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Science, IT & Culture Volunteering Team at Cambodia
The Science, IT and Culture Volunteering Team, which is composed of 17 undergraduates, is visiting Cambodia January 1 to 16. Based at Hosanna High School in Phnom Penh, the KAIST volunteering team will participate in diverse science and IT classes as well as cultural events for Cambodian high school students.
The KAIST volunteering service is designed to improve Cambodian students’ science education including the areas of physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, as well as an increased exposure to IT technologies. For this service, the volunteering team has prepared for three months, making syllabi for the science classes in addition to planning Arduino IT classes and cultural performances, including K-pop dances and Korean traditional games.
The team will present various science experiments including smart electric fan and mini vehicles using Arduino. Before departing, the students made great efforts to ensure this service would be a success by taking a basic Khmer language class and studying safety education.
Se-Woong Oh, the head of the team said, "All our members are very excited to have the chance to share our knowledge with Cambodian students and help them learn science and IT technology. We hope this service will serve as an opportunity to understand a different culture as well. We made every effort to prepare for an activity we believe in."
(KAIST volunteer team with Hosanna High School students in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.)
2017.01.10 View 5002 -
Controlling DNA Orientation Using a Brush
Professor Dong Ki Yoon’s research team in the Graduate School of Nanoscience and Technology has developed a technique for producing periodic DNA zigzag structures using a common make-up brush.
The results of the research, first-authored by Ph.D. student Yun Jeong Cha and published in Advanced Materials (online, November 15, 2016), has been highlighted in the hot topics of “Liquid Crystals.”
There exist various methods for synthesizing DNA-based nanostructures, but they commonly involved complex design processes and required expensive DNA samples with regulated base sequences.
Using DNA materials extracted from salmon, the research team was able to produce a nanostructure with a well-aligned zigzag pattern at one-thousandth of the usual cost.
The team used a commercial make-up brush bought at a cosmetics store, and with it, applied the salmon DNA in one direction onto a plate, in the same way paint is brushed onto paper. Using a brush with a width of several centimeters, the team aligned DNA molecules of 2 nanometers in diameter along the direction of the brush strokes.
As the thin and dense film of DNA came into contact with air, it lost moisture. An expansive force was created between the dried film and the plate. This force interacted with the elastic force of DNA and caused undulations in the uni-directionally aligned DNA molecules, which resulted in a regular zigzag pattern.
The zigzag DNA’s base sequences could not be controlled because it was extracted from biological sources. However, it has the advantage of being cheap and readily available without compromising its structural integrity and provides a very regular and intricate structure.
This kind of well-ordered DNA structure can be used as template because it can guide or control versatile guest functional materials that are applied to its surface. For example, it can align liquid crystals used in displays, as well as metallic particles and semi-conductors. It is expected that this capacity can be extended to optoelectric devices in the future.
Professor Yoon remarked that “these findings have special implications, as they have demonstrated that various materials in nature aside from DNA, such as proteins, muscle cells, and components of bones can be applied to optoelectric devices.”
This research has been carried out with the support of the Korea National Research Foundation’s Nanomaterials Fundamental Technology Development Program and the Pioneer Research Center under the High-tech Convergence Technology Development Program.
Source: "Control of Periodic Zigzag Structures of DNA by a Simple Shearing Method" by Yun Jeong Cha and Dong Ki Yoon (Advanced Materials, November 15, 2016, DOI: 10.1002/adma.201604247)
Figure 1. Diagram showing the well-ordered zigzag structure of DNA, and the internal molecular orientation
Figure 2. (Left) Unaligned DNA (Right) Aligned DNA after being brushed and dried
Figure 3. Control of the periodicity of the DNA zigzag patterns using micro-channel plates
Figure 4. Diagram representing the control of orientation of liquid crystal materials applied on a zigzag DNA template, and a polarized optical microscope image
2017.01.10 View 6962 -
President Kang Welcomes the New Year with an Upbeat Message
KAIST held a kick-off ceremony on January 2 at the Auditorium on campus to officially welcome the beginning of 2017.
In his New Year’s speech, President Sung-Mo Kang, who is slated to complete his term in February, recalled some of the major achievements accomplished under his leadership in the past four years.
Upon his inauguration in 2013, President Kang set a goal for KAIST to become a global top 10 university and established Quantum Jump Strategies for qualitative growth through innovative education and research programs. Such initiatives have laid the foundation for KAIST to emerge as one of the world’s best “student-centered, faculty-driven, and innovative research universities.” In 2016, Thomson Reuters named KAIST the world’s sixth most innovative university.
