The Korea Herald

US researchers study bed bugs' resistance

Oct 20, 2011

US researchers have uncovered the genetic mechanism that bed bugs use to resist powerful insecticides, according to a study, leading to the hope of more effective ways to combat the pests.Bed bugs, which have been largely absent from the United States since the 1950s, have returned in force in the l
UK taxi driver becomes first mummy for 3,000 years

Oct 19, 2011

A former British taxi driver has become the first person in the world for 3,000 years to be mummified in the same way as the pharaohs. Channel Four viewers will see Alan Billis turned into a mummy over the space of a few months as his body is preserved using the techniques which the ancient Egyptian
Disgraced Korean scientist unveils cloned coyotes

Oct 17, 2011

SEOUL, Oct 17, 2011 (AFP) - Disgraced South Korean stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-Suk unveiled eight cloned coyotes Monday in a project sponsored by a provincial government.Hwang delivered the clones to a wild animal shelter at Pyeongtaek, 50 kilometres (35 miles) south of Seoul, in a ceremony chaire
Climate change downsizing fauna, flora: study

Oct 17, 2011

PARIS (AFP) -- Climate change is reducing the body size of many animal and plant species, including some which supply vital nutrition for more than a billion people already living near hunger's threshold, according to a study released Sunday.From micro-organisms to top predators, nearly 45 percent o
1in 6 mobile phones contaminated with fecal bacteria

Oct 16, 2011

One in six mobile phones in Britain is contaminated with faecal matter, ScienceDaily reported Saturday. According to new research released ahead of Global Handwashing Day, the most likely reason for the potentially harmful bacteria festering on so many gadgets is people failing to wash their hands p
Deadly Black Death bug hasn't changed, but we have

Oct 13, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Scientists have cracked the genetic code of the Black Death, one of history's worst plagues, and found that its modern day bacterial descendants haven't changed much over 600 years.Luckily, we have.The evolution of society and medicine _ and our own bodies _ has far outpaced
Mega beats Mimi for world's biggest virus

Oct 11, 2011

PARIS (AFP) - A virus found in the sea off Chile is the biggest in the world, harbouring more than 1,000 genes, surprised scientists reported on Monday.The genome of Megavirus chilensis is 6.5 percent bigger than the DNA code of the previous virus record-holder, Mimivirus, isolated in 2003.Viruses d
Siberian region 'confirms Yeti exists'

Oct 11, 2011

MOSCOW (AFP) - A Russian region in Siberia on Monday confidently proclaimed that its mountains are home to yetis after finding "indisputable proof" of the existence of the hairy beasts in an expedition.The local administration of the Kemerovo region in the south of Siberia said in a statement on its
NASA identifies 90% of largest near-Earth asteroids

Sept 30, 2011

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- If you're worried about a killer asteroid wiping out Earth, NASA has some good news.The space agency said Thursday it has identified more than 90 percent of giant, potentially Earth-threatening asteroids, including ones as big as the one thought to have killed the dinosaurs eons
Three medical students sentenced to prison for sexual abuse

Sept 30, 2011

Three former medical students from one of South Korea's most prestigious universities were sentenced to jail on Friday for sexually harassing an inebriated female schoolmate during a trip. (Yonhap News)The Seoul Central District Court sentenced a 23-year-old male student surnamed Park, one of
'Alarm clock' gene identified

Sept 30, 2011

The human body has a so-called alarm clock gene that wakes up even if one hasn’t set the bedside alarm, U.S. researchers say.Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif., said they identified a new component of the biological clock, a gene responsible for starting the
China launches module for space station

Sept 30, 2011

BEIJING (AP) — China launched an experimental module to lay the groundwork for a future space station on Thursday, underscoring its ambitions to become a major space power over the coming decade.The box car-sized Tiangong-1 module was shot into space from the Jiuquan launch center on the edge
Korea to open world’s 11th super science computing hub

Sept 29, 2011

South Korea will soon open a super science data computing hub capable of processing more than 20 petabytes of information, joining a select group of 10 countries that operate such a facility, the science ministry said Thursday.The new Global Science Experimental Data Hub Center (GSDC) will begin ser
Another satellite set to plunge to Earth

Sept 28, 2011

A German astronomy satellite is set to plunge uncontrolled back to Earth in late in October, or early in November, CBS reported.This comes just days after the 20-year-old Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite entered Earth's atmosphere and plunged into the southern Pacific Ocean.While slightly smaller
Scientists confirm cytotoxicity of nanoparticles

Sept 28, 2011

A group of South Korean scientists has identified the negative effects of magnetic nanoparticles on human cells, a finding that urges the development of new nanoparticles that are safe to humans, the science ministry said Wednesday.According to the study, led by Chae Kwon-seok and Jang Yong-min, bot