LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 23, 2005--A rare Mansoor portrait sculpture of an 18th dynasty Amarna Princess (ca 1363-1364 B.C.) goes live on eBay, the world's largest online marketplace, June 23rd at 10 AM P.S.T.

A rare portrait 4 inch pink limestone sculpture of an 18th dynasty Amarna Princess from 1364 B.C, she is the sister of King Tut and possibly the sister he married. From the Mansoor Amarna collection, it is being offered on eBay for $195,000 starting June 23rd at www.ebay.com/princess . The piece has been examined by leading experts, including Howard Carter's (King Tut Discovery) own chemist, Alfred Lucas, and found to be genuine. This is the first time in more than 50 years it has been offered on the market. (Photo: Business Wire)

Previews of the piece are now viewable at www.ebay.com/princess . The beautiful, delicately carved pink limestone head was last sold more than 50 years ago by the legendary M.A. Mansoor, to a private collector, who owned it till his death several years ago. The only other known pieces are on display in museums or held in private collections.

The exquisitely carved princess is descended from the most famous royal family known in ancient Egypt. Her father was history's first monotheist, Akhenaten, the heretic pharaoh, - while her mother was Queen Nefertiti, the world renowned beauty.

This Princess was a sister to the most remarkable pharaoh of all time, Tutankhamun (King Tut), and possibly, the one he married, Ankh-es-en-paten.

This princess head is in nearly perfect condition, the facial features and entire head are unblemished, the neck with a break, but repaired. The head is a complete sculpture unto itself, it was made in antiquity as a finished piece in the manner of a stopper to be inserted into the body of a statue.

Mr. M.A. Mansoor, admired and respected for his indisputable reputation and professional integrity, sold ten pink limestone sculptures from his Amarna Art collection to King Farouk of Egypt prior to World War II.

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MOFFET FIELD, Calif. & GRENOBLE, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 24, 2005--Intelligent conversation with robots - long the bread and butter of science fiction authors - soon may take another step closer to reality for astronauts on the International Space Station.

NASA, Xerox Demonstrate 'Virtual Crew Assistant' -- MOFFET FIELD, Calif., June 24, 2005 -- Kim Farrell, project manager for "Clarissa," tests the safety of drinking water using the new "Clarissa" voice-activated system in a simulation of the International Space Station at NASA Ames Research Center. Innovative technology from Xerox Corporation has been incorporated in the system, which will allow astronauts aboard the International Space Station to easily and efficiently perform tests and maintenance. (Photo: NASA Ames Research Center) Media Contact: Bill McKee, Xerox Corporation, 585-423-4476, bill.mckee - @ - xerox.com(NYSE:XRX) will demonstrate a sophisticated, voice-operated computer system on June 26 at the Association for Computational Linguists' 25th annual meeting at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Called Clarissa, the system was developed in an effort to ease astronaut workload.

Scientists from NASA Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley and Xerox Corporation "Clarissa is a fully voice-operated 'virtual crew assistant,' enabling astronauts to be more efficient with their hands and eyes and to give full attention to the task while they navigate through the procedure using spoken commands," said Beth Ann Hockey, project lead on the team that developed Clarissa at NASA Ames.

Plans call for astronaut John Phillips to complete the Clarissa training procedure onboard NASA's International Space Station as early as June 27 in preparation for later use of Clarissa.

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BOYNTON BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 20, 2005--A soda that burns calories and tastes great may sound hard to believe. But a new research study, announced this weekend at the International Society of Sports Nutrition Conference in New Orleans, confirms that Celsius(TM) does just that.

Celsius, the world's first calorie burning soft drink, comes in three flavors - cola, lemon/lime and ginger ale. (Photo: Business Wire)

"The clinical research proved that drinking one 12-ounce bottle of Celsius increases metabolism by more than 12 percent over a 3 hour period," states principal investigator Ron Mendel, Ph.D. "Elevated metabolism is what allows people to burn more calories."

How significant is a 12 percent boost in metabolism? Dr. Mendel says that by replacing a regular soft drink with a bottle of Celsius every day for one year, even with no change in exercise habits, a person could theoretically lose up to 17 pounds.

According to Steve Haley, president of Elite FX, the company behind Celsius, this is the first time a functional beverage has been launched with scientific proof of its benefit.

"In an age where obesity is a major health issue, calories count," says Haley. "Celsius fits a healthy lifestyle -- no high fructose corn syrup, no chemical preservatives, and no carbohydrates. It gets its thermogenic power from a proprietary combination of natural botanicals, micronutrients, amino acids and caffeine for a beverage unlike any other on the market today."

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Baroness Susan Greenfield , Oxford University , Mind Science Foundation Awardee

"How does the pulsating gray matter in our brains give rise to the sensorial richness of the world around us and the intricate complexities of our own self-perception?" asks Joseph Dial, Executive Director of the Mind Science Foundation, which is the lead sponsor of this year's Cal-Tech conference.

In a TV interview last year, best-selling author and string theory physicist, Brian Greene, PhD, gave his opinion of the top three questions in science:

• -- the origin of the cosmos;
• -- the origin of life; and
• -- how consciousness arises.

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