S. Korean team develops new artificial antibody

A team of South Korean scientists has developed an artificial antibody that is significantly more effective but cheaper than conventional antibody drugs, the team said Monday.The new antibody, named Repebody, is manufactured by manipulating the structure of protein and can be custom-made to meet any needs, it said.The simple manufacturing method enables mass production of the antibody, which will likely cut the price of new products to be developed to only 1 percent of existing antibody drugs, w

Feb. 13, 2012

iPad sales surpass 1 million in Korea

Apple is estimated to have sold more than 1 million iPad tablet computers in the Korean market, outpacing its local rival Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Tab by a wide margin. Apple’s iPad debuted here on Nov. 30, 2010 and its sequel iPad 2 was introduced on April 29 last year. About 700,000 units were sold last year alone, dominating the nascent tablet computer market here.Given that many early adopters bought iPad even before the product was formally available on the local market, the actual numbe

Feb. 12, 2012

Korea checking Google’s new privacy policy

South Korea’s communications regulator said Saturday it is checking to see if Google’s new privacy policy of combining all user information into a single trove violates local laws.A source at the Korea and Communications Commission said an investigation is underway to see if the measures being planned by the global search engine conflict with domestic private information protection and open use of Internet rules. Google’s changes are expected to go into effect on March 1.The comments come after

Feb. 12, 2012

March rumored for iPad 3 launch

Apple's iPad 3 will make its debut in the first week of March, sources told AllThingsD.The tech news site reported Wednesday unnamed sources have said the first week of next month has been chosen by Apple for the launch event, probably at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, site of a nu

Feb. 10, 2012

Apple loses bid to ban German sales of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1N

Apple Inc., maker of the iPad and iPhone, for the second time failed to win a ban on sales of Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy 10.1N from a German court.The Dusseldorf Regional Court rejected the bid today in a case where Apple invoked a European design right. Apple last week lost a similar attempt

Feb. 9, 2012

Philips releases affordable AED

Philips Healthcare said Thursday that it has started the sales of an affordable version of its automated external defibrillator online early this month. AEDs are portable devices that monitor heart rhythm and send an electric shock to restore a normal rhythm in emergencies such as sudden cardiac arrest.The Philips Heart Start HS1 weighs about 1 kilogram but takes only 8.4 seconds from analysis of the patient condition to electric shock, the company said. “About 60 percent of sudden cardiac arres

Feb. 9, 2012

‘RotarixPrefilled’ to be released

GlaxoSmithKline said Monday it will release its Rotavirus vaccine, Rotarix, in a prefilled form as it acquired the Korea Food and Drug Administration approval. Rotarix is a viral vaccine containing live, attenuated human rotavirus that helps to protect children, starting from the age of 6 weeks, from gastro-enteritis (diarrhea and vomiting) caused by rotavirus infection.According to Diagnosia.com, Rotavirus infection is the most common cause of severe diarrhea in infants and young children. Rota

Feb. 9, 2012

Contraception mandate outrages religious groups

The Obama administration‘s decision requiring church-affiliated employers to cover birth control was bound to cause an uproar among Roman Catholics and members of other faiths, no matter their beliefs on contraception.The regulation, finalized a week ago, raises a complex and sensitive legal question: Which institutions qualify as religious and can be exempt from the mandate?For a church, mosque or synagogue, the answer is mostly straightforward. But for the massive network of religious-run soci

Feb. 9, 2012

Latest illnesses point to raw milk‘s popularity

WASHINGTON (AP) -- An outbreak of bacterial infections on the East Coast illustrates the popularity of raw, unpasteurized milk despite strong warnings from public health officials about the potential danger.Even presidential candidate Ron Paul has joined the cause of consumers looking to buy unprocessed “real foods” straight from the farm, saying government shouldn’t deny them that choice.An outbreak of campylobacter illness is a reminder of the potential hazards, however. Raw milk from a dairy

Feb. 9, 2012

Drug firms sign up to new tropical disease fight

GENEVA (AFP) - Key players in the pharmaceutical industry pledged on Monday to donate 14 billion drug treatments as part of a new, global push to eradicate tropical diseases.Thirteen companies including Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline have committed to the programme being led by the United States, Britain and United Arab Emirates governments, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank.The drugs will target sufferers of so-called Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) such as leprosy and sle

Feb. 9, 2012

Anti-cancer drug for women weakens bone density

PARIS (AFP) - A drug tipped for widespread use to prevent breast cancer in post-menopausal women also accelerates loss of bone density, thus potentially boosting the risk of fractures, a study published on Tuesdaysaid.Exemestane -- brand name Aromasin -- is part of a drug class called aromatase inhibitors, which lower levels of the oestrogen that some breast cancers need in order to grow.Canadian bone specialists took a look at a group of patients who had taken part in a study into the effective

Feb. 9, 2012

Too many kids breathe others‘ smoke in cars: CDC

CHICAGO (AP) -- Texting while driving, speeding and back-seat hanky-panky aren’t all that parents need to worry about when their kids are in cars: Add secondhand smoke to the list.In the first national estimate of its kind, a report from government researchers says more than 1 in 5 high school students and middle schoolers ride in cars while others are smoking.This kind of secondhand smoke exposure has been linked with breathing problems and allergy symptoms, and more restrictions are needed to

Feb. 9, 2012

Birth control mandate irks religious organizations

The Obama administration’s decision requiring church-affiliated employers to cover birth control was bound to cause an uproar among Roman Catholics and members of other faiths, no matter their beliefs on contraception.The regulation, finalized a week ago, raises a complex and sensitive legal question: Which institutions qualify as religious and can be exempt from the mandate?For a church, mosque or synagogue, the answer is mostly straightforward. But for the massive network of religious-run soci

Feb. 9, 2012