AR
-
KAIST appoints K-Pop Star “G-Dragon” Kwon Ji-yong as a visiting professor
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on June 5th that its Department of Mechanical Engineering has appointed Kwon Ji-yong, a K-Pop star better known as G-Dragon, as a visiting professor. The appointment was officiated at the “Innovate Korea 2024” event held at the KAIST Sports Complex in the morning of the 5th.
This appointment was promoted to expand the global competitiveness of Korean culture by applying the latest scientific technology developed from KAIST to K-content and the cultural industry.
An official from Galaxy Corporation, Mr. Kwon’s agency, said, “Through this appointment, we expect to contribute to market innovation and to the global spread and growth of K-culture through research and development of ‘entertech’*.”
* Entertech: A compound word of ‘entertainment’ and ‘technology’ refering to an industry that creates new added value by combining ICT with intellectual property rights (IP) and contents, which are the core values of entertainment.
The newly appointed Visiting Professor Kwon Ji-yong is scheduled to give a special lecture on leadership to undergraduate and graduate students. The purpose is to share his experience and life as a world-class artist to provide KAIST students with vision and insight into the world, as well as the courage and inspiration to pioneer within their own fields of expertise.
In addition, cultural events are planned to be held to help facilitate communication with KAIST members and provide artistic experiences necessary to grow into creative and convergent talents.
Joint research that applies KAIST's various technologies to art and cultural contents will also be pursued. ‘(temporarily named) KAIST-Galaxy Corporation Entertech Research Center’ will be established within the Department of Mechanical Engineering, conducting ▴research on Digital Twin technology for Korean Wave artists, starting with G-Dragon himself ▴convergent research on science and technology encompassing artificial intelligence, robots, and metaverse and K-Culture and ▴research on the development of differentiated avatars of artists using the latest technologies such as volumetrics, motion capture, and haptics.
Galaxy Corporation produces highly talked about televised shows including 'Physical: 100 Season 2', which achieved the feat of ranking first in the Netflix’s ‘Global Top 10 Non-English TV Shows’ category, as well as 'Street Woman Fighter', '2 Days & 1 Night', 'Let's Play Soccer: Mungchyeoya Chanda' and 'Mr. Trot 2', and expanded its IP (intellectual property rights) to all aspects of entertainment, from broadcasting to the music industry by recruiting G-Dragon in December last year.
It is an 'entertech' company that is pioneering a new content market by combining IP with the latest digital technologies such as metaverse, avatar, and artificial intelligence (AI). Based on these achievements, it recently signed a partnership with a global investment bank (IB). Through global investment, the company is soon to be the first entertech startup to become a unicorn (corporate value of 1 trillion won).
Kwon Ji-yong said, “It is an honor to be a visiting professor at KAIST, where countless scientific geniuses come out of. I am hoping the best of science and technology experts and my expertise in the entertainment business will come together and a great synergy, a ‘big bang’ will be ensue as a result.
“More and more musicians are working with artificial intelligence and these cutting-edge technologies enable more diverse forms of creative work,” he continued. He also expressed his specific wish. “Through the AI avatar developed jointly by Galaxy Corporation and KAIST, I wish to communicate more closely with my fans around the world that I cannot meet so often otherwise.”
President Kwang-Hyung Lee said, “Considering that KAIST is a university that has always explored new things and pioneered unknown territories since its establishment, I believe that Kwon Ji-yong also shares KAIST's DNA in that he is a leader and pioneer who has attained world-class achievements in the world of culture and arts.”
President Lee continued expressing his expectations saying, “Kwon Ji-yong will not only contribute to taking KAIST’s science and technology to spread and grow K-culture on the global stage, through his activities but also in sharing his experience and spirit as the trend leader of the world, he will be an asset to the members of KAIST which aims to become a top-tier university.”
