미국식품의약국(FDA)은 유전성 망막질환인 색소성 망막염 으로 잃은 시력을 일부 회복시킬 수 있는 최초의 인공망막 '아르구스-2'(Argus  II) 를 14일 승인했다.이 인공망막은 안경에 장치한 소형 비디오 카메라와 송신기를 통해 망막에 삽입 된 전극판에 무선으로 영상을 보내 이를 다시 뇌에 전달하는 망막 보철장치이다.이 인공망막은 그러나 환자의 시력을 완전히 회복시킬 수는 없으며 어둠과 밝음을 구분하고 물체의 형상을 감지할 수 있어 일상생활을 하는 데 큰 도움이 될 것이라고 FDA는 밝혔다.FDA는 이 인공망막 사용범위를 색소성 망막염이 상당히 진행된 25세 이상 환자로 빛은 보이지만 그 빛의 출처를 구분하지 못하는 경우와 빛은 볼 수 없지만 망막 기능이 일부 남아있고 실명 전에 물체의 기본적인 형태와 모양을 구분할 수 있었던 경우로 제한했다.따라서 약 10만 명으로 추산되는 미국의 색소성 망막증 환자 중 4천 명 정도가 이를 사용할 수 있을 것으로 예상된다.환자 30명을 대상

마힌드라의 고엥카 사장이 보는 쌍용차의 미래는 밝았다. "그러니까 투자하는 거다. 당분간 우리에게 출구전략은 없다." 마힌드라의 자동차부문 사장이자 쌍용차 이사회 의장인 파완 고엔카가 코리아 헤럴드에 밝혔다.고엔카 사장은 현재 쌍용차 이사회를 위해 방한중이며, 오늘 쌍용차측에 3자 배당 방식을 통해 800억원을 투자한다고 발표했다. 또, 2014년 만기인 954억원의 채권 만기를 2015년까지 연장하기로 했다.고엔카 사장은 800억원이라는 자금이 소송 등 과거 문제에 사용되어서는 안 되며, 미래제품 개발과 설비투자에만 사용되어야한다고 못을 박았다. 최근의 무급휴직자 전원 재고용도 회사 입장에서는 비용이라고 주장하며, 향후에 쌍용차가 흑자전환을 해야만 더 많은 투자가 이루어질 수 있다고 말했다. 이유일 대표도, 마힌드라 투자 이전에 벌어진 사항에 대한 정치권과 노동계의 압박은 옳지 않다며, "그런 불필요한 논쟁은 안 했으면 하는게 마힌드라 측의 생각,"이라고 밝혔다.(코리아헤럴드 김지

South Korea's defense ministry vowed Wednesday to speed up building an integrated air and missile system, and secure missile capability to hit all parts of North Korea to counter threats from North Korea, which is building up its nuclear arsenal. Seoul has been making efforts to improve its missile capacity following the revision of a missile guideline in October 2012, but calls for improved security measures have heightened after Pyongyang launched a long-range missile and conducted its third a

Delivering the first State of the Union address of his second term, U.S. President Barack Obama said Tuesday that his administration will strengthen missile defense against North Korean threats.Citing North Korea's nuclear test earlier this week, Obama said such a provocative act will only deepen the communist nation's isolation. "America will continue to lead the effort to prevent the spread of the world's most dangerous weapons," he said in a speech at Capitol Hill. "The regime in North Korea

U.S. President Barack Obama is announcing plans to scale back troops from Afghanistan and boost the U.S. economy as he delivers a closely watched State of the Union address laying out his priorities for the year ahead and for his newly begun second term in office.The speech before a joint session of Congress' two chambers is expected to be dominated by domestic issues such as jobs, taxes and spending. But foreign policy priorities interjected in the hours before the speech, with North Korea anno

The traditional Korean marital art of taekwondo will remain an Olympic sport for the foreseeable future after surviving the latest scrutiny by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), officials here said Tuesday.At the IOC Executive Board meeting, taekwondo was kept on as one of 25 "core sports" in the Summer Olympic program. Out of 26 sports competed at the London Games, the IOC board decided to drop wrestling.Mark Adams, the IOC spokesman, told reporters that the decision was reached through

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi expressed firm opposition against North Korea's latest nuclear test Tuesday and called for the North's return to suspended six-party denuclearization talks, China's foreign ministry said. According to a statement posted on the ministry's Web site, Yang called in North Korean ambassador to Beijing Ji Jae-ryong and displayed China’s strong dissatisfaction and stern opposition toward North Korea's third nuclear test conducted earlier in the day. Yang urged North

U.S. President Barack Obama and his South Korean counterpart, President Lee Myung-bak, on Tuesday pledged unswerving unity in coping with North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile threats.In a phone conversation with Lee, Obama also agreed to work together on several measures to punish Pyongyang for its continued provocative acts and to curb its drive for weapons of mass destruction, according to the White House."They agreed to work closely together, including at the United Nations Security Co

Soccer is falling under a cloud of suspicion as never before, sullied by a multibillion-dollar web of match-fixing that is corrupting increasingly larger parts of the world's most popular sport. Internet betting, emboldened criminal gangs and even the economic downturn have created conditions that make soccer _ or football, as the sport is called around the world _ a lucrative target. Known as “the beautiful game” for its grace, athleticism and traditions of fair play, soccer is under threat of