The Korea Herald

Rare image of distant exoplanet captured

Astronomers using an infrared telescope in Hawaii say they've captured a rare image of a "Super-Jupiter" around a massive distant star.Of the nearly 850 exoplanets discovered orbiting stars other than the sun, only a few have been captured in actual astronomical images.Most are detected by indirect means, since stars are much brighter than their planets and with traditional observational techniques the planet will be hidden in the glare of its host star.Obtaining an image of the planet orbiting

TechnologyNov. 20, 2012

Having younger siblings leads to high blood pressure

Children who have younger siblings tend to have high blood pressure, according to U.S. researchers. A study suggested this is caused by competition with their siblings to attract their parents’ attention and feeling responsible for the younger ones. Also, it was revealed that their blood pressure continues to stay high into adulthood. The research was on 374 adult Bolivians in 200 families. The researchers studied connections among factors including siblings’ age and sex. Older sisters and broth

TechnologyNov. 20, 2012

Having younger siblings leads to high blood pressure

Happiness in youth leads to wealth in adulthood: study

They say that money cannot buy happiness, but perhaps it may work the other way around: A new study by scientists in Britain suggests that happy youngsters have a higher possibility of becoming rich adults.According to a study by Jan-Emmanuel De Neve of University of College and professor Andrew Oswald from the University of Warwick, people who reported higher life satisfaction when young were more likely to have a higher income than their depressed counterparts. In the study, researchers evalua

TechnologyNov. 20, 2012

Phone screen responds to different touches

A U.S. computer scientist says he‘s developed a prototype smartphone with a touchscreen that can sense touches from different parts of the hand.Chris Harrison at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh says the screen can distinguish between touches from the knuckle, fingertip and even a fingernail, and initiate different phone action based on the hand part used, NewScientist.com reported.Harrison’s modified Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone senses the acoustic and vibrational differences between t

TechnologyNov. 20, 2012

Phone screen responds to different touches

S. Korea’s growth potential halves since 1997 crisis

South Korea's growth potential has been almost cut in half since the economy survived the Asian financial crisis, data showed Tuesday, sparking concerns over the lack of drivers for future growth.The potential growth rate of Asia's fourth-largest economy is estimated at an annual 3.7 percent as of this year, compared with 6.1 percent tallied just before the outbreak of the financial turmoil, according to data by the Bank of Korea, Statistics Korea and the Financial Supervisory Service. The figur

Nov. 20, 2012

Paralyzed dogs walk after cell transplant

CAMBRIDGE, England (UPI) -- A revolutionary transplant operation has allowed paralyzed dogs to walk again and may also benefit paralyzed human patients, British scientists said.Researchers at the University of Cambridge said the pet dogs had all suffered serious damage to their spinal cords that left them unable to walk normally with their hind legs.After specialized cells from the dogs’ noses were transplanted to the damaged nerves, most of the pets recovered their lost mobility and some were a

TechnologyNov. 20, 2012

Paralyzed dogs walk after cell transplant

Ban ‘killer robots,’ rights group urges

Hollywood-style robots able to shoot people without permission from their human handlers are a real possibility and must be banned before governments start deploying them, campaigners warned Monday.The report “Losing Humanity” -- issued by Human Rights Watch and Harvard Law School‘s International Human Rights Clinic -- raised the alarm over the ethics of the looming technology.Calling them “killer robots,” the report urged “an international treaty that would absolutely prohibit the development,

TechnologyNov. 20, 2012

Red Bull linked to three deaths in Canada

Energy drinks have caused three Canadian teenagers to die and have had serious side effects on 35 other Canadians since 2003, Health Canada documents show.The three male teens, two 15-year-olds and an 18-year-old, died after drinking Red Bull, The Toronto Star reported. Red Bull also appears in more side-effect reports than any other similar product.Health Canada and the energy drink companies said side-effect reports show only a suspected connection between a product and side effect but no medi

TechnologyNov. 20, 2012

Red Bull linked to three deaths in Canada

S. Korea's household spending on food hits 11-year high

Spending by South Korean households on food and other groceries surged to the highest level in 11 years in the first half of this year amid a prolonged economic slump, data showed Tuesday.According to the data released by the Bank of Korea, the country's total household spending rose 4.7 percent from a year earlier to nearly 324 trillion won ($298 billion) in the January-June period.Of the total, the amount spent on food and non-alcoholic beverages came to 44 trillion won, up 6.3 percent from th

Nov. 20, 2012

Korea, China, Japan to declare launch of 3-way FTA talks

PHNOM PENH (Yonhap News) -- South Korea, China and Japan plan to declare the official start of negotiations to forge a three-way free trade pact when their trade ministers meet on the sidelines of a regional summit in Cambodia this week, officials said Monday.In May, the three Asian economic powers agreed to launch talks within this year toward a free trade deal. However, the prospect of negotiations was later thrown into doubt when territorial and sovereignty spats flared anew among the three h