The period of Kwon Ji-yong’s professorship is two years from the 4th of this month to June of 2026. In addition, Professor Kwon Ji-yong has been appointed as KAIST’s global ambassador to help strengthen KAIST's international presence.
Professor Kwon Ji-yong, who began his career as G-Dragon, has established himself as an icon symbolizing Korean pop culture over 18 years as a member and the leader of the K-Pop idol group 'Big Bang', which debuted in 2006 and gained global popularity. While being recognized for his outstanding ability in all aspects of his music, from writing lyrics, composing, and producing to performing, he has also been active in fashion, becoming the first Asian man to be selected as a global ambassador for Chanel in 2016, spreading Korean music and fashion to the world.
In June, 2017, he released his 3rd solo album 'Kwon Ji Yong' on USB instead of the existing CD format, for the first time in Korea. He also attended CES, the world's largest home appliance and IT exhibition held in Las Vegas, USA in January of this year, extending his strides as a 'tech-tainer'.
2024.06.05 View 15779 -
A 20-year-old puzzle solved: KAIST research team reveals the 'three-dimensional vortex' of zero-dimensional ferroelectrics
Materials that can maintain a magnetized state by themselves without an external magnetic field (i.e., permanent magnets) are called ferromagnets. Ferroelectrics can be thought of as the electric counterpart to ferromagnets, as they maintain a polarized state without an external electric field. It is well-known that ferromagnets lose their magnetic properties when reduced to nano sizes below a certain threshold. What happens when ferroelectrics are similarly made extremely small in all directions (i.e., into a zero-dimensional structure such as nanoparticles) has been a topic of controversy for a long time.
< (From left) Professor Yongsoo Yang, the corresponding author, and Chaehwa Jeong, the first author studying in the integrated master’s and doctoral program, of the KAIST Department of Physics >
The research team led by Dr. Yongsoo Yang from the Department of Physics at KAIST has, for the first time, experimentally clarified the three-dimensional, vortex-shaped polarization distribution inside ferroelectric nanoparticles through international collaborative research with POSTECH, SNU, KBSI, LBNL and University of Arkansas.
About 20 years ago, Prof. Laurent Bellaiche (currently at University of Arkansas) and his colleagues theoretically predicted that a unique form of polarization distribution, arranged in a toroidal vortex shape, could occur inside ferroelectric nanodots. They also suggested that if this vortex distribution could be properly controlled, it could be applied to ultra-high-density memory devices with capacities over 10,000 times greater than existing ones. However, experimental clarification had not been achieved due to the difficulty of measuring the three-dimensional polarization distribution within ferroelectric nanostructures.
The research team at KAIST successfully solved this 20-year-old challenge by implementing a technique called atomic electron tomography. This technique works by acquiring atomic-resolution transmission electron microscope images of the nanomaterials from multiple tilt angles, and then reconstructing them back into three-dimensional structures using advanced reconstruction algorithms. Electron tomography can be understood as essentially the same method with the CT scans used in hospitals to view internal organs in three dimensions; the KAIST team adapted it uniquely for nanomaterials, utilizing an electron microscope at the single-atom level.
< Figure 1. Three-dimensional polarization distribution of BaTiO3 nanoparticles revealed by atomic electron tomography. >(Left) Schematic of the electron tomography technique, which involves acquiring transmission electron microscope images at multiple tilt angles and reconstructing them into 3D atomic structures.(Center) Experimentally determined three-dimensional polarization distribution inside a BaTiO3 nanoparticle via atomic electron tomography. A vortex-like structure is clearly visible near the bottom (blue dot).(Right) A two-dimensional cross-section of the polarization distribution, thinly sliced at the center of the vortex, with the color and arrows together indicating the direction of the polarization. A distinct vortex structure can be observed.