President Kang promoted a campus culture that cherishes creativity and a challenging spirit and encouraged university members to increase their interest in entrepreneurship and social responsibility. He reorganized academic structures to offer interdisciplinary education and revamped administrative organizations to streamline university management. On a softer note, he created various channels of communication within the university community to make the campus “happier and united,” which included the establishment of the Customer Satisfaction Center, the Center for Ethics and Human Rights, and coffee meetups.
He promised that KAIST would remain committed to leading the frontier of higher education and research, nationally and globally. The university will establish the Graduate School for Interdisciplinary Medical Science, continue to provide university members with opportunities to learn entrepreneurship, extend its efforts to upgrade campus infrastructures, and strive to globalize and diversify the campus.
Finally, President Kang praised the tremendous support KAIST has received from across Korea and the globe, including the members of KAIST and its alumni, noting that there were more than 26,000 donations made to the university during his presidency.
The full text of President Kang’s New Year message follows below:
President Kang's New Year Message
Dear Members of KAIST,
It is 2017, and the year of the rooster has dawned on us. May you and your family enjoy good health and happiness in the new year, and I hope that you will all fulfill your dreams. In return for the love and trust of the nation’s citizens, KAIST will continue to do its best.
Following my inauguration in 2013, I established Quantum Jump Strategies in the first half of my term (2013 to 2014), and I also created a united KAIST during this period. In the second half (2015 to 2016), I promoted innovation through qualitative growth. KAIST has seen astonishing growth in the past four years, and this has laid the foundation to emerge as one of the world’s best Student-Centered, Faculty-Driven, and Innovative Research Universities.
Creativity and challenge are the key words serving as the driving force behind national progress. KAIST’s qualitative growth has been achieved through continuous innovation of education and research, promotion of an entrepreneurial spirit, and exercising of social responsibility.
KAIST’s education is constantly improving. It has developed a future-oriented educational platform, commensurate with its reputation as a world-class university, after several rounds of reorganization. The interdisciplinary education system at KAIST, based on a harmony of academic excellence and creativity, facilitates efficient operation of its broad undergraduate education and interdisciplinary graduate curriculum. Through a π-shaped education system, the students solidify their foundation at the undergraduate level, and go on to graduate school to gain more wisdom and knowledge through interdisciplinary education and research. Upon graduation, they are recognized as irreplaceable, talented members of society.
The newly introduced capstone design curriculum has shifted the paradigm of Korea’s engineering education, placing greater emphasis on real-world applications. With the opportunity to plan realistic projects and identify problems, the students will acquire creativity, practical skills, teamwork, and leadership.
Under Education 3.0, KAIST has implemented a student-centered education system. Students participate in self-directed learning using online contents provided before lectures, and gain knowledge and problem-solving skills through collaborative learning with team members during classes. In addition, KAIST is fulfilling its social responsibility by making its lectures available to the public through KAIST’s Massive Open Online Course (MOOC).
KAIST is among the world’s top universities in terms of research capacity. The university has been highly ranked by QS and THE for its innovative education and research, and it was recently named by Thomson Reuters as the world’s sixth most innovative university. To ensure continuous developments, KAIST must perform sustainable research for the long run. Ideas aimed at improving humanity must be continuously produced, and the university must acquire the necessary resources to support such research. KAIST should promote a research culture that assesses researchers based on their diligence and conscientiousness rather than how successful they are. The KAIST Grand Challenge 30 Project was launched for KAIST to resolve major issues faced by humanity and to spread its culture of innovation to all.
To acquire global competitiveness in the field of biological sciences, KAIST is planning to establish the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Medical Science in Sejong. From 2018, the government will allocate a budget for the graduate school, which fared well in the preliminary feasibility study. Beginning with the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Medical Science, KAIST will establish a system for innovative education and research in Sejong, and further strengthen its capacities.
KAIST has worked hard to instill an entrepreneurial spirit in its students. It has provided students with many opportunities to learn entrepreneurship, so as to enhance the economic and social value of its activities in education and research. Through the Institute for Startup KAIST (ISK), the university supports students in all stages of entrepreneurship, from ideation to commercialization. The Master of Entrepreneurship & Innovation at the K-School is jointly operated by several departments. Thanks to its active efforts in promoting entrepreneurship such as the opening of ISK Pangyo and the offering of the Social Entrepreneurship MBA (SEMBA), KAIST has produced the highest number of student entrepreneurs in Korea.
