The Korea Herald

Carriers race to grab LTE market

Korea’s top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. and other industry players are ramping up efforts to claim a bigger share of the fast growing long-term evolution market deemed a future money spinner, market watchers say.The LTE service, or the fourth-generation of wireless technology, enables smartphone users to access a stream of data faster than the current 3G network and download and watch movies more quickly.In a country where four out of 10 people use smartphones, SK Telecom and two other carrier

Jan. 25, 2012

Samsung, Apple anxious over upcoming verdict in Germany

A win for the Korean tech giant in patent lawsuits could see iPhone sales banned in the European countryAttention is on a German court’s second ruling regarding Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc.’s ongoing patent dispute, scheduled to be made this Friday.This comes shortly after Samsung lost a patent infringement suit against its American rival over third-generation wireless telecommunications standards at a Mannheim court in Germany last Friday. The ruling was the first in a series of patent ca

Jan. 25, 2012

Samsung, Apple anxious over upcoming verdict in Germany

‘Magnetic’ soap could clean oil spills

British researchers say a new magnetic soap could be used to help clean up oil spills by applying a magnetic field to areas containing the soap.The new formulation is similar to ordinary soap but contains iron atoms which can help form tiny particles that are easily removed magnetically, they said.“

Jan. 25, 2012

Solar storm sparks dazzling northern lights

STOCKHOLM (AP) — A storm from the broiling sun turned the chilly northernmost skies of Earth into an ever-changing and awe-provoking art show of northern lights on Tuesday.Even experienced stargazers were stunned by the intensity of the aurora borealis that swept across the night sky in northe

Jan. 25, 2012

Solar storm sparks dazzling northern lights

Scorsese's 'Hugo' leads Oscars with 11 nominations

BEVERLY HILLS, California (AP) _ Martin Scorsese's Paris adventure ``Hugo'' leads the Academy Awards with 11 nominations, among them best picture and the latest director nod for the Oscar-winning filmmaker. 'Hugo', pictured in this scene from the film was nominated for best motion picture for t

Jan. 25, 2012

Scorsese's 'Hugo' leads Oscars with 11 nominations

Strongest solar storm since 2005 hitting Earth

WASHINGTON (AP) — The sun is bombarding Earth with radiation from the biggest solar storm in more than six years with more to come from the fast-moving eruption.The solar flare occurred at about 11 p.m. EST Sunday and will hit Earth with three different effects at three different times. The bi

Jan. 24, 2012

Strongest solar storm since 2005 hitting Earth

Study: Stem cells may aid vision in blind people

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Two legally blind women appeared to gain some vision after receiving an experimental treatment using embryonic stem cells, scientists reported Monday. While embryonic stem cells were first isolated more than a decade ago, most of the research has been done in lab animals. The new

Jan. 24, 2012

Apple unveils digital textbooks app for iPad

Apple is taking aim at the textbook market.The California-based gadget-maker unveiled a free iBooks 2 application for the iPad on Thursday that brings interactive textbooks to the popular tablet computer."Education is deep in Apple's DNA," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of marke

Jan. 20, 2012

Gardasil approved for males aged 9 to 26

MSD Korea said Monday that its human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil has been approved by the Korea Food and Drug Administration for use on men and boys aged between nine and 26 against genital warts.The agency has approved Gardasil against HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18 for women and men aged between nine and 15. The expansion of the target age group makes Gardasil, the only HPV vaccine available to both men and women, more accessible to a wider range of people, the vaccine maker said. According to

Jan. 19, 2012

Ministry authorizes 14 cord blood banks

The Ministry of Health and Welfare on Tuesday said it has authorized the operation of 14 cord blood banks nationwide. After authorization, the 14 facilities will be able to save the cord blood that remains in a baby’s umbilical cord after the cord has been cut. The cord is a rich source of unique stem cells that can be used in medical treatments.Cordblood.com notes that cord blood banking is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to save your baby’s cord blood stem cells for potential medical use. Sav

Jan. 19, 2012

U.S. obesity epidemic shows no hint of shrinking

CHICAGO (AP) ― America’s obesity epidemic is proving to be as stubborn as those maddening love handles, and shows no sign of reversing course. More than one-third of adults and almost 17 percent of children were obese in 2009-2010, echoing results since 2003, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday.“It’s good that we didn’t see increases. On the other hand, we didn’t see any decreases in any group,” said CDC researcher Cynthia Ogden.Early in the decade, slight increases w

