Korea’s only women’s cancer center leaps forward

New director expects to attract breast cancer patients from Asian nationsRenowned breast cancer specialist Paik Nam-sun has never hesitated to try something new. Despite the doubts of his colleagues, he carried out Korea’s first breast-conserving cancer surgery in 1986. He is also among the Korean doctors to have treated the largest number of foreign patients at more than 15,000 cases. Paik, now 6

May 26, 2011

Boy bald after pulling out hair

A boy from Iowa who is only 11 has apparently gone bald after pulling out his hair.The child suffers from trichotillomania, a mental disorder that makes patients compulsively pull out their own hairs.“He started to pull out his eyebrows when he was in second grade, then he quit. Then, when he started fourth grade, he started to pull out his hair,”his mother told ABC.It is known that this type of a

May 26, 2011

Watching too much 3-D TV could harm eyes: report

Samsung 3-D TV (Yonhap News)Watching too much 3-D TV could harm kids’ eyes, NBC reported, citing Samsung’s warning which states children and teenagers may be more at risk of having vision problems or seizures if they watch too often.Ophthamologist Dr. Gregory Haffner said in the interview with NBC that as kids’ eyes are in the developmental stages until age 10 and watching 3-D TV may alter the way

May 26, 2011

Online game industry looks overseas

Localization in foreign markets remains biggest challenge for global expansionKorea’s online game industry is increasing efforts to dive into overseas markets in a bid to seize bigger business opportunities in the Internet era.Well-known local online game publishers and developers, such as Neowiz Games, NEXON and Hangame, have said targeting foreign markets is a top priority for this year.“We have

May 24, 2011

Unprecedented photo op for shuttle-space station

In this image provided by NASA astronaut Andrew Feustel works in the space shuttle Endeavour's payload bay during the mission's first spacewalk at the International Space Station Friday May 20, 2011. (AP-Yonhap News/NASA)HOUSTON (AP) _ In an unprecedented cosmic photo shoot Monday, a departing spaceship snapped close-up glamour pictures of the space shuttle Endeavour attached to the International

May 24, 2011

Galactic ‘fountain of youth’ discovered in Hubble Telescope image

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the edge-on profile of the slender spiral galaxy NGC 5775, which is surrounded by a halo of gas that astronomers suspect is kicked up by star explosions like a galaxy-size fountain. (NASA)Jack Sparrow seeks to find the fountain of youth in the fourth installment of “Pirates of the Caribbean” -- now Hubble scientists have found one of a sort, but 85

May 24, 2011

Iceland's Grimsvotn volcano erupting

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) _ Iceland closed its main international airport Sunday as a volcanic eruption sent a plume of ash, smoke and steam 12 miles (20 kilometers) into the air.Smoke rises from the Grimsvotn volcano in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday. (AP-Yonhap News)Airport and air traffic control operator ISAVIA said Keflavik airport was closed at 0830 GMT (4:30 a.m. EDT), and no flights were takin

May 22, 2011

Pope blesses astronauts in 1st papal call to space

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) _ Pope Benedict XVI had a direct line to the heavens Saturday, with NASA's help.Speaking from the Vatican, the pontiff bestowed a historic blessing upon the 12 astronauts circling Earth during the first-ever papal call to space, wishing a swift recovery for the shuttle commander's wounded congresswoman wife and condolences for a station astronaut mourning his mother's

May 22, 2011

Study finds dark energy exapands universe

(AP-Yonhap News)The existence of “dark energy” that accelerates expansion of the Universe has been confirmed by an astronomical survey of about 200,000 galaxies, BBC reported. Dark energy makes up some 74 percent of the Universe and its force pulls the Universe apart at increasing speed. “The action of dark energy is as if you threw a ball up in the air, and it kept speeding upward into the sky fa

May 20, 2011

Taiwan's HTC to debut new smartphone in S. Korea

HTC's new smartphone unveiled in Seoul on Friday (Yonhap News)        HTC Corp. said Friday it will release its new flagship smartphone in South Korea next week, hoping that the phone's movie streaming feature will help the Taiwanese firm gain ground.    SK Telecom Co., South Korea's largest mobile phone carrier, will exclusively release the Sensation smartphone on May 25, said HTC's North Asia Pr

May 20, 2011

Coffee cuts risk of lethal prostate cancer: study

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― More is better when it comes to drinking coffee to ward off the risk of deadly prostate cancer, according to a major U.S. study released by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health.Men who drank six or more cups per day had a 60 percent lower risk of developing the most lethal type of prostate cancer and a 20 percent lower risk of forming any type of prostate cancer co

May 19, 2011

Endoscopic management of urinary stone disease

Urinary stones are hard buildups of minerals that form in the urinary system and cause urinary tract infection, the obstruction of urinary flow and sometimes renal dysfunction. They may also be accompanied by pain and bleeding. The structural order and chemical components of a urinary stone, as well as abnormalities shown in the urine, began to be unraveled in the 20th century with the advent of a

May 19, 2011

Ways to tackle tummy trouble

Although there is no cure, irritable bowel syndrome can be managedWhen he was a college student, Lee Sang-woo used to memorize the location of toilets at every subway station between his home and school. “Because I had diarrhea frequently, I never took the bus,” said the 32-year-old office worker who has suffered from irritable bowel syndrome for more than 10 years. Even though his symptoms have i

May 19, 2011

Lonely planet guide: Planets that have no stars

Astronomers on Wednesday said they had found a previously inconceivable phenomenon: planets that do not appear to be anchored to a host star but instead wander the heavens.In a two-year scan of the cosmos, 10 planets with roughly the mass of Jupiter, the largest planet of our Solar System, have been found at such enormous distances from the nearest star that some of them could be said to float fre

May 19, 2011