KAIST’s innovative pursuits in its administration have been highly regarded by organizations around the world. The tenure system, introduced for the first time in Korea, has now stabilized. Its English-only lecture policy and tuition subsidy by GPA have been improved based on feedback from students and experts.
KAIST went through a major administrative reorganization in 2013. The reorganization, introduced to integrate similar functions and simplify the decision-making process, enabled KAIST’s administration to adapt flexibly to changes, become function-oriented, assume roles more rationally, and to be more responsive to the needs of customers. With the opening of the Administration Development Education Center, KAIST has improved the quality of administrative services by providing staff in administrative positions with more opportunities for self-development and to attend lectures that improve the efficiency of administrative operations.
The university is actively reflecting the opinions of its members through various channels of communication. The school marked a first in Korea when it implemented an ombudsman to mediate between parties in case of conflict. The Customer Satisfaction Center was opened to improve the quality of services on campus, and the Center for Ethics and Human Rights to prevent the infringement of human rights. I have tried to make myself more available to all members of KAIST, so as to freely interact with them without having to arrange separate meetings. The opening of the office of the president, coffee meetups, forums with undergraduate and graduate students, and e-mail exchanges have been tremendously helpful in gaining valuable feedback and improving university operations.
KAIST is strongly supported by the citizens of Daejeon. The university has strengthened its ties with Daejeon Metropolitan City, Yuseong District Office, and Chungnam National University. Its efforts have paid off with the opening of a new path connecting Chungnam National University and KAIST, and the KAIST Bridge in front of the main gate. KAIST has encouraged students to reach out to society by serving as tutors for the socially neglected and helping out in making kimchi.
By improving its infrastructure in the past four years, KAIST has now established high-quality infrastructure to support its education and research. The Chung Moon Soul Building 2 is now complete, the Academic Cultural Creative Building is underway, and the Main Library is being upgraded. New constructions or remodeling on campus include the opening of Startup KAIST Studio 2, opening of the Biomedical Research Center (Pharmacy), remodeling of International Village C, remodeling of the Semiconductor Building, remodeling of the Auditorium, remodeling of the Mechanical Engineering Building, remodeling of the Startup Village, remodeling of Haejeong Hall and Buildings No. 8 and 9, remodeling of the Outdoor Theater, remodeling of Hwaam Dormitory (tentative), establishment of an eco campus (planting of pine trees), establishment of a safe campus (improvements to roads and pedestrian roads). Besides expanding its infrastructure, KAIST has exerted efforts to make efficient use of existing space by relocating IBS and the Graduate School for Green Growth to Munji Campus.
KAIST strives to create a more accommodating atmosphere for international members and to embrace diversity. It has reached its goal of having international faculty, international students, and female faculty account for 10% each of the total school population. Now, it is time to improve this 10:10:10 initiative to a 20:20:20 initiative. In addition, it must continue to improve the common kitchen at Nanum Hall, communicate with international members through regular podcasts, open a Halal Food Cafeteria, establish a bilingual campus, offer joint degrees with outstanding universities, expand overseas internship opportunities, enhance gender equality, and improve the women’s lounge and childcare facilities.
In the near future, I believe that KAIST will be a center of attention both at home and abroad. It has attracted an increasing number of undergraduate applicants in the past four years, and admits highly qualified freshmen each year. Students of all levels, including freshmen, have shown great pride in studying at KAIST. Recently, the university has received a high number of donations from students, alumni, and parents. There were more than 26,000 donations in the past four years, amounting to a total of 70.8 billion won. KAIST is also serving as a benchmark institute for similar organizations in and outside of Korea. Some authorities have even requested KAIST to open branch campuses in their countries. These results would not have been possible without your efforts to create a happy campus.
Dear Members of KAIST,
This New Year’s greetings will be my last as the president of KAIST. The Board of Trustees is selecting a new president, whose inauguration shall fall on February 23, 2017. I will look back fondly on my past four years at KAIST.
During the remainder of my term as the president, I will concentrate my efforts to create a happy campus for each and every member. It was a great pleasure and honor to serve as President for the past four years. I am sincerely grateful to all members for playing their part in nurturing KAIST into the world’s best university and in creating a happy campus.
You are the future of KAIST, and the driving force behind Korea. I believe you have what it takes to lead developments in the country, and I encourage you to dream bigger.
May 2017 be a year in which all members of KAIST fulfill their dreams. Let us work towards our goal of becoming the hub of the fourth industrial revolution and one of the world’s best Student-Centered, Faculty-Driven Research Universities.
