The Korea Herald

Could exoplanet be a haven for life?

May 17, 2011

Scientists said on Monday a rocky world orbiting a nearby star was confirmed as the first planet outside our solar system to meet key requirements for sustaining life.Modelling of planet Gliese 581d shows it has the potential to be warm and wet enough to nurture Earth-like life, they said.It orbits a red dwarf star called Gliese 581, located around 20 light years from Earth, which makes it one of
Blood test tells you how long you will live

May 16, 2011

(MCT)A $700 blood test that tells someone’s biological age will go on sale in Britain later this year, the Independent reported Monday.The test will be able to offer the possibility of estimating how long the person has left to live by measuring telomeres on the tip of their chromosomes, the most important and accurate indicators of how rapidly someone is aging. However, critics worry that it can
Sleep loss promotes weight gain

May 16, 2011

A new study confirmed that sleep loss can contribute to weight gain by not only by boosting hunger but also slowing down the burning of calories.The research led by Christian Benedict of the Uppsala University in Sweden was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The finding indicated that sleep deprivation appears to put a drag on metabolism, causing the body to use less energy.
Jupiter moon has 'ocean' of molten rock

May 13, 2011

WASHINGTON (AFP) – A moon of Jupiter is the only place other than Earth in our solar system where volcanoes occur, and scientists have found an ocean of magma beneath its surface that feed its potent eruptions.Io is the most volcanic object known in the solar system, producing 100 times more lava than Earth, and data from NASA's Galileo spacecraft has shed new light on how that happens, said the
S. Korean woman dies from unidentified virus

May 10, 2011

A South Korean woman died on Monday at a Seoul hospital of pneumonia caused by an unidentified virus, the disease control agency said.The 36-year-old woman died in the morning in the intensive care unit at the hospital after being admitted last month for tuberculosis, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). The death marks the first mortality here caused by an unidentified virus, it sai
Darwin's travels may have led to illness, death

May 9, 2011

Charles Darwin (AP-Yonhap News) BALTIMORE (AP) -- The very travels that inspired Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and shaped modern biology may have led to one of the illnesses that plagued the British naturalist for decades and ultimately led to his death, modern researchers say. Darwin's ailments are the topic of an annual conference in Baltimore on Friday that offers modern medical diag
Satisfaction depends on length of “happiness gene”

May 8, 2011

A person’s happiness and satisfaction in life depends on the form of a specific gene they have, a research conducted by a behavioral economist of the London School of Economics and Political Science showed. The research reported on by the U.K.’s Press Association found out a strong link between the “5-HTT” gene and happiness by analyzing genetic data from more than 2,500 participants. They were as
Rare fish costs almost as much as a car

May 6, 2011

(ANN/China Daily)A red dragon fish, costing almost as much as a BMW, is available at a shop in Chengdu, Sichuan province.The fish, which comes from Indonesia, is 55-centimeters long and weighs 1.5 kilograms. Its scales and fins are pepper red, which is rare, as most dragon fish are usually yellow or silver.If any fish fans are interested, the price is 360,000 yuan ($55,400). The rare fish is also
How coffee and blowing your nose can be harmful

May 6, 2011

(MCT)Researchers from Netherland have found 8 factors that may raise the risk of burst aneurysms in the brains of certain people. University Medical Center in Utrecht conducted the research on some 250 patients for three years to find risk factors that increase blood pressure over short periods which can lead to burst blood vessels. 　Aneurysms are swollen arteries. They usually do not cause a seri
Left-handers more likely to be fearful

May 3, 2011

(MCT)Left-handed people feel more fear than right-handers, recent research revealed. In a test reported by the Telegraph Sunday, people were asked to watch an eight-minute video clip from “Silence of the Lambs” and recall scenes from the horror thriller. The left-handed participants remembered only fragments of the scenes and their descriptions about them were filled with more repetition, showing
Eagle has phantom pregnancy

May 3, 2011

The eagle, thought to be having a phantom pregnancy, has sat on pebbles since last month at the shelter of a bird protection organization. (Yonhap News)An eagle, which never made it home due to a broken wing, is thought to be having a phantom pregnancy as it incubates pebbles instead of eggs, domestic reports said Monday. The eagle migrated to Korea 10 years ago from Mongolia to spend winter here
Male doctors more likely to misbehave: study

May 2, 2011

(MCT)SYDNEY (AFP) - Male doctors are four times more likely to be disciplined for misconduct than female medics, according to a new Australian study which found the biggest cause of complaint was sexual misbehavior.Researchers at the University of Melbourne analyzed 485 cases where doctors had been found guilty of misconduct and disciplined in Australia and New Zealand between 2000 and 2009.They f
Jesus problem led Russian genius to Poincare

Apr 29, 2011

MOSCOW, (AFP) - The reclusive Russian maths genius who solved one of the world's most perplexing mysteries said in a rare interview Thursday that he began his training by figuring out how Jesus walked on water.Grigory Perelman shot to international fame by solving the seemingly intractable Poincare conjecture and then turning down the million-dollar prize awarded in the mathematics world's version
Baldness-busting bot helps men keep their hair

Apr 28, 2011

Good news for those who are losing hair day by day: A robot that brings your follicles back to life is now ready for sale. (MCT)The machine called Artas System, which identifies and harvests follicular units, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for commercial use. Its developer, Restoration Robotics, claims that it can extract 750 to 1000 follicles per hour, an upgraded ve
Bioethics body approves first embryonic stem cell test

Apr 27, 2011

A clinical test using embryonic stem cells was approved for the first time in Korea on Wednesday. 　The National Bioethics Committee said it had approved CHA Bio & Diostech’s request to conduct a clinical test using embryonic stem cell in treating macular degeneration which can lead to sight loss. 　The test in particular will be conducted to prove the stem cells’ effect on Stargardt’s Macular Dystr