Genes make difference if quitting smoking

Genetics can predict success of smoking cessation and whether a person is likely to respond to drugs for nicotine addiction, U.S. researchers say.“We found that the effects of smoking cessation medications depend on a person’s genes,” first author Dr. Li-Shiun Chen of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, said in a statement.The research focused on specific variations in a clu

May 31, 2012

Red Hat to support Korean financial firms’ migration to open-source platforms

 Top business-to-business software firm eyes expansion in handling large data setsWhen people generally think of open-source platforms in Korea, Google’s Android immediately comes to mind due to the wide use of smartphones and tablet PCs in the business-to-consumer space.But in the business-to-business world, U.S.-headquartered Red Hat provides the world’s leading open-source operating systems for enterprises’ data-processing servers.Working “behind the scenes,” it’s unknown to the general publi

May 30, 2012

New-found asteroid whizz by Earth, no danger

A small asteroid had a close encounter with Earth on Tuesday, according to NASA scientists.The 5-meter space rock, called 2012 KP42, was not spotted until a day before it came within 14,400 kilometers of Earth. Its closest approach to Earth was less than one-26th of the average distance between the planet and the moon, which is 386,000 kilometers.However, given its diminutive size, experts say it was unlikely to cause significant damage to the Earth anyway. The close call on Tuesday came only a

May 30, 2012

Occupy stone street? Study shows Inequality dates back to stone age

Scientists found that hereditary inequality began over 7,000 years ago by looking at human skeletons buried during the early Neolithic era, Science Daily and BBC reported Monday.The study, conducted by archaeologists from universities of Bristol, Oxford and Cardiff found that ancient people that were buried with tools had better access to preferred farmlands than those without. Researchers used strontium isotope analysis that lets them know the skeletons’ place of origin. Since the people with t

May 30, 2012

State regulations hamper innovation: Wikipedia founder

The government should “keep out of the way” if it wants more people to come out with innovative ideas and start new businesses, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales said Tuesday.“The most important thing in the government’s policy about start-ups is how to get the government out of the way,” said the pioneer of the free encyclopedia.Wales was invited to give a special speech to the young Korean entrepreneurs at the 2012 Venture-Startup Festival held at Seoul National University.Wales claimed that in

May 29, 2012

Pointy faces are perceived negatively

The simple geometric features of a downward-pointing triangle can make us feel threatened, scientists have revealed.Researchers from Warwick University asked thirty volunteers to rate hundreds of pictures of faces that were surrounded by large triangles.When a downward-pointing triangle appeared, people were more hesitant to identify the face as positive.“Our study shows downward-pointing triangles in particular convey negative emotions and we pick up on them quickly and perceive them as a threa

May 29, 2012

Police: Facebook pic led to robbery

 Police in Australia are warning people to be cautious online after a picture of cash posted to Facebook led to a home invasion robbery.New South Wales police said a 17-year-old girl was helping her 72-year-old grandmother count her savings at the older woman's Sydney home May 24 and the teenager posted a picture of the large amount of cash to her Facebook page.Police said two men armed with a kni

May 29, 2012

Korea to launch geostationary research satellite in 2018

South Korea plans to launch its own geostationary orbit satellite by 2018 for atmospheric environmental research over the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia, the Environment Ministry said MondayThe National Institute of Environmental Research will pick a foreign firm within this year to jointly develop the new satellite, officials said.Under the development plan, Seoul is to build the main body of the satellite and a ground station for its launch in 2015. Europe and the U.S. currently use low-e

May 28, 2012

LG Display develops hand-size HD panel for smartphones

Consumers will soon be able to enjoy watching high-resolution content on their mobile devices LG Display, the world’s second-largest display maker, has developed a new five-inch display panel for smartphones.The display giant said Monday that it has for the first time in the world developed the small-sized, full high-definition LCD panel using advanced high performance in-plane switching technology.Measuring the new panel’s density at 440 pixels per inch, the company said the image quality shown

May 28, 2012

Quake reveals day when Jesus died

Scientists have deduced the exact day of Jesus’ death to be Friday, April 3, 33 A.D., based on earthquake activities of the time, Discovery News reported Thursday.To find out the precise point Jesus had passed away, an international team of geologists focused on a verse from the Gospel of Matthew, which describes the crucifixion of Jesus.“And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The ear

May 28, 2012

Dinosaur with tiny arms unearthed in Argentina

Argentine experts have discovered the near-complete remains of a new species of Jurassic-era dinosaur that stood on its rear legs and had tiny arms, a leading paleontologist said Thursday.(AFP)The find belongs to the Abelisaurus family, "the most common carnivorous species in the southern hemisphere during the Cretaceous Period," some 70 to 100 million years ago, paleontologist Diego Pol told AFP.

May 27, 2012

‘Aliens won’t enslave humans’

Will aliens endanger Earth like in movies? One alien hunter says not likely. Extraterrestrial intelligence that is evolved enough to reach Earth probably will not want to enslave or attack humans, according to renowned astronomer Jill Tarter.Tarter, outgoing director of Center for SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute, said such alien species would have technology so advanced that they would not need slaves, food, or other planets, Space.com reported Friday.Tarter said she di

May 27, 2012