2017.01.03 View 8333 -
EEWS Graduate School Team Receives the S-Oil Best Paper Award
Professor Hyungjun Kim and Dr. He-Young Shin from the EEWS (Energy, Environment, Water and Sustainability) Graduate School at KAIST received the Best Paper Award in Chemistry from S-Oil, a Korean petroleum and refinery company, on November 29, 2016.
Established in 2011, the S-Oil Best Paper Awards are bestowed annually upon ten young scientists in the fields of five basic sciences: mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and earth science. The scientists are selected at the recommendation of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology and the Association of Korean Universities. The awards grant a total of USD 230,000 for research funding.
Dr. Shin, the lead author of the awarded research paper, said, “My research interest has been catalyst studies based on theoretical chemistry. I am pleased to accept this award that will support my studies, and will continue to research catalyst design that can predict parameters and integrate them into catalytic systems.”
Professor Hyungjun Kim (left) and Dr. He-Young Shin (right)
2016.12.23 View 10393 -
A KAIST Team Wins the Chem-E-Car Competition 2016
A KAIST team consisted of four students from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering won the Chem-E-Car Competition 2016, which took place on November 13 at the Union Square in San Francisco. The students who participated were Young-Hyun Cha, Jin-Sol Shin, Dae-Seok Oh, and Wan-Tae Kim. Their adviser was Professor Doh Chang Lee of the same department.
Established in 1999, the Chem-E-Car is an annual worldwide college competition for students majoring in chemical engineering. The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), founded in 1908, is the world’s leading organization for chemical engineering professionals with more than 50,000 members from over 100 countries and hosts this competition every year.
A total of 41 university teams including Carnegie Mellon University and Purdue University participated in this year’s competition.
KAIST students competed in the event for the first time in 2014 and reached the rank of 28. In 2015, the students placed 16th, and finally, took the first place in last month’s competition, followed by the Georgia Institute of Technology.
In the competition, students must design small-scale (20x30x40 cm) automobiles that operate chemically, as well as describe their research and drive their car a fixed distance down a wedge-shaped course to demonstrate the car’s capabilities. In addition to driving a specified distance (15-30 meters), the car must hold a payload of 0-500 mL of water.
The organizers tell participants the exact distance and amount of payloads one hour before the competition begins. Winners are chosen based on their finishing time and how close their car reaches the finish line. Thus, students must show sophisticated coordination of chemical reactions to win.
The KAIST team designed their car to have a stable power output using a Vanadium redox flow battery developed by Professor Hee Tak Kim of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. They employed iodine clock reactions to induce quick and precise chemical reactions to control their car.
KAIST’s car finished with the best run coming within 11 cm of the target line; Georgia Tech’s car reached the finish line by 13 cm and New Jersey Institute of Technology’s car by 14 cm.
Young-Hyun Cha, one of the four students, said, “When we first designed our car, we had to deal with many issues such as stalls or connection errors. We kept working on fixing these problems through trial and error, which eventually led us to success.”
For a news article on KAIST’s win at 2016 Chemi-E-Car Competition by AIChE, see the link below:
http://www.aiche.org/chenected/2016/11/koreas-kaist-wins-1st-place-2016-chem-e-car-competition-photos
2016.12.08 View 10981 -
Mystery of Biological Plastic Synthesis Machinery Unveiled
Plastics and other polymers are used every day. These polymers are mostly made from fossil resources by refining petrochemicals. On the other hand, many microorganisms naturally synthesize polyesters known as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) as distinct granules inside cells.
PHAs are a family of microbial polyesters that have attracted much attention as biodegradable and biocompatible plastics and elastomers that can substitute petrochemical counterparts. There have been numerous papers and patents on gene cloning and metabolic engineering of PHA biosynthetic machineries, biochemical studies, and production of PHAs; simple Google search with “polyhydroxyalkanoates” yielded returns of 223,000 document pages. PHAs have always been considered amazing examples of biological polymer synthesis. It is astounding to see PHAs of 500 kDa to sometimes as high as 10,000 kDa can be synthesized in vivo by PHA synthase, the key polymerizing enzyme in PHA biosynthesis. They have attracted great interest in determining the crystal structure of PHA synthase over the last 30 years, but unfortunately without success. Thus, the characteristics and molecular mechanisms of PHA synthase were under a dark veil.
