South Korea said Wednesday that it has raised its budget for the basic science sector to 1.69 trillion won ($1.49 billion) next year as it vowed to focus on researcher-oriented research and development. The figures represented a 16.2 percent hike from the 1.45 trillion won allocated this year, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. South Korea's basic science sector accounted for 11.4 per...

South Korea's science ministry said Sunday it will launch a small satellite from an air force base in the United States later this month to conduct scientific research. The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology will jointly launch the 100 kilogram satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 3:32 a.m. (Korean time) on Nov. 20. (Yonha...

A group of Korean scientists has developed a new type elastic and bio-compatible material that could be utilized in the research and production of future bioelectronics, a state-run institute said Tuesday. The Institute for Basic Science said it has succeeded in developing the highly stretchable nanowire composite that measures physiological signals, such as information on muscle and cardiac dys...

A new study suggested a possibility that black rice might help prevent the onset of osteoporosis. The joint study conducted by Eulji University and Korea University discovered that black rice extract can help prevent osteoporosis, the Rural Development Administration said on Wednesday. In the study, black rice aleurone layer extract was given to lab rats with osteoporosis over a period of 12 we...

Most women with the most common form of early-stage breast cancer can safely skip chemotherapy without hurting their chances of beating the disease, doctors are reporting from a landmark study that used genetic testing to gauge each patient's risk. The study is the largest ever done of breast cancer treatment, and the results are expected to spare up to 70,000 patients a year in the United State...

(Yonhap) Nearly 500 former and current employees of Korean Air Lines Co. staged a candlelight vigil on Friday to protest abusive treatment by the controlling Cho family, amid rising public outcry over an alleged assault by one of the chief's daughters. The former and current employees at the country's flagship carrier, as well as their families and acquaintances, joined the rally in central Seo...

Prosecutors on Friday rejected a police request for an arrest warrant for a daughter of Korean Air Lines Co.'s chairman over an alleged assault. Earlier, the Seoul Gangseo Police Station said they requested the writ against Cho Hyun-min, who was a senior executive of the company, on charges of assault and obstruction of business. In South Korea, only the prosecution can ask the court to issue a ...

Korea said Wednesday it will send more scientists to an international consortium for the building of a nuclear fusion reactor so as to help build its own clean energy facility down the road. The Ministry of Science and ICT said it will proceed with plans to raise the number of Korean scientists at the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor to 95 by 2026 from the current 32. The project...

South Korea’s science and technology capabilities ranked seventh last year among the 34 member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to a state-run think tank. The Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning said the evaluation was based on five categories: research environment; support from both public and private sectors; the quality of work carrie...

The biggest supermoon of this year is set to brighten up Seoul sky around midnight on Sunday, a state-run maritime research agency said Wednesday. According to Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, the best time to see the astronomical event is 0:47 a.m. on Monday, when the moon will appear at its largest for skygazers in Seoul. The supermoon phenomenon will be observed at different times...

Genome editing experts from around the globe will get together in Seoul later this week to introduce and share their new genome engineering technologies, organizers said Tuesday. "The IBS-Nature Conference on Frontiers in Genome Engineering will open at Seoul National University on Wednesday for a three-day run, with 18 renowned scientists from home and abroad attending," the organizers said. Th...

Leaves use carbohydrates (sugars) to continually produce chlorophyll, which makes the leaves green; the chemical absorbs the blue and orange components of sunlight and converts them into energy for the tree.

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute said Tuesday that it promoted its SMART reactor for export to third countries at the ongoing assembly of the international nuclear watchdog in Vienna. The promotion was made as a subsidiary event at the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency the previous day, with 22 Asian, African and Mideast countries attending, a KAERI official said. ...

Two Korean-American scholars have identified a mechanism in mice that links autism in offspring to a mother’s gut infection during pregnancy, in a discovery that could one day help prevent the development of the condition. Two studies, led by Gloria Choi of MIT and husband Jun Huh of Harvard Medical School and published in Nature on Wednesday, illuminate that pregnant mice exposed to infection d...