized approach, according to researchers at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. A new study shows that simple, personalized interventions that guide recipients through the screening process can significantly improve colorectal cancer screening rates in primary care practices.

Scientists from the University of Exeter and Shimane University in Japan have proved for the first time that vitamin C is essential for plant growth. This discovery could have implications for agriculture and for the production of vitamin C dietary supplements.

(AP) -- Six minutes is all that each of 69 startups get to impress journalists, venture capitalists and technology mavens. If speakers run over, the music starts, the organizer steps on stage and the microphone goes off.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers that cryptosporidium was found in a bottle of Baby's Bliss Gripe Water.

Scientists in Singapore say they have devised a mini-lab capable of identifying the H5N1 bird flu virus in less than 30 minutes, in what they believe could be a breakthrough in efforts to shore up defences against any flu pandemic.

Naming rights for 10 newly discovered species of fish were auctioned off in Monaco this week for a total of $2 million.

MIT researchers have developed a computer modeling approach that could improve a class of drugs based on antibodies, molecules key to the immune system. The model can predict structural changes in an antibody that will improve its effectiveness.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told astronaut Sunita Williams Friday she has inspired women of India with her space travel.

(AP) -- Climate scientist Michael Mann runs down the list of bad global warming news: The world is spewing greenhouse gases at a faster rate. Summer Arctic sea ice is at record lows. The ice sheets in Greenland and West Antarctica are melting quicker than expected.

(AP) -- It was just another morning at the senior center: Women were sewing, men were playing pool - and seven demonstrators, average age 76, were picketing outside, demanding doughnuts.

Sharks gnawed at its carcass Saturday as the third blue whale to die off California in two weeks was towed to a beach for examination.

(AP) -- For more than a decade, academics and technology executives have been frowning at the widening gender gap in computer science. Everyone has a theory, but no one has managed to attract many more women.

(AP) -- Ultimately, rising seas will likely swamp the first American settlement in Jamestown, Va., as well as the Florida launch pad that sent the first American into orbit, many climate scientists are predicting.