Using atomic electron tomography, the team completely measured the positions of cation atoms inside barium titanate (BaTiO3) nanoparticles, a well-known ferroelectric material, in three dimensions. From the precisely determined 3D atomic arrangements, they were able to further calculate the internal three-dimensional polarization distribution at the single-atom level. The analysis of the polarization distribution revealed, for the first time experimentally, that topological polarization orderings including vortices, anti-vortices, skyrmions, and a Bloch point occur inside the 0-dimensional ferroelectrics, as theoretically predicted 20 years ago. Furthermore, it was also found that the number of internal vortices can be controlled depending on their sizes.
Prof. Sergey Prosandeev and Prof. Bellaiche (who proposed with other co-workers the polar vortex ordering theoretically 20 years ago), joined this collaboration and further proved that the vortex distribution results obtained from experiments are consistent with theoretical calculations.
By controlling the number and orientation of these polarization distributions, it is expected that this can be utilized into next-generation high-density memory device that can store more than 10,000 times the amount of information in the same-sized device compared to existing ones.
Dr. Yang, who led the research, explained the significance of the results: “This result suggests that controlling the size and shape of ferroelectrics alone, without needing to tune the substrate or surrounding environmental effects such as epitaxial strain, can manipulate ferroelectric vortices or other topological orderings at the nano-scale. Further research could then be applied to the development of next-generation ultra-high-density memory.”
This research, with Chaehwa Jeong from the Department of Physics at KAIST as the first author, was published online in Nature Communications on May 8th (Title: Revealing the Three-Dimensional Arrangement of Polar Topology in Nanoparticles).
The study was mainly supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Grants funded by the Korean Government (MSIT).
2024.05.31 View 5800 -
KAIST and Merck Sign MOU to Boost Biotech Innovation
< (From left) KAIST President Kwang-Hyung Lee and Merck CEO Matthias Heinzel >
KAIST (President Kwang-Hyung Lee) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Merck Life Science (CEO Matthias Heinzel) on May 29 to foster innovation and technology creation in advanced biotechnology.
Since May of last year, the two institutions have been discussing multidimensional innovation programs and will now focus on industry-academia cooperation to tackle bioindustry challenges with this MOU as a foundation.
KAIST will conduct joint research projects in various advanced biotechnology fields, such as synthetic biology, mRNA, cell line engineering, and organoids, using the chemical and biological portfolios provided by Merck.
Additionally, KAIST will establish an Experience Lab in collaboration with the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering. This lab will support the discovery and analysis of candidate substances in materials science and biology.
Programs to enhance researchers' capabilities will also be offered. Scholarships for graduate students and awards for professors will be implemented. Researchers will have opportunities to participate in global academic events and educational programs hosted by Merck, such as the Curious 2024 Future Insight Conference and the Innovation Cup.
M Ventures, a venture capital subsidiary of Merck Group, will collaborate with KAIST's startup institute to support technology commercialization and continue to develop their startup ecosystem.
The signing ceremony at KAIST's main campus in Daejeon was attended by the CEO of Merck Life Science and the President of KAIST along with representatives from both institutions.
Matthias Heinzel, a member of the Executive Board of Merck and CEO Life Science, said, “This agreement with KAIST is a significant step toward accelerating the development of the life science industry both in Korea and globally. Advancing life science research and fostering the next generation of scientists is essential for discovering new medicines to meet global health needs.”
President Kwang-Hyung Lee responded, “We are pleased to share a vision for scientific advancement with Merck, a leading global technology company. We anticipate that this partnership will strengthen the connection between Merck’s life science business and the global scientific community.”
In March, Merck, a global science and technology company with over 350 years of history, announced a plan to invest 430 billion KRW (€300 million) to build a bioprocessing center in Daejeon, where KAIST is located. This is Merck's largest investment in the Asia-Pacific region.
2024.05.30 View 5457 -
Novel High-performance and Sustainable Paper Coating Material created by KAIST-Yonsei University Research Team to reduce microplastic pollution
What if there is a biodegradable packaging material with high performance without leaving microplastics?
