The Korea Herald

KFDA designates oral birth control pills as prescription-only drugs

The Korea Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that all oral contraceptives will require a doctor’s prescription from as early as next year. Currently the pills are sold over the counter except for Bayer’s Yasmin and Yaz. The change is expected to come into effect from as early as next year after the body finalizes its decision in July.The “ground breaking” decision was made about 50 years after birth control pills were introduced to the country. KFDA officials said they have concluded the

June 7, 2012

KFDA designates oral birth control pills as prescription-only drugs

Morning-after pill approved for OTC

Major reclassification switches 212 prescription drugs to OTC itemsThe government has decided to allow emergency contraception pills, known as morning-after pills, to be sold at pharmacies without a doctor’s prescription. Instead the authorities decided to tighten management on ordinary oral contraceptive pills, designating them as prescription drugs. Currently, day-after pills are classified as prescription pills while ordinary pills are sold without doctors’ orders. The Korea Food and Drug Adm

June 7, 2012

Apple seeks to block sales of Samsung's new Galaxy phone

Apple Inc. asked a federal judge in San Jose, California, to include Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy S III smartphone in its request to block sales of Samsung products in the U.S.Samsung released the Galaxy S III in the U.K. on May 29 and U.S. carriers have announced they will start selling the smartphone in the U.S. on June 21, Apple said in a court filing.Apple has obtained the Galaxy S III in

June 7, 2012

Scientists do away with body mass index

British researchers say people concerned about heart disease and diabetes should watch their height-to-waist ratio rather than the body mass index.A team of British scientists found people should keep their waist measurement to half of their height, The Daily Telegraph reported.In a study of 300,000 people, the team found this ratio was a better predictor of high blood pressure, diabetes and cardi

June 7, 2012

Facebook photo ends up on porn, dating sites

(This photo is not directly related to the article)Housewife Jules Rahim was shocked when a friend tipped her off that her photo was featured on a pornographic website.That was not the only unauthorized use of the picture of her in a bikini, which she had posted on her Facebook account three years ago.Another friend told her that the photo had also popped up on a dating site called sgGirls.com.

June 7, 2012

Facebook photo ends up on porn, dating sites

U.N. report warns environment is at tipping point

The earth's environmental systems ``are being pushed towards their biophysical limits,'' beyond which loom sudden, irreversible and potentially catastrophic changes, the United Nations Environment Program warned Wednesday.In a 525-page report on the health of the planet, the agency paints a grim picture: The melting of the polar ice caps, desertification in Africa, deforestation of tropical jungl

June 7, 2012

Positive attitude plays role in longevity

A positive attitude and a sense of humor might play a role in living a longer, healthier life, U.S. researchers suggested.Study co-author Dr. Nil Barzilai, director of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine's Institute for Aging Research in New York, and colleagues developed a questionnaire designed to identify certain genetically based personality traits, and used it to assess 243 Ashkenazi Jewi

June 7, 2012

First flight of drone powered by hydrogen

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, California (AP) ― A new Boeing unmanned drone that is designed to stay airborne for days has completed its first autonomous flight at Edwards Air Force Base, despite a rocky landing. Boeing said Monday that the 28-minute flight of the Phantom Eye began at 6:22 a.m. Friday and the aircraft reached an altitude of 1,244 meters and a cruising speed of 114 kph before landing at the California desert base. Boeing says after touching down, the drone was damaged when the landing

June 6, 2012

Apple asks German court to ban Galaxy Tab

Apple Inc. asked a Dusseldorf appeals court to ban sales of Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy 10.1N tablet computer, a modified version of the device introduced after the original tablet was blocked in Germany.Samsung did not sufficiently change the device and is still trying to exploit the iPad’s reputation, said Matthias Koch, an Apple lawyer, at a hearing today on Apple’s bid to overturn a lower court decision in February denying the request.“Samsung added some loudspeakers and made the sides

June 6, 2012

Galaxy S3 to hit Chinese tech stores

Samsung also plans to release the latest smartphone in Korea, U.S. this monthChinese consumers will be able to get hold of Samsung Electronics’ new flagship smartphone “Galaxy S3” this weekend as Korea’s biggest tech firm secured mobile carrier deals with China’s three telecom giants.Samsung Electronics will offer TD-SCDMA 3G smartphones with China Mobile, CDMA phones with China Telecom and WCDMA with China Unicom, it said in a press release.“We have been closely collaborating with China’s mobil