In two papers published back-to-back in Biotechnology Journal online on November 30, 2016, a Korean research team led by Professor Kyung-Jin Kim at Kyungpook National University and Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) described the crystal structure of PHA synthase from Ralstonia eutropha, the best studied bacterium for PHA production, and reported the structural basis for the detailed molecular mechanisms of PHA biosynthesis. The crystal structure has been deposited to Protein Data Bank in February 2016. After deciphering the crystal structure of the catalytic domain of PHA synthase, in addition to other structural studies on whole enzyme and related proteins, the research team also performed experiments to elucidate the mechanisms of the enzyme reaction, validating detailed structures, enzyme engineering, and also N-terminal domain studies among others.
Through several biochemical studies based on crystal structure, the authors show that PHA synthase exists as a dimer and is divided into two distinct domains, the N-terminal domain (RePhaC1ND) and the C-terminal domain (RePhaC1CD). The RePhaC1CD catalyzes the polymerization reaction via a non-processive ping-pong mechanism using a Cys-His-Asp catalytic triad. The two catalytic sites of the RePhaC1CD dimer are positioned 33.4 Å apart, suggesting that the polymerization reaction occurs independently at each site. This study also presents the structure-based mechanisms for substrate specificities of various PHA synthases from different classes.
Professor Sang Yup Lee, who has worked on this topic for more than 20 years, said,
“The results and information presented in these two papers have long been awaited not only in the PHA community, but also metabolic engineering, bacteriology/microbiology, and in general biological sciences communities. The structural information on PHA synthase together with the recently deciphered reaction mechanisms will be valuable for understanding the detailed mechanisms of biosynthesizing this important energy/redox storage material, and also for the rational engineering of PHA synthases to produce designer bioplastics from various monomers more efficiently.”
Indeed, these two papers published in Biotechnology Journal finally reveal the 30-year mystery of machinery of biological polyester synthesis, and will serve as the essential compass in creating designer and more efficient bioplastic machineries.
References:
Jieun Kim, Yeo-Jin Kim, So Young Choi, Sang Yup Lee and Kyung-Jin Kim. “Crystal structure of Ralstonia eutropha polyhydroxyalkanoate synthase C-terminal domain and reaction mechanisms” Biotechnology Journal DOI: 10.1002/biot.201600648
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/biot.201600648/abstract
Yeo-Jin Kim, So Young Choi, Jieun Kim, Kyeong Sik Jin, Sang Yup Lee and Kyung-Jin Kim. “Structure and function of the N-terminal domain of Ralstonia eutropha polyhydroxyalkanoate synthase, and the proposed structure and mechanisms of the whole enzyme” Biotechnology Journal DOI: 10.1002/biot.201600649
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/biot.201600649/abstract
2016.12.02 View 10361 -
Making Graphene Using Laser-induced Phase Separation
IBS & KAIST researchers clarify how laser annealing technology can lead to the production of ultrathin nanomaterials
All our smart phones have shiny flat AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) displays. Behind each single pixel of these displays hides at least two silicon transistors which are mass-manufactured using laser annealing technology. While the traditional methods to make the transistors use temperature above 1,000°C, the laser technique reaches the same results at low temperatures even on plastic substrates (melting temperature below 300°C). Interestingly, a similar procedure can be used to generate crystals of graphene. Graphene is a strong and thin nano-material made of carbon, its electric and heat-conductive properties have attracted the attention of scientists worldwide.
Professor Keon Jae Lee of the Materials Science and Engineering Department at KAIST and his research group at the Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), as well as Professor Sung-Yool Choi of the Electrical Engineering School at KAIST and his research team discovered graphene synthesis mechanism using laser-induced solid-state phase separation of single-crystal silicon carbide (SiC). This study, available in Nature Communications, clarifies how this laser technology can separate a complex compound (SiC) into its ultrathin elements of carbon and silicon.
Although several fundamental studies presented the effect of excimer lasers in transforming elemental materials like silicon, the laser interaction with more complex compounds like SiC has rarely been studied due to the complexity of compound phase transition and ultra-short processing time.
With high resolution microscope images and molecular dynamic simulations, scientists found that a single-pulse irradiation of xenon chloride excimer laser of 30 nanoseconds melts SiC, leading to the separation of a liquid SiC layer, a disordered carbon layer with graphitic domains (about 2.5 nm thick) on top surface and a polycrystalline silicon layer (about 5 nm) below carbon layer. Giving additional pulses causes the sublimation of the separated silicon, while the disordered carbon layer is transformed into a multilayer graphene.
"This research shows that the laser material interaction technology can be a powerful tool for the next generation of two dimensional nanomaterials," said Professor Lee.
Professor Choi added: "Using laser-induced phase separation of complex compounds, new types of two dimensional materials can be synthesized in the future."