Plastic pollution presents a global challenge that must be solved. In particular, packaging accounts for 30-50% of the total plastic consumption. While paper packaging is eco-friendly, it lacks crucial functionalities like moisture resistance and strength. Traditional coating materials exacerbate plastic pollution, prompting the need for sustainable alternatives.
Polyethylene (PE) and ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) are typically used as coating materials to improve the low barrier properties of paper packaging, but these substances do not decompose and worsen microplastic pollution when disposed of in the natural environment. In response to this problem, packaging materials made from bio-based substances and biodegradable plastics have been developed, but in most cases, as the packaging performance improves, the biodegradability diminishes rapidly.
KAIST announced that a joint research team led by Professor Jaewook Myung of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Professor Hanseul Yang of the Department of Life Sciences, and Professor Jongcheol Seo of the Department of Packaging and Logistics <Figure 4. Back cover art of Green Chemistry journal of the latest volume, describing the boric acid cross-linked poly(vinyl alcohol) coated paper featuring marine biodegradability, biocompatibility, high barrier properties, and robustness developed through this study.>
at Yonsei University tackled the challenge of balancing packaging performance and sustainability. They successfully developed a sustainable, marine biodegradable, high-performance paper coating material.
* Biodegradable plastic: A plastic that can be decomposed by microorganisms in natural environments such as soil and ocean or artificial conditions such as industrial composting and anaerobic digestion by microorganisms.
*Microplastics: Tiny pieces of plastic less than 5 mm, produced during the decomposition of bulk plastic materials. Microplastics can persist in the sea for more than decades, causing severe marine pollution.
The team utilized boric acid-crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), a biodegradable plastic, to coat the paper, thereby enhancing its biodegradability, barrier properties, and strength. The resulting coated paper exhibited superior performance compared to conventional plastics, with excellent barrier properties and physical strength, even in humid conditions.
<Figure 1. (a) Chemical structure of boric acid-crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol) coating on paper, (b-c) Oxygen and water vapor barrier properties, (d-f) Tensile strength in dry and moist conditions. OTR: Oxygen transmission rate, WVTR: Water vapor transmission rate.>
The team also conducted an in-depth examination of biodegradation and biocompatibility to systematically evaluate the sustainability of the newly developed coated paper. Biodegradation was assessed by simulating the marine environment, known for its challenging biodegradability conditions. The team employed a respiratory system-based bioreactor to measure the degree of carbon mineralization into carbon dioxide. After 111 days of biodegradation, it was found that the coated papers achieved 59-82% biodegradation depending on the coating component. The phenomenon in which marine bacteria are decomposing the coating material was captured through a scanning electron microscope. In addition, in vitro biocompatibility was confirmed through human embryonic kidney and mouse embryonic fibroblast cells, as well as high in-vivo biocompatibility of the coated paper was verified through mouse experiments.
Through this study, the joint research team proposed a coating strategy that can improve packaging performance while upholding sustainability to address the drawbacks of paper packaging. The boric acid-crosslinked PVA-coated paper eliminates the need for artificial composting conditions or sewage treatment facilities. Being biodegradable in natural environments and characterized by low toxicity, this newly coated paper does not exacerbate environmental pollution when accidentally discarded. Thus, it presents a sustainable substitute for plastic packaging materials.
<Figure 2. (a) Normal paper and boric acid-crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol) coated paper, (b) Biodegradation of the coated paper by marine bacteria, (c) Result of cytotoxicity test using human embryonic kidney and mouse embryonic fibroblast cells. (d) Vital organs after one-month exposure of the coated papers to mice.>
Professor Jaewook Myung at KAIST, who led the sustainability study of coated paper, said, "The development of a marine biodegradable high-performance paper coating is the result of combining the innovative technologies of three leading research teams in each field." He said, “We will continue to develop sustainable materials with excellent performance.” Meanwhile, Professor Jongchul Seo of Yonsei University, who led the research on the development of high-performance paper coating, mentioned, “Through this research, we have developed a sustainable paper packaging technology that can replace non-degradable plastic packaging, and we expect the research outcome will be applied in industry,”.