Nov. 19, 2012

Korea, China, Japan to declare launch of 3-way FTA talks

The number of people with alcohol-induced psychiatric disorders is growing, particularly in men in their 60s.According to the National Health Insurance Corporation, the number of patients with mental illnesses brought on by excessive drinking has increased from 66,196 in 2007 to 78,357 in 2011 on the annual average of 4.3 percent. Men in their 60s had the highest prevalence rate of alcoholic mental disease with 583 per 100,000 people. About 64,000 men suffered from psychiatric disorder due to ex

TechnologyNov. 19, 2012

Alcohol-related mental illness increases

Dongbu Insurance pays highest starting salary

Dongbu Insurance Co. pays the highest annual salaries to first-year employees, beating the former best-paying company Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance Co., according to news reports. Unlike the public conception that Samsung affiliate companies offer the highest annual starting salaries, Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance Co. ranked No. 3 despite its No. 1 performance in business Yonhap News said. Before tax reduction, the annual salaries for first-year employees with bachelor’s degrees was the

TechnologyNov. 19, 2012

Dongbu Insurance pays highest starting salary

Drug use, unsafe sex fuel hepatitis C cases

Drug injection, tattooing, body piercing and sexual promiscuity are rising causes of hepatitis C infection in Korea, a study showed Monday.According to a research team at Seoul National University Hospital in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, 28 percent of 1,173 respondents who are currently undergoing hepatitis C treatment at five teaching hospitals in Seoul and Busan said they had more than four sexual partners while in a comparison group only 10 percent had as many partners. Drug injection has also

TechnologyNov. 19, 2012

Obesity, hypertension on the increase

The risk of obesity, hypertension and diabetes among the Korean population is rising, possibly due to lack of exercise and excessive sodium intake, the government said in a report released on Monday. According to a joint report by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the prevalence rates of high blood pressure and diabetes in people over 30 years old were 28.5 percent and 9.8 percent in 2011, respectively, a slight increase from 26.9 percent and 9

TechnologyNov. 19, 2012

Naro space rocket launch likely on Nov. 29

South Korea will likely launch a space rocket next Thursday, the government said Monday, two days after the arrival of a replacement for a defective part in the rocket partly built by Russia.“When considering the time needed to thoroughly examine the new part and prepare for a launch, Nov. 29 is technically the most suitable for a third launch of the Naro rocket,” the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said in a press release.The ministry added the Launch Preparation Committee will be

Nov. 19, 2012

Samsung files suit against LG’s patents on OLED

Samsung Electronics Co. of South Korea has filed a lawsuit against LG Display Co., the world’s No. 2 maker of liquid crystal displays, seeking the invalidation of some of the latter’s patents on organic light-emitting diode panel technologies, company officials said Monday.In the suit filed with a local intellectual property tribunal, Samsung claimed that seven patents held by LG Display are invalid as they lack innovation.In September this year, LG Display filed a suit against tech giant Samsun

Nov. 19, 2012

LS Cable & System wins $435m order from Qatar

LS Cable & System, a leading South Korean wire and cable maker, said Monday it has signed a $435 million deal to build a submarine power cable in Qatar.Under the deal with Qatar Petroleum, the Gulf state’s state-run energy company, LS Cable & System will install 200 kilometers of 132 kV high-voltage power cable to connect Ras Laffan Industrial City, about 80 kilometers north of Qatar’s capital of Doha, to Halul Island.The South Korean cable maker won the turnkey project by beating a consortium o

Nov. 19, 2012

KT&G to launch Tonino Lamborghini overseas

The nation’s best-selling tobacco manufacturer KT&G Corp. will export 300,000 packs of its premium tobacco brand “Tonino Lamborghini” to Hong Kong by the end of November. KT&G has already sold “Tonino Lamborghini” in Chinese duty-free shops since September, with its first import order at 488,000 packs. China and Hong Kong together form the largest, most competitive tobacco market in the world, the company said. “From the beginning, Tonino Lamborghini was meant to be launched worldwide,” a KT&G o

TechnologyNov. 19, 2012

KT&G to launch Tonino Lamborghini overseas

Shares gain on eased fiscal cliff woes

South Korean stocks closed 0.93 percent higher Monday as waned fear over the U.S. fiscal cliff whetted investor appetite, analysts said. The local currency gathered ground against the U.S. dollar. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 17.27 points to finish at 1,878.10. Trading volume was light at 345.7 million shares worth 3.20 trillion won ($2.93 billion) with advancers outstripping decliners 600 to 236. “Talks between President Obama and the Congress over the fiscal cliff last week refle

Nov. 19, 2012

Law change lets KAMCO manage Ssangyong E&C

Ssangyong Engineering & Construction will continue to operate under the government after the state-run Korea Asset Management Corp. failed several times to find a new owner for the ailing firm.As ministers agreed on a law revision on assets belonging to the state at a recent Cabinet meeting, the government is entitled to own Ssangyong E&C over the coming years even if the sale process led by KAMCO fails again.Under the initial law, KAMCO was banned from holding its stake in Ssangyong E&C after 2

IndustryNov. 19, 2012