High-resolution transmission electron microscopy shows that after just one laser pulse of 30 nanoseconds, the silicon carbide (SiC) substrate is melted and separates into a carbon and a silicon layer. More pulses cause the carbon layer to organize into graphene and the silicon to leave as gas.
Molecular dynamics simulates the graphene formation mechanism. The carbon layer on the top forms because the laser-induced liquid SiC (SiC (l)) is unstable.
(Press Release by Courtesy of the Institute for Basic Science (IBS))
2016.12.01 View 11515 -
Key Interaction between the Circadian Clock and Cancer Identified
Professor Jae Kyoung Kim and his research team from the Department of Mathematical Sciences at KAIST found that the circadian clock drives changes in circadian rhythms of p53 which functions as a tumor suppressor. Using a differential equation, he applied a model-driven mathematical approach to learn the mechanism and role of p53.
Kim’s mathematical modeling has been validated by experimental studies conducted by a research team at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in the United State, which is led by Professor Carla Finkielstein. As a result, the researchers revealed that there is an important link existed between the circadian clock and cancer.
The findings of this research were published online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of the America (PNAS) on November 9, 2016.
The circadian clock in our brain controls behavioral and physiological processes within a period of 24 hours, including making us fall asleep at a certain time by triggering the release of the sleep hormone melatonin in our brain, for example, around 9 pm. The clock is also involved in various physiological processes such as cell division, movement, and development.
Disruptions caused by the mismatch of the circadian clock and real time due to chronic late night work, shiftwork, and other similar issues may lead to various diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.
In 2014, when Kim met with Finkielstein, her research team succeeded in observing the changes of p53 over a period of 24 hours, but could not understand how the circadian clock controls the 24-hour rhythm of p53. It was difficult to determine p53’s mechanism since its cell regulation system is far more complex than other cells
To solve the problem, Kim set up a computer simulation using mathematical modeling and ran millions of simulations. Instead of the traditional method based on trial and error experiments, mathematical modeling allowed to save a great deal of time, cost, and manpower.
During this process, Kim proved that the biorhythm of p53 and Period2, an important protein in the circadian clock, are closely related. Cells usually consist of a cell nucleus and cytoplasm. While p53 exists in both nucleus and cytoplasm, it becomes more stable and its degradation slows down when it is in the nucleus.
Kim predicted that the Period2 protein, which plays a key role in the functioning of the circadian clock, could influence the nucleus entry of the p53 protein.
Kim’s predictions based on mathematical modeling have been validated by the Virginia team, thereby revealing a strong connection between the circadian clock and cancer.
Researchers said that this research will help explain the cause of different results from numerous anticancer drugs, which are used to normalize the level of p53, when they are administrated at different times and find the most effective dosing times for the drugs.
They also believe that this study will play an important role in identifying the cause of increasing cancer rates in shift-workers whose circadian clocks are unstable and will contribute to the development of more effective treatments for cancer.
Professor Kim said, “This is an exciting thing that my research can contribute to improving the healthy lives of nurses, police officers, firefighters, and the like, who work in shifts against their circadian rhythms. Taking these findings as an opportunity, I hope to see more active interchanges of ideas between biological sciences and mathematical science in Korea.”
This research has been jointly conducted between KAIST and Virginia Tech and supported by the T. J. Park Science Fellowship of POSCO, the National Science Foundation of the United States, and the Young Researcher Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea.
Picture 1. The complex interaction between tumor antigen p53 and Period2 (Per2) which plays a major role in the circadian clock as revealed by mathematical simulations and experiments
Picture 2. A portion of the mathematical model used in the research
Picture 3. Professor Jae Kyoung Kim (third from left) and the Virginia Tech Research Team
2016.11.17 View 7837 -
Professor Lee Co-chairs the Global Future Councils on Biotechnology of the WEF
The World Economic Forum (WEF) established a new global network of the world’s leading experts, “The Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils,” to explore innovative solutions for the most pressing global challenges. The Councils’ first meeting took place on November 13-14, 2016, in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Some 25 nations joined as member states. The Councils have 35 committees.
Over 700 global leaders in business, government, civil society and academia gathered at the inaugural meeting to “develop ideas and strategies to prepare the world for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, with topics including smart cities, robotics, and the future of mobility,” according to a statement issued by the WEF.
Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at KAIST was appointed to co-chair one of the Councils' committees, The Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils on Biotechnology, for two years. The other chairperson is Dr. Feng Zhang, a professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who played a critical role in the development of optogenetics and CRISPR technologies.