<Figure 3. End-of-life scenario of papers coated by BA-crosslinked PVA in the marine environment. The coated papers potentially be disintegrated by marine microorganisms and ocean waves and tides. The depolymerization of PVA coating and paper is then mediated by extracellular depolymerases such as oxidases and cellulases, after which the small subunits (oligomers and monomers) are assimilated by microbial cells. The carbon components in the coated papers are ultimately mineralized into CO2, posing no harm in the ocean.>
The work was published in Green Chemistry and Food Chemistry journals. This study was conducted with the support of the Korea Research Foundation and the Korea Institute for Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Technology Planning and Evaluation, etc.
*Title of paper published in Green Chemistry: Boric acid-crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol): biodegradable, biocompatible, robust, and high-barrier paper coating
※ Selected as the article for the back cover of the journal .
- Authors: Shinhyeong Choe, Seulki You, Kitae Park, Youngju Kim, Jehee Park, Yongjun Cho, Jongchul Seo, Hanseul Yang, and Jaewook Myung)
- Date: April 17, 2024
- DOI: 10.1039/D4GC00618F
*Title of paper published in Food Chemistry: Effect of epichlorohydrin treatment on the coating process and performance of high-barrier paper packaging
- Authors: Kitae Park, Shinhyeong Choe, Kambiz Sadeghi, Pradeep Kumar Panda, Jaewook Myung, Dowan Kim, and Jongchul Seo
- Date: February 19, 2024
- DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.138772
<Figure 4. Back cover art of Green Chemistry journal of the latest volume, describing the boric acid cross-linked poly(vinyl alcohol) coated paper featuring marine biodegradability, biocompatibility, high barrier properties, and robustness developed through this study.>
2024.05.22 View 6343 -
Revolutionary 'scLENS' Unveiled to Decode Complex Single-Cell Genomic Data
Unlocking biological information from complex single-cell genomic data has just become easier and more precise, thanks to the innovative 'scLENS' tool developed by the Biomedical Mathematics Group within the IBS Center for Mathematical and Computational Sciences led by Chief Investigator Jae Kyoung Kim, who is also a professor at KAIST. This new finding represents a significant leap forward in the field of single-cell transcriptomics.
Single-cell genomic analysis is an advanced technique that measures gene expression at the individual cell level, revealing cellular changes and interactions that are not observable with traditional genomic analysis methods. When applied to cancer tissues, this analysis can delineate the composition of diverse cell types within a tumor, providing insights into how cancer progresses and identifying key genes involved during each stage of progression.
Despite the immense potential of single-cell genomic analysis, handling the vast amount of data that it generates has always been challenging. The amount of data covers the expression of tens of thousands of genes across hundreds to thousands of individual cells. This not only results in large datasets but also introduces noise-related distortions, which arise in part due to current measurement limitations.
< Figure 1. Overview of scLENS (single-cell Low-dimensional embedding using the effective Noise Subtract) >
(Left) Current dimensionality reduction methods for scRNA-seq data involve conventional data preprocessing steps, such as log normalization, followed by manual selection of signals from the scaled data. However, this study reveals that the high levels of sparsity and variability in scRNA-seq data can lead to signal distortion during the data preprocessing, compromising the accuracy of downstream analyses.
(Right) To address this issue, the researchers integrated L2 normalization into the conventional preprocessing pipeline, effectively mitigating signal distortion. Moreover, they developed a novel signal detection algorithm that eliminates the need for user intervention by leveraging random matrix theory-based noise filtering and signal robustness testing. By incorporating these techniques, scLENS enables accurate and automated analysis of scRNA-seq data, overcoming the limitations of existing dimensionality reduction methods.
