The Korea Herald

Study: Clouds losing altitude globally

Feb 24, 2012

Researchers say the sky is falling, after a fashion, as data from a U.S. satellite show clouds around the world are losing altitude.If future observations confirm that as a trend, it could have an important effect on global climate change, they said.“We don’t know exactly what causes the cloud heigh
S. Korean scientists develop enhanced container for hydrogen fuel

Feb 23, 2012

South Korean scientists have developed an enhanced material to contain hydrogen fuel that could significantly reduce the size of containers while holding more fuel, the government said Thursday.The new material could help speed up the development of hydrogen-fuel cars while improving the efficiency and overall competitiveness of such vehicles, as it will help reduce the size of fuel tanks, according to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. The ministry partly funded the research by
Study: Y chromosome not going 'extinct'

Feb 23, 2012

A study has contradicted the notion the male sex-determining Y chromosome is steadily shedding genes and is doomed to degenerate, U.S. researchers say. In a 2002 article in Nature, two Australian researchers examined the rate at which the Y has withered and estimated it "will self-destruct in aro
Going up: Japan builder eyes space elevator

Feb 22, 2012

(The International Space Elevator Consortium)(Obayashi Corp.)A Japanese construction firm claimed Wednesday it could execute an out-of-this-world plan to put tourists in space within 40 years by building an elevator that stretches a quarter of the way to the moon.Obayashi Corp claims it could use ca
U.S. scientists discover new ‘waterworld’ planet

Feb 22, 2012

(123rf image) Artist’s rendition of GJ1214b (AFP-Yonhap News)An astronaut attempting to visit recently discovered planet GJ1214b would land in hot water -- literally, U.S. scientists say.Researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics said they have identified an entirely new k
Scientists regenerate a plant -- 30,000 years later

Feb 21, 2012

Flowers from Silene stenophylla plant, which was regenerated after 31,800 years. (PNAS-Yonhap News)Fruit seeds stored away by squirrels more than 30,000 years ago and found in Siberian permafrost have been regenerated into full flowering plants by scientists in Russia, a new study has revealed.The s
'Military can make you less agreeable'

Feb 20, 2012

A research by a Washington University team found that serving in the military negatively affect a person’s agreeableness for a long time, the Science Daily reported Friday.It is well known that battlefield trauma can leave war veterans with deep lasting psychological scars, but the new finding sheds light on the fact that an individual’s personality can change even for soldiers who never see combat.The study showed that men who do military service tend to score lower in terms of agreeableness th
South Korean scientists find new anti-cancer agent

Feb 20, 2012

South Korean scientists have discovered a new anti-cancer agent that may offer a new and safe way to treat cancer without the side effects of anti-cancer drugs, as the substance already exists in human bodies, the science ministry said Monday.A team led by Prof. Kim Sung-hoon of Seoul National University has confirmed anti-cancer activities of Glycyl-tRNA synthetase (GRS), an enzyme that was previously only known to interact with other bodily substances to create protein, according to the Minist
First test-tube hamburger ready this fall: researchers

Feb 20, 2012

The world's first "test-tube" meat, a hamburger made from a cow's stem cells, will be produced this fall, Dutch scientist Mark Post told a major science conference on Sunday.Post's aim is to invent an efficient way to produce skeletal muscle tissue in a laboratory that exactly mimics meat, and event
Study: Goats can develop 'accents'

Feb 19, 2012

MCTGoats, like people, can develop accents based on their surroundings, a British university study indicates.Until now, experts assumed most species' "voices" were dictated exclusively by genetics and not their surroundings. Exceptions were thought to be limited to humans, elephants, dolphins whales
Remote-controlled chip implant delivers bone drug

Feb 17, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Medication via remote-control instead of a shot? Scientists implanted microchips in seven women that did just that, oozing out the right dose of a bone-strengthening drug once a day without them even noticing.Implanted medicine is a hot field, aiming to help patients better stick
U.S. military seek to weaponize ‘battlefield illusions’

Feb 16, 2012

The United States military’s technology division is pushing to use “battlefield illusions” to confuse enemy troops, Britain’s Daily Mail reported Wednesday.The new project by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency works like existing measures that distract radar systems. The difference is that it works on people instead of machines, causing audio and visual hallucinations. By studying how the brain processes sensory input, DARPA said it aims to “demonstrate and assess the operational effe
'Invisibility' cloak could protect buildings from quakes

Feb 15, 2012

University of Manchester mathematicians have developed the theory for a Harry Potter style 'cloaking' device which could protect buildings from earthquakes.Dr William Parnell's team in the University's School of Mathematics have been working on the theory of invisibility cloaks which, until recently
Missing dark matter located in space

Feb 15, 2012

Researchers at the University of Tokyo’s Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe and Nagoya University used large-scale computer simulations and recent observational data of gravitational lensing to reveal how dark matter is distributed around galaxies. A computer simulation s
New finding suggests ‘super-Earth’ may be lifeless after all

Feb 14, 2012

Astronomers have discovered several candidates of so called “super-Earth,” potentially habitable planets outside solar system, raising anticipation to find extraterrestrial life forms.However, new study indicates such planets may be dry despite ideal distance to their stars.According to a research p