The Korea Herald

Eating only meat may lead to sweet taste loss

Mar 13, 2012

A group of U.S. scientists found that several species of mammals that only eat meat have evolved to lose their ability to taste things that are sweet, Science Daily reported Monday. In a previous study, researchers from Monell Chemical Senses Center found that domestic and wild cats, which live exclusively on meat, are unable to taste sweet compounds to genetic defects. To determine if their diet was related to loss of taste, the Monell team then examined the sweet taste receptor genes from 12 r
Venus and Jupiter cuddling up in night sky

Mar 13, 2012

It's not too late to catch the spectacular Venus and Jupiter show.On Monday and Tuesday evenings, the planets will appear just 3 degrees apart in the western sky. The gap has been narrowing since last month.The two planets are visible every night at twilight. Venus is brighter because of its relativ
Proposed ‘nuclear’ clock most accurate?

Mar 9, 2012

A clock tied to the orbiting of an atom’s neutron could gain or lose less than a second in 14 billion years, the age of the universe, Australian scientists say.“This is nearly 100 times more accurate than the best atomic clocks we have now,” said one of the researchers proposing such a “nuclear” clo
Space weather storm fizzles on arrival

Mar 9, 2012

A picture taken late on March 7, 2012 of northern lights in Abisko, Swedish Lapland. (AFP)A space weather storm that was forecast to be the strongest in five years has fizzled out and ended up causing no impact to power grids or modern navigation systems, US experts said on Thursday.A series of erup
Antimatter atom measured for the first time

Mar 8, 2012

Scientists have succeeded in measuring an atom made of antimatter for the first time ever, marking a giant step toward finding out how universe is formed, livescience.com reported Wednesday.According to scientists all particles of matter have antimatter partners with equal mass and opposite charge. When the two parts meet, they destroy each other and become pure energy.However, measuring antimatter had been impossible since universe is made of matter. It is thought that the universe contained eq
Seoul begins review for third space rocket launch

Mar 8, 2012

A panel of experts will start reviewing launch plans for the country’s first space rocket this week, which could help set a specific blastoff date, the government said Thursday.A review committee will hold its first meeting Friday after the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology filed its request for a launch late last month.The ministry said earlier that the launch, which will be the third of its kind, will likely take place before October. The first two launches of South Korea’s first l
Earth braces for biggest space storm in five years

Mar 8, 2012

The biggest space weather storm in five years is hurtling toward Earth, threatening to disrupt power grids, GPS systems, satellites and airline flights, experts say. (Yonghap News) The brunt of the stor
World first: Images of atoms moving in a molecule

Mar 8, 2012

Laser-induced electron diffractionScientists on Wednesday said they had recorded the first real-time images of atoms moving in a molecule, a feat that captured movement lasting less than one millionth of a billionth of a second.The exploit entailed directing an ultra-fast laser onto molecules of nit
Ape genes show we have gorillas in our midst

Mar 8, 2012

Our ancestors made the evolutionary split with gorillas around 10 million years ago, but we still share a remarkable number of genes with the great ape, according to a groundbreaking study published on Wednesday. A worldwide consortium of scientists sequenced the genome of the western lowland gor
World first: Images of atoms moving in a molecule

Mar 8, 2012

Scientists on Wednesday said they had recorded the first real-time images of atoms moving in a molecule, a feat that captured movement lasting less than one millionth of a billionth of a second.The exploit entailed directing an ultra-fast laser onto molecules of nitrogen and of oxygen. Its pulse of
US studies confirm Europe close on 'God particle'

Mar 7, 2012

More scientists are getting closer in the search for the ``God particle'' of physics that would help explain the fundamentals of the universe, but they haven't found it yet. In the hunt for the Higgs boson, which is key to understanding why matter has mass, two teams of physi
New findings of asteroid impact

Mar 7, 2012

Scientists claim they found evidence indicating a major cosmic impact on Earth 12,900 years ago. An international team of researchers, including James Kennett, professor of earth science at UC Santa Barbara, uncovered an almost 13,000-year-old layer of dark sediment beneath Lake Cuitzeo in central Mexico containing materials than can “form only through cosmic impact.”The nanodiamonds and spherules identified in the sediment layer show features that could not have formed through anthropogenic, vo
Scientists find cancer gene may boost health, weight loss

Mar 7, 2012

A potential ground breaking discovery was made when a new research project revealed that mice with an extra dose of a known anti-cancer gene can live a longer, cancer-free life while eating more and staying fitter than others without the gene. Spanish scientists found that not only did mice with an extra copy of the gene known as Phosphatase and tensin homolog(Pten) not get cancer, but also were leaner compared to the control group of mice who ate less, Science Daily reported Tuesday.This sugges
Moon to blame for sinking of Titanic?

Mar 7, 2012

While no one denies an iceberg sank the liner Titanic 100 year ago, there may have been another culprit that put it there, U.S. scientists say -- the moon. Researchers at Texas State University say a once-in-a-lifetime celestial lineup of the sun, the Earth and the moon three months before the si
Antimatter atom measured for the first Time

Mar 6, 2012

Scientists have succeeded in measuring an atom made of antimatter for the first time ever, marking a giant step toward finding out how universe is formed, livescience.com reported Wednesday. Stars and nebulas in outer spaceAccording to scientists all particles of matter have antimatter partners