Jan. 19, 2012

U.S. obesity epidemic shows no hint of shrinking

Marathoners show low heart incident risk

NEW YORK (AP) ― It’s dramatic news when a marathon runner collapses with no pulse. Now a big study finds such calamities are rare and usually due to a pre-existing heart problem.The study also found such incidents are increasing as more runners try to go the distance.“You hear about this more and more,” said Dr. Aaron Baggish, senior author of the study.Baggish, who runs a program for athletes with heart issues at Massachusetts General Hospital, and co-authors present their analysis in Thursday’

Jan. 19, 2012

Marathoners show low heart incident risk

Panic disorder

Case vignette: “When returning home, I suddenly had a cold sweat, felt dizzy, felt my heart tighten and felt like I could die. Also, I felt like I had difficulty breathing. Also, I not only had numbness in my hands and feet but also felt my heart beating. This was intolerable. I was very nervous that such things would happen again.” An office worker, Mr. K, experienced a sudden onset of the above symptoms. Now he is worried that he will again have a sudden onset of panic symptoms that are both f

Jan. 19, 2012

Three steps to deal with strokes

Strokes remain one of the biggest causes of death in Korea, and signs of onset are vagueAs Korea continues to become an aging society, more attention should be placed on the possibility of and risk factors leading to strokes, since they are more common among the elderly.According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, cerebral diseases were the No. 2 cause of death among Koreans in 2008, with 73.6 deaths per 100,000 people. Among cerebral diseases, strokes are the single largest cause of death,

Jan. 19, 2012

Women too often tested for osteoporosis, researchers report

Many women who get screened for osteoporosis may not need it, according to a study that suggests current guidelines result in too many unnecessary tests, increasing costs and sometimes spurring unnecessary treatment. Osteoporosis, a loss in bone density that can cause breaks and injuries, develops i

Jan. 19, 2012

Protest exposes Silicon Valley-Hollywood rivalry

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ In a move that heightens the growing tension between Silicon Valley and Hollywood, Wikipedia and other websites went dark Wednesday in protest of two congressional proposals intended to thwart the online piracy of copyrighted movies and TV programs. The Wikipedia website is a

Jan. 19, 2012

Protest exposes Silicon Valley-Hollywood rivalry

Lack of sleep makes your brain hungry

New research from Uppsala University, Sweden, shows that a specific brain region that contributes to a person's appetite sensation is more activated in response to food images after one night of sleep loss than after one night of normal sleep. Poor sleep habits can therefore affect people's risk of

Jan. 19, 2012

Samsung denies blog report on takeover of RIM

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest maker of smartphones, said Tuesday that it does not have any interest in taking over Research In Motion Ltd., the BlackBerry maker.The Boy Genius Report, a tech blog, said that RIM is pushing to sell part of its divisions or even the whole company. It said that RIM’s co-chief executive Jim Balsillie has been actively contacting companies and Samsung is the most likely to be interested in the takeover.“The report is groundless, and we’ve not considered

Jan. 18, 2012

Apple files design suit against Samsung phones in Germany

Apple Inc. filed another suit in Germany, seeking to ban sales of Samsung Electronics Co.’s smartphones, including the Galaxy S Plus and the S II, extending the global legal dispute between the two companies.The action targeting 10 smartphone models was filed in the Dusseldorf Regional Court and is based on Apple’s design rights, court spokesman Peter Schuetz said by phone Tuesday. Apple also started a separate suit against five Samsung tablet computers related to a September ruling banning the

Jan. 18, 2012

Robust growth expected for IT giants

Analysts paint rosy outlook for Samsung, LG, SKT, KT, NHNKorea’s information technology firms are expected to either see robust growth or get back on track in 2012.They will continue to take a leading position in the industry by rolling out new and innovative premium electronic goods like smartphones and 3-D capable smart televisions, while local mobile carriers will move to quickly adapt to the upgraded fourth generation network technology.Online portals are also expected to center their attent

Jan. 18, 2012