The Biotechnology Committee consists of 24 globally recognized professionals in life sciences, law, ethics and policy including Thomas Connelly, the executive director of the American Chemical Society, Tina Fano, the executive vice president of Novozymes, and Mostafa Ronaghi, the chief technology officer of Illumina.
Professor Lee also serves as a committee member of The Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils on the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“Life sciences and engineering will receive more attention as a key element of the Fourth Industrial Revolution that the global society as a whole has been experiencing now. Together with thought leaders gathered worldwide, I will join the international community’s concerted efforts to address issues of importance that impact greatly on the future of humanity,” Professor Lee said.
In addition, Professor Lee received the James E. Bailey Award 2016 from The Society for Biological Engineering on November 15, 2016. He is the first Asian researcher to be recognized for his contributions to the field of biotechnology.
2016.11.15 View 9514 -
Continuous Roll-Process Technology for Transferring and Packaging Flexible Large-Scale Integrated Circuits
A research team led by Professor Keon Jae Lee from KAIST and by Dr. Jae-Hyun Kim from the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) has jointly developed a continuous roll-processing technology that transfers and packages flexible large-scale integrated circuits (LSI), the key element in constructing the computer’s brain such as CPU, on plastics to realize flexible electronics.
Professor Lee previously demonstrated the silicon-based flexible LSIs using 0.18 CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) process in 2013 (ACS Nano, “In Vivo Silicon-based Flexible Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Monolithically Encapsulated with Biocompatible Liquid Crystal Polymers”) and presented the work in an invited talk of 2015 International Electron Device Meeting (IEDM), the world’s premier semiconductor forum.
Highly productive roll-processing is considered a core technology for accelerating the commercialization of wearable computers using flexible LSI. However, realizing it has been a difficult challenge not only from the roll-based manufacturing perspective but also for creating roll-based packaging for the interconnection of flexible LSI with flexible displays, batteries, and other peripheral devices.
To overcome these challenges, the research team started fabricating NAND flash memories on a silicon wafer using conventional semiconductor processes, and then removed a sacrificial wafer leaving a top hundreds-nanometer-thick circuit layer. Next, they simultaneously transferred and interconnected the ultrathin device on a flexible substrate through the continuous roll-packaging technology using anisotropic conductive film (ACF). The final silicon-based flexible NAND memory successfully demonstrated stable memory operations and interconnections even under severe bending conditions. This roll-based flexible LSI technology can be potentially utilized to produce flexible application processors (AP), high-density memories, and high-speed communication devices for mass manufacture.
Professor Lee said, “Highly productive roll-process was successfully applied to flexible LSIs to continuously transfer and interconnect them onto plastics. For example, we have confirmed the reliable operation of our flexible NAND memory at the circuit level by programming and reading letters in ASCII codes. Out results may open up new opportunities to integrate silicon-based flexible LSIs on plastics with the ACF packing for roll-based manufacturing.”
Dr. Kim added, “We employed the roll-to-plate ACF packaging, which showed outstanding bonding capability for continuous roll-based transfer and excellent flexibility of interconnecting core and peripheral devices. This can be a key process to the new era of flexible computers combining the already developed flexible displays and batteries.”
The team’s results will be published on the front cover of Advanced Materials (August 31, 2016) in an article entitled “Simultaneous Roll Transfer and Interconnection of Silicon NAND Flash Memory.” (DOI: 10.1002/adma.201602339)
YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OJjAEm27sw
Picture 1: This schematic image shows the flexible silicon NAND flash memory produced by the simultaneous roll-transfer and interconnection process.
Picture 2: The flexible silicon NAND flash memory is attached to a 7 mm diameter glass rod.
2016.09.01 View 11640 -
KAIST Develops Transparent Oxide Thin-Film Transistors
With the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) era, strong demand has grown for wearable and transparent displays that can be applied to various fields such as augmented reality (AR) and skin-like thin flexible devices. However, previous flexible transparent displays have posed real challenges to overcome, which are, among others, poor transparency and low electrical performance. To improve the transparency and performance, past research efforts have tried to use inorganic-based electronics, but the fundamental thermal instabilities of plastic substrates have hampered the high temperature process, an essential step necessary for the fabrication of high performance electronic devices.
As a solution to this problem, a research team led by Professors Keon Jae Lee and Sang-Hee Ko Park of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the KAIST has developed ultrathin and transparent oxide thin-film transistors (TFT) for an active-matrix backplane of a flexible display by using the inorganic-based laser lift-off (ILLO) method. Professor Lee’s team previously demonstrated the ILLO technology for energy-harvesting (Advanced Materials, February 12, 2014) and flexible memory (Advanced Materials, September 8, 2014) devices.
