The Korea Herald

Obesity-related illnesses, such as diabetes and strokes, may cost South Korea up to 3.4 trillion won (US$2.97 billion) in various social costs this year, nearly double the amount from 2005, a report said Monday.According to the report by a research team from the country's Inje University, social cos

Dec. 12, 2011

Obesity-related illnesses to cost S. Korea 3.4 trillion won: report

Online portal news appeals most to white-collar male workers in their 30s

Male white-collar workers in their 30s with a college degree are the biggest users of online portals’ news services, a report showed on Sunday. According to the report issued by the Korea Press Foundation, male users make up 55.2 percent of news consumers at Korea’s top three portals. The survey, based on users who regularly browse news at Naver, Daum and Nate, showed that those aged 30-39 account for a 26.4 percent share, followed by those in their 40s (23.8 percent), 19-29-year-olds (21.4 perc

Dec. 11, 2011

Video games sales forecast to reach 17.8 trillion won in 2011

South Korea’s gaming industry will likely see its sales reach nearly 18 trillion won ($15.6 billion) by the end of this year, mainly due to an increase in lottery sales, industry data showed Sunday.Sales of six legal gaming sectors including lottery, casino and horse-racing are expected to reach 17.8 trillion won this year, equivalent to more than 1.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, according to the data compiled by the National Gaming Control Commission. The figure would likely

Dec. 11, 2011

LG home theater gets high marks in European reviews

LG Electronics, the world’s third-largest flat-screen TV producer, said on Sunday it received high marks from leading product review magazines in Europe. “What Hi-Fi Sound and Vision,” a leading consumer reviews magazine, gave a five-star rating to the LG Cinema 3D Home Theater in its November issue. The company received positive reviews for its home theater and related gadgets released this year, based on their outstanding design, balanced sound and user-friendly features. Other magazines in th

Dec. 11, 2011

Drug combo boosts breast cancer survival: study

Postmenopausal women with a common type of breast cancer that thrives on estrogen survived longer when treated with a combination of two drugs rather than just one, a US study said Wednesday.The results of the phase III trial, released at a meeting of breast cancer experts in San Antonio, Texas, sho

Dec. 9, 2011

Study links tropical cyclones to earthquakes

US researchers said Thursday they have found evidence that tropical cyclones in Haiti and Taiwan were followed by earthquakes, suggesting that heavy rains and landslides may unleash temblors."Very wet rain events are the trigger," said University of Miami scientist Shimon Wdowinski, an associate res

Dec. 9, 2011

Study shows rats nice, not naughty

WASHINGTON (AP) _ New experiments show rats demonstrating compassion and helping other rodents. It is a trait some scientists thought was reserved only for humans and higher primates.And it is certainly not the sneaky, selfish rap that goes with calling someone a dirty rat.In repeated tests, rats fr

Dec. 9, 2011

Oriental doctors track...illegal supplements

The Association of Korean Oriental Medicine is collecting cases of illegally distributed dietary supplements. “Amid the growing public awareness of health and well-being, illegal distributors are selling non-authorized or even harmful supplements through a variety of channels,” said Kim Jung-kon, head of the AKOM. The AKOM has established an “anonymous bulletin” on its website, www.akom.org, to receive information. The reported cases will be investigated and compiled into a database to improve t

Dec. 8, 2011

Diabetes in pregnancy more likely if obese

Obese women are more likely to suffer gestational diabetes, a group of local doctors said Wednesday. According to a study on 2,454 pregnant women by professors Shin Jong-chul and Choi Se-kyung of Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, women who were overweight before pregnancy had a 1.58 times as much chance of suffering from gestational diabetes. It went up as high as 4.5 times higher among obese women. The risk of gestational hypertension was 2.2 times higher among overweight women and 2.5 times higher am

Dec. 8, 2011

Leather pants can cause varicose veins

Leather trousers may be fashion-conscious, but are potentially bad for your health, Hanlim Pharm said Wednesday. The manufacturer of Antoleave, trophedema pills, said wearing leather trousers or skinny jeans that tightly stick to the legs for a long period of time could lower blood circulation. This could further develop into chronic venous insufficiency with swollen legs associated with pain, it said. “In winter, the blood vessels in the leg area contract due to cold weather. In the worst case,