June 6, 2012

iPad rules the tablets, Samsung tops Amazon, others: survey

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The Apple iPad extended its lead in the global market for tablet computers at the start of 2012 while Amazon’s Kindle Fire flamed out after a sizzling introduction, a survey showed Monday.The ABI Research survey showed overall global sales of media tablets amounted to 18.2 million in the first three months of the year, up 185 percent from a year earlier, but down 33 percent from the fourth quarter gift-giving season.Apple held 65 percent of the market with 11.8 million iPad sh

June 6, 2012

SK Telecom launches security services for cloud computing

SK Telecom has launched security services for cloud computing servers to guard against hacking and security breaches.The company said that through a strategic partnership with U.S.-based Juniper Networks, it developed a cost-efficient cloud security system, named the “T Cloud Biz.” Infosec, which is part of SK C&C, will operate the system.This the first time a telecom company in Korea has launched such “firewall” services for business-to-business cloud computing that utilize systematic and real-

June 6, 2012

Skeleton find points to how vampire legends were born

Italian archeologists discovered last month a skeleton believed to have been part of an exorcism ritual, providing clues to how vampire myths became popular around the world, the Daily Mail reported.The skeleton, found in a mass grave on the island of Lozzarretto Nuovo in Venice, was buried with a brick jammed in its jaws. It is believed that whoever buried the woman suspected her of being a vampire. Placing a brick in a vampire-suspect’s mouth was a tradition during the middle ages to ensure th

June 6, 2012

Skeleton find points to how vampire legends were born

Vietnamese catch 50-kg dragon fish

(Viet Nam News)Two people in southern Vinh Long Province caught a 1.7-meter long dragon fish weighing nearly 50 kilos in the Hau River, near the Ninh Kieu pier in Can Tho City on Wednesday.After catching the fish, they killed it and prepared it for sale, not thinking to preserve it as an ornamental trophy.The dragon fish was subsequently buried in Ba Chua Xu Temple yesterday, attracting large crow

June 6, 2012

Scientists: Dinosaurs lighter than thought

(AFP)British scientists say their new technique to accurately measure the weight and size of dinosaurs shows they were not as heavy as previously thought.University of Manchester biologists used lasers to determine the minimum amount of skin required to wrap around the skeletons of modern-day mammals, then applied the technique to a giant Brachiosaur skeleton in a Berlin museum.While previous esti

June 6, 2012

Scientists: Dinosaurs lighter than thought

Study: Childhood cancer survivors face new risks

Women treated with chest radiation for cancer when they were girls have a higher risk of developing breast cancer than previously thought, doctors warn.Even lower doses of radiation therapy posed a risk for survivors of childhood cancer _ something not known before, researchers found. That means more women might need to be screened beginning at age 25 for breast cancer.“We find that by age 50, approximately 30 percent of women treated with radiation for Hodgkin lymphoma‘’ as girls have develope

June 6, 2012

Study: Childhood cancer survivors face new risks

Mobile carriers, Kakao at odds over free mobile telephony service

Clear guidelines needed before Kakao’s service launch, say carriersTension between Korea’s leading mobile carriers and Kakao Talk, a mobile messenger tech firm, is growing as the latter will introduce a mobile telephone service in the second half of this year.Kakao Talk has begun offering a test version of its mobile Voice over Internet Protocol, named Voice Talk, to over 4 million worldwide users wishing to try its new service either on their iPhones or Android-based smartphones. Voice Talk wil

June 5, 2012

Apple denied Galaxy Tab ban

Apple Inc. was denied its renewed request for a ban on U.S. sales of Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer while the case is still before a federal court of appeals.U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, said Monday that she does not have jurisdiction to issue a preliminary injunction because the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington has not issued a mandate yet. The judge said Apple can renew its request once the court in Washington issue

June 5, 2012

2NE1 unveils new music video with Intel

Intel on Tuesday unveiled its new lineup of ultrabook devices powered by the third generation Intel Core processors as it aims to add a touch of innovation to the existing personal computer industry.Labeled as the second generation ultrabooks, a total of eight device manufacturers, including Samsung and LG Electronics as well as Sony, rolled out their upgraded PCs to consumers at an event in south

June 5, 2012

Predatory birds may have ended era of giant insects

U.S. scientists have found that the evolution of birds may have triggered the extinction of gigantic insects, according to a report on Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.Researchers from the University of California, Santa Cruz studied the fossil records dating back to Carboniferous period, and found that high oxygen levels of the time allowed species like dragonfly-like Meganisoptera to have wingspans of up to 71 centimeters around 300 million years ago. Further study showed that m

June 5, 2012

Predatory birds may have ended era of giant insects