The research team fabricated a high-performance oxide TFT array on top of a sacrificial laser-reactive substrate. After laser irradiation from the backside of the substrate, only the oxide TFT arrays were separated from the sacrificial substrate as a result of reaction between laser and laser-reactive layer, and then subsequently transferred onto ultrathin plastics ( thickness). Finally, the transferred ultrathin-oxide driving circuit for the flexible display was attached conformally to the surface of human skin to demonstrate the possibility of the wearable application. The attached oxide TFTs showed high optical transparency of 83% and mobility of even under several cycles of severe bending tests.
Professor Lee said, “By using our ILLO process, the technological barriers for high performance transparent flexible displays have been overcome at a relatively low cost by removing expensive polyimide substrates. Moreover, the high-quality oxide semiconductor can be easily transferred onto skin-like or any flexible substrate for wearable application.”
These research results, entitled “Skin-Like Oxide Thin-Film Transistors for Transparent Displays,”
(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adfm.201601296/abstract) were the lead article published in the July 2016 online issue of Wiley’s Advanced Functional Materials.
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References
[1] Advanced Materials, February 12, 2014, Highly-efficient, Flexible Piezoelectric PZT Thin Film Nanogenerator on Plastic Substrates
(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.201305659/abstract)
[2] Advanced Materials, September 8, 2014, Flexible Crossbar-structured Resistive Memory Arrays on Plastic Substartes via Inorganic-based Laser Lift-off
(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.201402472/abstract)
Picture 1: A Schamatic Image of Ultrathin, Flexible, and Transparent Oxide Thin-film Transistors
This image shows ultrathin, flexible, and transparent oxide thin-film transistors produced via the ILLO process.
Picture 2: Application of Uultrathin, Flexible, and Transparent Oxide Thin-film Transistors
This picture shows ultrathin, flexible, and transparent oxide thin-film transistors attached to a jumper sleeve and human skin.
2016.08.01 View 12623 -
Professor Seyun Kim Identifies a Neuron Signal Controlling Molecule
A research team led by Professor Seyun Kim of the Department of Biological Sciences at KAIST has identified inositol pyrophosphates as the molecule that strongly controls neuron signaling via synaptotagmin.
Professors Tae-Young Yoon of Yonsei University’s Y-IBS and Sung-Hyun Kim of Kyung Hee University’s Department of Biomedical Science also joined the team.
The results were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) on June 30, 2016.
This interdisciplinary research project was conducted by six research teams from four different countries and covered a wide scope of academic fields, from neurobiology to super resolution optic imaging.
Inositol pyrophosphates such as 5-diphosphoinositol pentakisphos-phate (5-IP7), which naturally occur in corns and beans, are essential metabolites in the body. In particular, inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6) has anti-cancer properties and is thought to have an important role in cell signaling.
Inositol pentakisphosphate (IP7) differs from IP6 by having an additional phosphate group, which was first discovered 20 years ago. IP7 has recently been identified as playing a key role in diabetes and obesity.
Psychopathy and neurodegenerative diseases are known to result from the disrupted balance of inositol pyrophosphates. However, the role and the mechanism of action of IP7 in brain neurons and nerve transmission remained unknown.
Professor Kim’s team has worked on inositol pyrophosphates for several years and discovered that very small quantities of IP7 control cell-signaling transduction. Professor Yoon of Yonsei University identified IP7 as a much stronger inhibitor of neuron signaling compared to IP6. In particular, IP7 directly suppresses synaptotagmin, one of the key proteins in neuron signaling. Moreover, Professor Kim of Kyung Hee University observed IP7 inhibition in sea horse neurons.
Together, the joint research team identified inositol pyrophosphates as the key switch metabolite of brain-signaling transduction.
The researchers hope that future research on synaptotagmin and IP7 will reveal the mechanism of neuron-signal transduction and thus enable the treatment of neurological disorders.
These research findings were the result of cooperation of various science and technology institutes: KAIST, Yonsei-IBS (Institute for Basic Science), Kyung Hee University, Sungkyunkwan University, KIST, University of Zurich in Switzerland, and Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg in Germany.
Schematic Image of Controlling the Synaptic Exocytotic Pathway by 5-IP7 , Helping the Understanding of the Signaling Mechanisms of Inositol Pyrophosphates
2016.07.21 View 11932