Dec. 8, 2011

Increase in pancreatic cancer draws concerns

The occurrences of pancreatic cancer and pancreatic cancer-related deaths are increasing notably. This disease, which used to be rare, has become one of the most common types of cancer. It began to draw wider attention when the legendary Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti died of the disease four years ago, as well as Steve Jobs this year.Since the pancreas is hidden behind the stomach, it is more difficult to access, and no medical breakthrough has been yet made to effectively detect pancreatic ca

Dec. 8, 2011

Increase in pancreatic cancer draws concerns

FDA favors more risk info on birth control pills

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Federal health regulators are leaning toward adding new information about the risk of blood clots to the labels of widely prescribed birth control pills such as Yaz, in light of growing evidence that the newer contraceptive drugs may be riskier than older drugs.In documents released Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration said there is conflicting evidence about the risk, but that the information should appear in labeling used by doctors and patients.“We believe that, because

Dec. 8, 2011

Few recall doctor saying child overweight

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Pediatricians are supposed to track if youngsters are putting on too many pounds ― but a new study found less than a quarter of parents of overweight children recall the doctor ever saying there was a problem.Does that mean doctors aren’t screening enough kids, or aren’t frank enough in these tough conversations? Or is the real story parent denial? The research published Monday can’t tell, but makes it clear the message too often isn’t getting through.“It’s tricky to say, and i

Dec. 8, 2011

Few recall doctor saying child overweight

Advice for year-end drinking

Doctors say hangover drinks have limited effect, suggest spicy soup and juiceDecember is a month of year-end parties. Nights of drinking and dining fill people’s schedules. In Korea, nights out are an important part of socialization, especially at the year’s end. According to Samsung Medical Center, about 30 percent of salaried workers are habitual drinkers.Medical experts are quick to point out the health risks posed by alcohol. Dr. Lee Jung-kwon and Dr. Yoo Joon-hyun at SMC offer useful inform

Dec. 8, 2011

Roadmap for technological standardization

Korea finalized a roadmap for standardization of technologies for smart grids, electric cars, nuclear energy, the 3D industry, cloud computing, smart media, smart logistics and smart medical information.National standardization coordinators and industrial experts worked together on the roadmap for standardization of the nation’s technologies in eight major areas, unveiled by the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards under the Ministry of Knowledge Economy on Thursday.In the electric car are

Dec. 8, 2011

Japan, Russia see chance to clone mammoth

Dec. 8, 2011

Research: Bedbugs can thrive despite inbreeding

PITTSBURGH (AP) _ Bedbugs aren't just sleeping with you. They're sleeping with each other.Researchers now say that the creepy bugs have a special genetic gift: withstanding incest.It turns out that unlike most creatures, bedbugs are able to inbreed with close relatives and still produce generally he

Dec. 8, 2011

Research: Bedbugs can thrive despite inbreeding

Milky Way could have megaplanets made of diamond: scientists

Dec. 7, 2011

Samsung Electronics, seven panel makers pay $388 million in antitrust case

Sharp Corp., Samsung Electronics Co., and six other makers of liquid crystal display panels used in computers and televisions agreed to pay $388 million to settle price-fixing claims by direct purchasers of the products. Sharp, Japan’s largest panel maker, paid $105 million; Samsung, the world’s lar

Dec. 7, 2011

Samsung Electronics, seven panel makers pay $388 million in antitrust case

Samsung to set up new flash memory plant in China

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s second-largest maker of memory chips, said Tuesday it is seeking to build a new production line in China to manufacture flash memory chips in response to rising demand for mobile devices. The company applied for a permit from the South Korean government to build its second overseas production line for producing NAND flash devices based on the 20-nanometer class process technology, it said in a statement. If authorization is given and construction begins on sc

Dec. 6, 2011