The Korea Herald

Scientists develop new stem cell tech

Oct 16, 2012

Korean scientists reported a breakthrough technology that can more efficiently and safely reprogram adult cells to an embryo-like state, where they can grow into organs. The two research teams led by professor Park Se-pill at Jeju National University Stem Cell Research Center and Mirae Biotech succeeded in generating induced pluripotent stem cells using non-viral vectors of nanoparticles and liposomal magnetofection. Non-viral vectors usually consist of DNA that can be delivered to a target cell
Mystery of giant eyeball solved

Oct 16, 2012

(UPI)A mystery giant eyeball that washed up on a Florida beach last week most likely came from a large swordfish, scientists say.Cut marks on the eyeball suggest it was cut out of the fish's head at sea by a fisherman who then tossed it overboard, NBC News reported Monday.There had been speculation the eye might have come from a giant squid or even a whale, but officials at the Florida Fish and Wi
Distant planet found circling with 4 stars

Oct 16, 2012

(Haven Giguere/Yale University-UPI)Two U.S. citizen scientists have discovered a planet in a system with four different suns, the first known of its type, U.S. and British astronomers say.The distant planet orbits one pair of stars while a second pair of stars orbits around it, they said.The planet was discovered by two U.S. volunteers using the Planethunters.org website who spotted faint dips in
Korean researchers find gene linked to Alzheimer’s

Oct 15, 2012

Korea researchers said they have identified a gene that produces neurotoxic components in Alzheimer’s disease, in a step forward to finding a cure for the degenerative brain disease. The state-run Korea National Institute of Health said on Monday that a team led by Dr. Koh Young-ho at its biomedical science division found small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO) 1 protein.The team found in lab testing with mice that SUMO1 integrates with BACE1, a key enzyme which accelerates the production and de
Gov’t building arson highlights dispute on ’evolution in textbooks’

Oct 15, 2012

An arsonist who torched a government office room and fell off a building to his death on Sunday had criticized the government in the past for “trying to remove the theory of evolution from textbooks,” highlighting a year-long feud between evolutionists and creationists in South Korea.The 61-year-old man, identified only by his surname Kim, claimed in his personal blog that the Education Ministry “had taken sides” with the Society for Textbook Revise, a group of mostly Christians which seeks to d
Scientists: Moon not bone dry

Oct 15, 2012

(123rf)The moon is covered with soil containing a water substructure created by the constant stream of charged particles coming from the sun, U.S. researchers say.The substructure, known as a hydroxyl, consists of one atom of hydrogen and one of oxygen, or OH, rather than two of hydrogen and one of oxygen, or H2O, the researchers from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, University of Michiga
Moms-to-be stress linked to depression

Oct 15, 2012

NEW ORLEANS (UPI) -- Chronic stress during pregnancy prevents brain benefits of motherhood in rats, a finding that suggests a link to postpartum depression, U.S. researchers say.Lead author Benedetta Leuner of Ohio State University in Columbus said the study showed an increase of dendritic spines in new mothers‘ brains was associated with improved cognitive function on a task that requires behavio
Study: Brain reacts to unpleasant sounds

Oct 15, 2012

Increased activity between two separate parts of the brain explains why the sound of chalk on a blackboard is so unpleasant, British researchers say.Newcastle University scientists said the interaction between the region of the brain that processes sound, the auditory cortex, and the amygdala, which is active in the processing of negative emotions, is heightened when people hear unpleasant sounds.The amygdala modulates the response of the auditory cortex and the amplified activity provokes our n
Local team identifies new step in RNA synthesis

Oct 14, 2012

A team of Seoul National University scientists discovered a previously unknown step in the process of producing a type of RNA molecule.The team, led by professor Kim V-narry of Seoul National University who is a well-known name in biochemical circles, discovered a new step in the process of producing a specific type of microRNA known as let-7. The findings were published in the online edition of the biological journal The Cell. In 2008 she was awarded the L’Oreal-UNESCO Women in Science Award, a
Scientists see volcanic eruption 'trigger'

Oct 14, 2012

(AP)British scientists say they have identified a repeating underground trigger for the largest explosive volcanic eruptions on Earth.Researchers from the University of Southampton have been studying the Las Canadas volcanic caldera on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, which has generated at least eight major eruptions during the last 700,000 years.These catastrophic events have created eruption col
Moriguchi's claims of iPS treatment baseless

Oct 14, 2012

The Yomiuri Shimbun concluded Friday that a Japanese researcher's claim that his team had successfully conducted the world's first clinical application of induced pluripotent stem cells was false and that its reports based on the man's accounts were incorrect.Hisashi Moriguchi, 48, who claimed to be a visiting lecturer at Harvard University, told The Yomiuri Shimbun that a Harvard University team
Mystery giant eyeball found on Fla. beach

Oct 14, 2012

(FWCC- UPI)A giant eyeball that washed up on a Florida beach this week is probably that of a large squid, wildlife experts said of the softball-size peeper.The mysterious eye washed up on Pompano Beach where it was found by a beachcomber who gave it to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on Wednesday, National Geographic reported.FWCC scientists put the impressive eye on ice and
Brain scan can predict reading skills

Oct 12, 2012

Brain scans can predict children‘s reading ability and the finding may eventually influence the way pre-elementary children learn to read, U.S. researchers say.Scientists at Stanford University scanned the brain anatomy of 39 children once a year for three consecutive years. The students then took standardized tests to gauge their cognitive, language and reading skills.In each case the rate of dev
Distant planet may be mostly diamond

Oct 12, 2012

llustration of the interior of 55 Cancri e — an extremely hot planet with a surface of mostly graphite surrounding a thick layer of diamond, below which is a layer of silicon-based minerals and a molten iron core at the center. (Haven Giguere)A rocky planet twice Earth's size orbiting a nearby star in our Milky Way galaxy is partly made of diamond, U.S. astronomers say.Scientists at Yale Universit
NASA releases dramatic nebula images

Oct 12, 2012

The first systematic survey of planetary nebulas in our cosmic neighborhood has produced a galley of striking images of distant dying stars, NASA says.Images of four planetary nebulas have been released from the first survey of such objects made with NASA‘s orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory.They are part of a survey of 21 planetary nebulas within about 5,000 light years of the Earth, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Mass., reported Thursday.The observatory controls Chandr