The Korea Herald

Korea’s third rocket launch attempt set for October

Jun 3, 2012

Despite two previous failures, Korea is gearing up to launch the country’s first rocket from its own territory in October, a top government official confirmed.Minister of Education, Science and Technology Lee Ju-ho said on Friday that the first stage of the KSLV-1 launch vehicle has been completed and will be delivered from Russia to Korea before the end of August. Lee made the comment after visiting Russia’s Khrunichev Space Center in Moscow, which designed and assembled the lower part of the s
Going green pays off

Jun 3, 2012

The world needs a green transition. That is crucial to our children’s and grandchildren’s welfare and well-being. In 2030, the world will have 3 billion more middle-class consumers than today, which will put massive pressure on the Earth’s resources and place serious strain on the climate and environment. There is no way around a new growth strategy. We need a smart new growth strategy where we create jobs through commercial solutions to the Earth’s resource problems. Smart growth can only be cr
Arctic ice sheets may provide clues in searching for alien life

Jun 3, 2012

U.S. scientists are studying sheets Arctic ice sheets, looking for evidence that can help them find alien microorganisms that may have evolved in the Solar System.A group of researchers, led by environmental biogeochemist Jeffrey White from Indiana University, looked at glaciers in Greenland to study the methane released by methanogenic microbes. By analyzing the methane emissions, White and his
Arctic ice sheets may provide clues in searching for alien life

Jun 1, 2012

U.S. scientists are studying sheets Arctic ice sheets, looking for evidence that can help them find alien microorganisms that may have evolved in the Solar System.A group of researchers, led by environmental biogeochemist Jeffrey White from Indiana University, looked at glaciers in Greenland to study the methane released by methanogenic microbes. By analyzing the methane emissions, White and his colleagues found out that a variety of microbes have emitted the methane discovered at the area, indi
Future galaxy collision predicted

Jun 1, 2012

U.S. astronomers are forecasting the Milky Way will have a violent collision with the neighboring Andromeda galaxy in about 4 billion years.The encounter will result in a major makeover for our galaxy, NASA astronomers said, that will see the sun flung into a new area of the Milky Way. However, Earth and the rest of the solar system will be in no danger of being destroyed, a NASA release said Thur
Baby bird found with 2 heads, 3 beaks

Jun 1, 2012

(UPI)A Massachusetts woman said she investigated bird sounds in her yard and discovered a baby cardinal with two heads and three beaks.April Britt of Northampton said she and her husband followed the sounds of squawking birds in their back yard to a tree where they discovered the baby female cardinal with the unusual deformities, WGGB-TV, Springfield, reported Thursday."My husband says, 'Oh my God
'Bloodletting' may be beneficial

May 31, 2012

Bloodletting as a medical treatment was abandoned in the 19th century, but German researchers said blood donation is beneficial to the donor.Professor Andreas Michalsen of the Charite-University Medical Centre in Berlin and colleagues at the University Duisburg-Essen said donating blood can provide medical benefits for obese people with metabolic syndrome -- which includes insulin resistance, glu
Scientists decode tomato genome

May 31, 2012

Scientists have sequenced the entire genome of the tomato in an international project that promises enhanced versions of the fruit.The study, published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, has been conducted since 2004 by more than 300 scientists from 14 countries including a Korean team that mapped out one of the 12 chromosomes.“We have identified 35,000 genes in the tomato genome. This will be of
Americans' skulls getting bigger over time

May 31, 2012

American heads are getting larger although it's unclear why that is happening, forensic anthropologists at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, said.Examining 1,500 skulls dating back to the mid-1800s through the mid-1980s, the researchers found U.S. skulls have become larger, taller and narrower as seen from the front and faces have become significantly narrower and higher, a UT release report
New theory addresses frozen Earth paradox

May 31, 2012

A U.S. scientist says he has a theory why a much fainter sun 2 billion years ago didn't leave a frozen Earth unfit to develop the kind of life we see today.Why the Earth avoided the deep freeze in what has been dubbed the Faint Young Sun Paradox is a much-debated question among scientists, but Purdue University's David Minton says he believes he might have an answer."If you go back in time to abou
New-found asteroid whizz by Earth, no danger

May 30, 2012

A small asteroid had a close encounter with Earth on Tuesday, according to NASA scientists.The 5-meter space rock, called 2012 KP42, was not spotted until a day before it came within 14,400 kilometers of Earth. Its closest approach to Earth was less than one-26th of the average distance between the planet and the moon, which is 386,000 kilometers.However, given its diminutive size, experts say it was unlikely to cause significant damage to the Earth anyway. The close call on Tuesday came only a
Occupy stone street? Study shows Inequality dates back to stone age

May 30, 2012

Scientists found that hereditary inequality began over 7,000 years ago by looking at human skeletons buried during the early Neolithic era, Science Daily and BBC reported Monday.The study, conducted by archaeologists from universities of Bristol, Oxford and Cardiff found that ancient people that were buried with tools had better access to preferred farmlands than those without. Researchers used strontium isotope analysis that lets them know the skeletons’ place of origin. Since the people with t
New R&D center to study smart IT convergence

May 29, 2012

A new research and development center will open on Wednesday devoted to the convergence of information technology with biology, nano-science and other cutting edge fields.The Center for Integrated Smart Sensors in Daejeon is supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. Under the ministry’s “Global Frontier” project aimed at securing world-leading original technologies by 2020, seven R&D centers have been set up since 2010.The new lab will develop nano-scale devices, sensor sys
State regulations hamper innovation: Wikipedia founder

May 29, 2012

The government should “keep out of the way” if it wants more people to come out with innovative ideas and start new businesses, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales said Tuesday.“The most important thing in the government’s policy about start-ups is how to get the government out of the way,” said the pioneer of the free encyclopedia.Wales was invited to give a special speech to the young Korean entrepreneurs at the 2012 Venture-Startup Festival held at Seoul National University.Wales claimed that in
Pointy faces are perceived negatively

May 29, 2012

The simple geometric features of a downward-pointing triangle can make us feel threatened, scientists have revealed.Researchers from Warwick University asked thirty volunteers to rate hundreds of pictures of faces that were surrounded by large triangles.When a downward-pointing triangle appeared, people were more hesitant to identify the face as positive.“Our study shows downward-pointing triangles in particular convey negative emotions and we pick up on them quickly and perceive them as a threa