Corresponding author Jae Kyoung Kim highlighted, “There has been a remarkable advancement in experimental technologies for analyzing single-cell transcriptomes over the past decade. However, due to limitations in data analysis methods, there has been a struggle to fully utilize valuable data obtained through extensive cost and time."
Researchers have developed numerous analysis methods over the years to discern biological signals from this noise. However, the accuracy of these methods has been less than satisfactory. A critical issue is that determining signal and noise thresholds often depends on subjective decisions from the users.
The newly developed scLENS tool harnesses Random Matrix Theory and Signal robustness test to automatically differentiate signals from noise without relying on subjective user input.
First author Hyun Kim stated, "Previously, users had to arbitrarily decide the threshold for signal and noise, which compromised the reproducibility of analysis results and introduced subjectivity. scLENS eliminates this problem by automatically detecting signals using only the inherent structure of the data."
During the development of scLENS, researchers identified the fundamental reasons for inaccuracies in existing analysis methods. They found that commonly used data preprocessing methods distort both biological signals and noise. The new preprocessing approach that scLENS offers is free from such distortions.
By resolving issues related to noise threshold determined by subjective user choice and signal distortion in conventional data preprocessing, scLENS significantly outperforms existing methods in accuracy. Additionally, scLENS automates the laborious process of signal dimension selection, allowing researchers to extract biological signals conveniently and automatically.
CI Kim added, "scLENS solves major issues in single-cell transcriptome data analysis, substantially improving the accuracy and efficiency throughout the analysis process. This is a prime example of how fundamental mathematical theories can drive innovation in life sciences research, allowing researchers to more quickly and accurately answer biological questions and uncover secrets of life that were previously hidden."
This research was published in the international journal 'Nature Communications' on April 27.
Terminology
* Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq): A technique used to measure gene expression levels in individual cells, providing insights into cell heterogeneity and rare cell types.
* Dimensionality reduction: A method to reduce the number of features or variables in a dataset while preserving the most important information, making data analysis more manageable and interpretable.
* Random matrix theory: A mathematical framework used to model and analyze the properties of large, random matrices, which can be applied to filter out noise in high-dimensional data.
* Signal robustness test: Among the signals, this test selects signals that are robust to the slight perturbation in data because real biological signals should be invariant for such slight modification in the data.
2024.05.09 View 4715 -
KAIST Develops Sodium Battery Capable of Rapid Charging in Just a Few Seconds
Sodium (Na), which is over 500 times more abundant than lithium (Li), has recently garnered significant attention for its potential in sodium-ion battery technologies. However, existing sodium-ion batteries face fundamental limitations, including lower power output, constrained storage properties, and longer charging times, necessitating the development of next-generation energy storage materials.
On the 11th of April, KAIST (represented by President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced that a research team led by Professor Jeung Ku Kang from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering had developed a high-energy, high-power hybrid sodium-ion battery capable of rapid charging.
The innovative hybrid energy storage system integrates anode materials typically used in batteries with cathodes suitable for supercapacitors. This combination allows the device to achieve both high storage capacities and rapid charge-discharge rates, positioning it as a viable next-generation alternative to lithium-ion batteries.
However, the development of a hybrid battery with high energy and high power density requires an improvement to the slow energy storage rate of battery-type anodes as well as the enhancement of the relatively low capacity of supercapacitor-type cathode materials.
< Figure 1. Schematic synthetic procedures of high-capacity/high-rate anode and cathode materials for a sodium-ion hybrid energy storages (SIHES) and their proposed energy storage mechanisms. Synthetic procedures for (a) ultrafine iron sulfide-embedded S-doped carbon/graphene (FS/C/G) anode and (b) zeolitic imidazolate framework-derived porous carbon (ZDPC) cathode materials. (c) Proposed energy storage mechanisms of Na+ ions in FS/C/G anode and ClO-4 ions in ZDPC cathode for an SIHES. >
To account for this, Professor Kang's team utilized two distinct metal-organic frameworks for the optimized synthesis of hybrid batteries. This approach led to the development of an anode material with improved kinetics through the inclusion of fine active materials in porous carbon derived from metal-organic frameworks. Additionally, a high-capacity cathode material was synthesized, and the combination of the cathode and anode materials allowed for the development of a sodium-ion storage system optimizing the balance and minimizing the disparities in energy storage rates between the electrodes.
