Average price of gasoline falls slightly in Maine

The average retail cost of a gallon of gas remained stable for Mainers over the past month, falling a little more than a penny — to $3.61 — the price-monitoring website MaineGasPrices.com reported Monday.

The national average went up slightly, but prices in Maine are still 11 cents above the national average. Prices in Maine were 20 cents higher at the same time last year.

The national average increased 12 cents per gallon during the last month and also is 20 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.

North American sales drive Chrysler’s profitability

Chrysler’s almost total reliance on North America used to be a huge weakness, one that sent the company into bankruptcy protection.

Now it’s a major strength. The region is generating profits for the company while losses in Europe and slowing sales in South America and China are drains on other carmakers.

Chrysler, which sells almost 90 percent of its cars and trucks in the U.S. and Canada, made a $436 million profit in the second quarter. It was a huge turnaround from a year earlier, when the company lost $370 million, mainly because it refinanced government bailout loans.

The automaker, now majority owned by Italy’s Fiat SpA, is making good on an earlier profit forecast of about $1.5 billion for the year.

FDA asked to approve saliva-based genetic test

Genetic test maker 23andMe is asking the Food and Drug Administration to approve its personalized DNA test in a move that, if successful, could boost acceptance of technology that is viewed skeptically by scientists who question its usefulness.

23andMe is part of a fledgling industry that allows consumers to peek into their genetic code for details about their ancestry and future health. The company’s saliva-based kits have attracted scrutiny for claiming to help users detect whether they are likely to develop illnesses like breast cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s.

The biology of how DNA variations actually lead to certain diseases is still poorly understood.

– From news service reports