A team of surgeons reported Friday that they have completed a hand transplant on a man in his 30s, marking the first time that a surgery replacing a hand has taken place in South Korea.The 25-strong team, led by W Hospital chief Woo Sang-hyun, transplanted the hand of a man in his 40s who had been pronounced brain dead. The procedure took 10 hours starting at 4:00 p.m. the previous day at the Yeungnam University Medical Center in the southeastern city of Daegu.The body part being transplanted wa

South Korean infants are prescribed antibiotics in much higher frequency than those in other countries, the latest research report said Thursday, confirming concerns in the medical community of serious misuse that could hurt the immune system.The results show South Korean toddlers on average are prescribed antibiotics 3.41 times by the time they reach the age of two, way higher than the five other countries -- Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain and the United States -- surveyed for the report. The pr

South Korea's sea level rose at a faster pace than the world's average this year due mainly to the ground subsidence, a report said Thursday. The sea level rose 2.68mm on average this year, up 8 percent from the previous year's 2.48mm, according to the report by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.It is 34 percent faster than the world average of 2.0mm surveyed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) under the United Nations.The ministry said that South Korea's faster sea level

South Korean scientists have successfully transplanted organs from a genetically modified pig to a monkey, a state research center said Wednesday, raising the prospect of potential animal-to-human organ transplants.The cynomolgus monkey, also known as a crab-eating macaque, remains healthy for a record 51 days after receiving the heart and cornea of the pig, according to the National Institute of Animal Science, a research arm of the Rural Development Administration.The nation's previous record

A stem cell line developed by South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-suk will be formally registered, local health authorities said Tuesday, a move expected to restart stem cell research here that has been in a deep freeze.The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said it has concluded that the human embryonic stem cell line, called NT-1, was developed by a process of parthenogenesis, also known as the "virgin birth." This is when an egg develops on its own without fertilization.The f

South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-suk has won a patent for a stem cell line in the United States, marking the second patent on the related technology, data showed Wednesday.A 15-member research team led by Hwang registered the human embryonic stem cell line, called NT-1, with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on Oct. 25. The former Seoul National University (SNU) professor created NT-1 in 2004 and claimed that it was the world's first stem cell batch extracted from cloned human embryos.

 Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, president of the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, more commonly known as the Royal Society, has stressed the importance of basic science, saying that investment in the field should be spearheaded by scientists. "Reason to invest in science is that it is part of every culture of humans and so it is about how the world works, what we are and what the universe is like. These are increasingly important questions," the British structural biologist to

South Korea and the United States will spend a combined $6 million on a joint research project to develop robotic technologies for disaster response over the next three years, the trade ministry here said Tuesday.Officials from the two governments, including South Korea's Director General Kim Jeong-hwan and US Assistant Secretary of Defense Stephen Welby, held a kick-off meeting in Seoul on the Korea-US collaborative program sponsored by the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry of Energy and

President Park Geun-hye on Wednesday presided over a national science and technology strategy session to discuss future growth dynamos and ways to breathe fresh life into the country's economy.During the session that followed the inaugural one in May, the panel selected nine strategic projects aimed at securing the nation's new growth engines and enhancing the quality of life for the general populace.The panel designated autonomous vehicles, light materials, the smart city model, artificial inte

A science festival showcasing the latest technology and the leading edge in science kicked off in Seoul on Thursday.Hosted by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, the annual Korea Science Festival 2016, the 20th of its kind, commenced its four-day run in southern Seoul.Visitors will be able to experience the development of science technology over the past 50 years, the organizer said.State-of-the-art technology will also allow visitors to see what it could be like in next 100 years,

 South Korea said Tuesday it will hold talks with Switzerland in Seoul this week on promoting bilateral cooperation in three main fields - basic science, industrial technology and life science.The fourth meeting of a related joint committee, slated for Wednesday, coincides with a Seoul trip by Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann for a summit with President Park Geun-hye.The two nations signed an accord on science and technology partnerships in 2008 and launched the committee a year later.Pho

South Korea has approved CHA University's embryonic stem cell research seven years after it submitted the plan, on condition that it abides by high ethical standards, the government said Monday. The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it allowed the research team led by Prof. Lee Dong-ryul to use 600 egg cells in the next five years for the purpose of developing rare disease treatments. The ministry said the conditional approval requires the research team to abide by regulations on collection of

 South Korea has confirmed its seventh Zika virus infection in a man who returned from Guatemala, Seoul health authorities said Sunday.The latest Zika patient was discovered nine days after the sixth case was confirmed here.The 52-year-old man, whose identity has been withheld, tested positive for the mosquito-borne virus after returning home from the Central American country Wednesday, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.The KCDC assured that the man shows no particular sy