Innovative tech augments autos

LAS VEGAS ― Carmakers are expressing their big appetites for in-vehicle technology integration at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, led by Audi and Lexus’ unveiling of skills for driverless driving.“Whenever I don’t want to drive, I can allow myself to be driven. Ultimate responsibility rests with the pilot,” said Ricky Hudi, head of development in electrics and electronics at Audi. Boasting that Audi is the world’s first car manufacturer that has a license to test automated driving in Neva

Jan. 9, 2013

OLED TV market to grow to 1m units in 2014: LG

LAS VEGAS ― LG Electronics’ home entertainment chief Kwon Hee-won said Wednesday that the firm expects that about 1 million units of OLED TVs will be shipped globally next year thanks to the increase of competitors.With the rise of Japanese firms in the OLED TV market, LG is getting ready to mass produce the 55-inch OLED TV which it claims to have superior brightness, clear picture quality and good contrast ratio. Using W-RGB display technology, the company also showcased the world’s first 55-in

Jan. 9, 2013

Samsung, LG unveil world’s first ‘curved’ OLED TVs

LAS VEGAS ― Samsung and LG Electronics, the world’s top two TV makers, once again boasted tech prowess in the TV industry by revealing the world’s first curved OLED TV at the Consumer Electronics Show on Wednesday.Creating a panorama effect, the 55-inch curved OLED TV is intended to offer a more immersive viewing experience for consumers, according to Samsung officials.They also said that the curved display offers consistent picture quality from any angle and that consumers are deemed to be more

Jan. 9, 2013

Nearly 100 doctors caught for abusing propofol, other drugs

Nearly 100 doctors have been caught for misusing narcotics and psychotropic drugs such as propofol, police said Wednesday.Police have uncovered 98 medical workers -- mostly doctors -- and eight hospitals in a two-month nationwide crackdown on illegal use of drugs by hospitals.The crackdown, conducted jointly with the health authorities, came after a local obstetrician was arrested in August on charges of injecting his girlfriend with an anesthetic that caused her death and then abandoning her bo

Jan. 9, 2013

Online game 'ArcheAge' captivates with unique economic system

"ArcheAge," a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, is said to provide gamers with a new experience of farming and trade.Korean game developer XLGAMES’ new title "ArcheAge" offers a complex economic system, including farming, lumbering, mining, manufacturing and trading, with which gamers can not only earn in-game money but also raise their character’s level without engaging in combat or completing quests.The system allows players to produce crops, livestock, lumber and minerals to pro

Jan. 9, 2013

Anxiety found as Koreans’ top mental illness: report

Anxiety disorder ranked No. 1 on a list of mental illnesses in Korea, according to a study by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.In “The Epidemiological Survey of Mental Disorders in Korea,” 6,022 randomly selected Koreans were asked if they have suffered from 25 major mental illnesses for the past year. Among them, 16 percent said they suffered from anxiety disorder.About 6.8 percent of respondents answered that they have experienced anxiety disorder, which surpassed the percentage of alcohol a

Jan. 9, 2013

Two die of H1N1 flu in Beijing

Two people died of H1N1 flu in Beijing recently, but Chinese health officials said the situation is not as threatening as it was in 2009.The deaths occurred since late December after the patients contracted the virus, previously called swine flu, China Daily reported.The report quoted the Beijing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that despite its potential to cause harm, the virus is not as threatening and can be contained.The report said both the victims of influenza A, or H1N1, virus

Jan. 7, 2013

Melting glaciers could rise sea levels by 3 feet by 2100

Global sea levels may rise more than 3 feet by 2100 due to melting glaciers in Antarctica and Greenland, according to glaciologists. Such a rise in sea levels could displace millions of people in low-lying countries such as Bangladesh, swamp atolls in the Pacific Ocean, cause dikes in Holland to fail and cost coastal mega cities from New York to Tokyo billions of dollars for construction of sea walls and other infrastructure. Glaciologist Jonathan Bamber and his colleague Willy Aspinall used a s

Jan. 7, 2013

Bedbugs no reason to skip library books

Despite recent reports speculating on bed bugs in library books, a U.S. entomologist and bed bug experts says there is no need to skip library books.Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, a Cornell University entomologist and New York state Integrated Pest Management Program field expert, said since bed bugs are transported by humans, on belongings and clothes, it made sense borrowed books could be a method or vehicle of bed bug movement.“Bed bugs will not stay on books on the shelf for very long -- they need

Jan. 7, 2013

Giant squid filmed in Pacific depths: Japan scientists

Scientists and broadcasters said Monday they have captured footage of an elusive giant squid up to eight meters long that roams the depths of the Pacific Ocean.Japan‘s National Science Museum succeeded in filming the deep-sea creature in its natural habitat for the first time, working with Japanese public broadcaster NHK and the U.S. Discovery Channel.They spotted the squid at a depth of 630 meters using a submersible in July, some 15 kilometers east of Chichi island in the north Pacific Ocean.T

Jan. 7, 2013

Protein early in the day keeps fat away

Eating a high-protein breakfast with nuts may lead to being leaner and less hungry during the rest of the day, a fitness expert says.　Charles Poliquin said his single best dietary tip for optimal leanness, energy and sustained mental focus, is the meat-and-nuts breakfast, which allows for a gradual rise in blood sugar and results in decreased cravings throughout the entire day, AskMen.com reported.　Examples of Poliquin’s high-protein breakfast are one to two lean turkey burgers and a handful of

Jan. 7, 2013

Milky Way may have 100 billion planets

U.S. astronomers say a study suggests planets are in fact the cosmic norm and estimate the Milky Way galaxy contains at least 100 billion planets.A team of astronomers at the California Institute of Technology made the estimate while analyzing planets orbiting a star called Kepler-32, worlds they say are representative of the vast majority in the galaxy and are a perfect case study for understanding how most planets form.Kepler-32's planets were detected by the Kepler space telescope, and the re

Jan. 4, 2013

Critics say grounding shows Arctic drilling danger

ANCHORAGE (AP) ― The grounding of a petroleum drilling ship on a remote Alaska island has refueled the debate over oil exploration in the U.S. Arctic Ocean, where critics for years have said the conditions are too harsh and the stakes too high to allow dangerous industrial development.The drilling sites are 1,600 kilometers from Coast Guard resources, and environmentalists argue offshore drilling in the Arctic’s fragile ecosystem is too risky. So when a Royal Dutch Shell PLC ship went aground on

Jan. 3, 2013

Gas guzzlers: New insights into birth of giant planets

PARIS (AFP) ― Astronomers using the most advanced land telescope in the world said on Wednesday they had unlocked knowledge about how formidable “gas giant” planets such Jupiter and Saturn come into being.These vast but uninhabitable worlds are created by gobbling up gas and dust that envelope young stars in a murky disc, they believe.The evidence comes from observations of a youthful star called HD 142527 which is located more than 450 light years from Earth.Stars are born from a cloud of cosmi

Jan. 3, 2013