The Korea Herald

Sitting less may extend American lives: study

Jul 10, 2012

(123rf)American adults may boost their life expectancy by two years by sitting for fewer than three hours a day, researchers said Tuesday, while admitting this was a tough task.Reducing television viewing to under two hours a day could similarly add1.4 years, the US team said in a paper in the online journal BMJ Open.A recent study found that US adults spend about 7.7 hours per day engaged in "s
‘Irreplaceable’ dinosaur fossil destroyed

Jul 10, 2012

An “irreplaceable” dinosaur fossil destroyed at a dig in western Canada is the fourth fossil to be damaged in the last two months, a paleontologist says.The skeleton of a duck-billed Hadrosaur was discovered in Alberta June 15 by paleontologist Phil Bell and a team from the University of Alberta, CBC News reported.At that time, the fossil was partially uncovered by the team and then reburied so it could be removed from the site in mid-July.When Bell visited the site Thursday, he discovered the 3
Math anxiety higher in girls than in boys?

Jul 10, 2012

More girls than boys are likely to experience math anxiety that may hurt their classroom performance in the subject, British researchers say.High math anxiety was a stronger predictor of poor test performance for girls than for boys, researchers from Cambridge and Oxford Universities said -- and could keep girls from persisting with their math education and pursuing careers that require quantitati
Sounds of Northern Lights confirmed

Jul 10, 2012

(123rf)Sounds associated with auroras, or northern lights, described in folktales and by wilderness wanderers, have been confirmed by Finnish researchers.Scientists at Aalto University using microphones determined the crackles or muffled bangs are formed about 70 meters above ground level."Our research proved that, during the occurrence of the northern lights, people can hear natural auroral sound
NASA Mars images 'next best thing to being there'

Jul 9, 2012

The U.S. space agency NASA has recently pieced together a panoramic view from the camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, calling it the "next best thing to being" on the Red Planet.The full-circle scene fuses together 817 images taken by the mast-mounted panoramic camera (Pancam) on the Opportunity over a four-month period, showing new rover tracks and an old impact crater.The panor
Study shows spaceflight may ‘slow aging’

Jul 9, 2012

A group of international researchers found that spaceflight may extend the lifespan of a certain type of microscopic worm, providing clues to better understand how to survive in space and opening up possibilities for deep-space exploration.A team of scientists led by Nathaniel Szewczyk from Nottingham University found that the metabolism of Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) changes in space in order to "adapt to the new environment," according to a report on Science Daily.“We identified seven
Scientist: Aliens may be big jellyfish

Jul 8, 2012

A British space expert says alien life forms might be large jellyfish-like creatures with organs that ingest atmospheric chemicals for nutrition.Maggie Aderin-Pocock, who works for European space company Astrium, described her vision of what might have evolved on the Saturnian moon Titan for Science Month, a project by the TV channel Eden, the Belfast Telegraph reported. She also worked with an artist to visualize the aliens.She said she was inspired partly by studying ocean life forms.“Our imag
‘Irreplaceable’ dinosaur fossil destroyed

Jul 8, 2012

An “irreplaceable” dinosaur fossil destroyed at a dig in western Canada is the fourth fossil to be damaged in the last two months, a paleontologist says.The skeleton of a duck-billed Hadrosaur was discovered in Alberta June 15 by paleontologist Phil Bell and a team from the University of Alberta, CBC News reported.At that time, the fossil was partially uncovered by the team and then reburied so it could be removed from the site in mid-July.When Bell visited the site Thursday, he discovered the 3
Star pair orbits surprise astronomers

Jul 6, 2012

Astronomers using a British telescope in Hawaii say they've seen four pairs of stars, known as binaries, that orbit each other closer than was thought possible.While binary stars are common, believed to have formed close together and orbiting each other since birth, it was always thought that if binary stars form too close to each other, they would quickly merge into one single, bigger star.Observ
South Korea plans to resume whaling for research

Jul 6, 2012

South Korea plans to resume hunting whales for research purposes, officials said Thursday, drawing immediate protests from non-whaling nations and environment groups that suspect the plans may be a cover for commercial whaling.South Korean officials conveyed the plan to the International Whaling Commission during an IWC meeting this week in Panama, according to Seoul's Ministry for Food, Agricultu
Seabirds studied for clues to human aging

Jul 5, 2012

Canadian researchers say they're studying diving seabirds in Hudson Bay to better understand the aging process.Brunnich's guillemots reach their 30s and then die quickly and suddenly, showing few signs of aging prior to death.The guillemots, which look similar to penguins, expend substantial energy when diving. Researchers say their high metabolism and frequent dives should produce oxidative stres
Higgs-like particle found in 'milestone' for mankind

Jul 4, 2012

(MCT)After a quest spanning nearly half a century, physicists on Wednesday said they had found a new sub-atomic particle consistent with the Higgs boson which is believed to confer mass.Rousing cheers and a standing ovation broke out at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) after scientists presented data in their long search for the mysterious particle.The new find is "consistent
Dinosaur feathers revise image as lizards

Jul 4, 2012

A well-preserved squirrel-tailed dinosaur fossil found in Germany suggests all dinosaurs had some sort of feathers, a researcher said.The 150-million-year-old fossil found in a Bavarian limestone quarry dubbed Sciurumimus albersdoerferi was likely a young megalosaur, a group of large, two-legged meat-eating dinosaurs, National Geographic reported Monday.“I was overwhelmed when I first saw it. Even apart from the preservation of feathers, this is certainly one of the most beautiful dinosaur fossi
Sunken city near U.K. to be unveiled

Jul 3, 2012

(123rf)A U.K. news report said scientists on Tuesday will reveal Britain’s answer to the fabled sunken city of Atlantis.The story behind "Doggerland" -- a land that was slowly submerged by water between 18,000 B.C. and 5,500 B.C. -- will be unveiled at the annual Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition.Doggerland supposedly stretched from Northern Scotland across to Denmark and down the English Ch
DNA test identifies descendant of world’s first woman

Jul 3, 2012

A DNA test on a Scottish man revealed that he is directly related to the world’s first woman, British media reported Saturday.A 72-year-old retired lecturer, Ian Kinnaird, carries a genetic marker L1B1 that links him directly to “Eve,” the first-ever woman who is assumed to have lived in Africa about 190,000 years ago. Scientists believe that Kinnaird has maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA which is only two mutations removed from Eve, who was nicknamed after the first woman created by God in