IBT Staff Reporter

Religion plays a large important role in the lives of many people in the world. It can unite and bring peace and harmony to large groups, but it can also cause anger, strife, and long-lasting, deadly wars.

President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he wants to see new types of biofuels commercialized as quickly as possible, but the corn-based ethanol industry needs to remain viable in the meantime.

A rift between Berlin and Washington threatened to torpedo Germany's goal of shielding Opel from the imminent bankruptcy of its parent General Motors , raising the risk of insolvency for the German carmaker.

The National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society, in collaboration with EMD Serono, released findings from a nationwide GfK Roper survey on May 27,

A powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake shook Honduras early Thursday killing at least four people leaving scores of others injured.

Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) announced on May 27, the results of a national Harris Interactive, Inc. survey indicating that the vast majority of oncologists and infectious disease (ID) specialists are highly concerned about the negative impact infection may have on treatment outcomes in chemotherapy patients, as well as emerging antibiotic resistance.

Sanofi-aventis U.S., with research and support from The Center for Medicine in the Public Interest (CMPI), has released a report showing the lag in the diagnosis and treatment of insomnia translates to billions of dollars in lost productivity and absenteeism in the American workforce. CMPI also estimates insomnia is responsible for at least $42 billion in direct and indirect healthcare costs each ...

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, facing demands to explain his relationship with a teenage girl, denied on Thursday he had had a steamy affair and said he would have to resign if caught lying about it.

Pakistan is seeking an English translation of information India provided about November's militant attacks in Mumbai in order to begin prosecutions of suspects, a government spokesman said on Thursday.

The global economic downturn has aggravated human rights violations and distracted attention from abuses, Amnesty International said on Thursday.

An international team of scientists studying a rare genetic disease discovered that a bundle of proteins with the long-established function of keeping chromosomes together also plays an important role in regulating genes in humans.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is likely basking in the patriotic fervor whipped up by his nuclear test but is too worried about his own well-being to start a war, North Korean defectors said on Thursday.

Suicide is rising in Japan as the economic crisis bites, with more than 100 people a day taking their lives in April.

Army-ruled Myanmar lashed out at foreign critics of Aung San Suu Kyi's trial on Thursday, accusing them of meddling in its affairs and denying the prosecution of the opposition leader was a political or human rights issue.

Secretary of Public Welfare Estelle B. Richman today responded to critics of the Smart Pharmacy initiative, saying the plan would save taxpayers $146 million annually while preserving consumer benefits and simplifying the pharmacy initiative for providers.

Russia does not object to a U.N. Security Council resolution on North Korea's nuclear test this week, but feels it is too early to talk about possible penalties, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday.

South Korea and the United States raised the military alert level for the peninsula on Thursday after the communist North warned the truce ending the Korean War was dead and it was ready to attack.

Countless workers in the United States are trapped in jobs they would like to leave because they cannot get health insurance elsewhere, calcifying innovation and mobility in the world's largest economy.

Medicine At Work, the first company to enable physician services to the workplace using advanced video telemedicine technology, has secured full-time physician staffing for its clients. All services are provided by emergency medicine and internal medicine physicians who are board-certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine or the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Israeli troops shot dead a fugitive leader of Hamas's military wing in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, Palestinian and Israeli officials said.

The United States wants Israel to stop expanding Jewish settlements without exception, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday, promising that Washington would push this point with its ally.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on the eve of a White House visit by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that Palestinians must also be pressed to meet commitments under a U.S.-backed peace plan.

Costco Wholesale Corp posted a lower quarterly profit on Thursday that fell just short of Wall Street's expectations, as shoppers cut spending on discretionary items like clothes and jewelry.

A multicenter research team has announced encouraging results for an experimental therapy using elements of the body's immune system to improve cure rates for children with neuroblastoma, a challenging cancer of the nervous system.

The U.S. economy is showing signs of stabilizing after suffering the worst economic crisis in decades, President Barack Obama said on Wednesday.

The so-called

The battle over U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor began to take shape on Wednesday as liberal supporters praised her as an independent legal thinker and conservatives argued she likely would rule based on her emotions rather than established precedent.

According to Millennium Research Group's (MRG's) Q1 2009 issue of Medtech Economic Quarterly (EQ), the health care and medtech industry has long been considered a recession-resistant segment of the economy; while this may be true, however, it is not recession-immune.