The assembled full cell, comprising the newly developed anode and cathode, forms a high-performance hybrid sodium-ion energy storage device. This device surpasses the energy density of commercial lithium-ion batteries and exhibits the characteristics of supercapacitors' power density. It is expected to be suitable for rapid charging applications ranging from electric vehicles to smart electronic devices and aerospace technologies.
< Figure 2. Electrochemical characterizations of FS/C/G-20//ZDPC SIHES full cells (left). Ragone plots for FS/C/G-20//ZDPC (this work) and other previously reported sodium-ion electrochemical energy storage devices (right). >
Professor Kang noted that the hybrid sodium-ion energy storage device, capable of rapid charging and achieving an energy density of 247 Wh/kg and a power density of 34,748 W/kg, represents a breakthrough in overcoming the current limitations of energy storage systems. He anticipates broader applications across various electronic devices, including electric vehicles.
This research, co-authored by KAIST doctoral candidates Jong Hui Choi and Dong Won Kim, was published in the international journal Energy Storage Materials on March 29 with the title "Low-crystallinity conductive multivalence iron sulfide-embedded S-doped anode and high-surface-area O-doped cathode of 3D porous N-rich graphitic carbon frameworks for high-performance sodium-ion hybrid energy storages."
The study was conducted with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea through the Nanomaterial Technology Development Project.
2024.04.18 View 16068 -
KAIST introduces microbial food as a strategy food production of the future
The global food crisis is increasing due to rapid population growth and declining food productivity to climate change. Moreover, today's food production and supply system emit a huge amount of carbon dioxide, reaching 30% of the total amount emitted by humanity, aggravating climate change. Sustainable and nutritious microbial food is attracting attention as a key to overcoming this impasse.
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on April 12th that Research Professor Kyeong Rok Choi of the BioProcess Engineering Research Center and Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering published a paper that proposes a direction of research on ‘microbial food production from sustainable raw materials.’
Microbial food refers to various foods and food ingredients produced using microorganisms. Microbial biomass contains a large amount of protein per unit in dry mass, comparable to that of meat, and emits the smallest amount of carbon dioxide and is required to produce a unit mass compared to various livestock, fish, shellfish, and crops. Since the amount of water and space requirement is small, it can be an eco-friendly, sustainable and highly nutritious food resource.
Fermented foods are the most readily available microbial foods around us. Although the proportion of microbial biomass in fermented foods is small, compounds with relatively low nutritional value, such as carbohydrates, are consumed during the fermentation process, and as microorganisms proliferate, the content of nutrients with higher nutritional value, such as proteins and vitamins, increases.
Various food compounds isolated and purified from biomass or culture media obtained through microbial culture are also a branch of microbial food. Examples that can be found around us include various amino acids, including monosodium glutamate, food proteins, enzymes, flavoring compounds, food colorings, and bioactive substances.
< Figure 1. Schematic diagram portraying various microbial biomass production strategies utlizing sustainable feedstocks >
Lastly, the most ultimate and fundamental form of microbial food can be said to be microbial biomass or extracts produced through microbial culture and foods cooked using them. A representative example is single-cell protein, which collectively refers to microbial biomass or microbial proteins extracted from it.
In this paper, the researchers comprehensively covered various non-edible raw materials and strategies for using them that can be used to produce microbial food in a more sustainable way. Furthermore, it covers various microbial foods that are actually produced in the industry using the relevant raw materials and their characteristics, as well as prospects for the production and generalization of sustainable microbial foods.
Research Professor Kyeong Rok Choi, the first author of this paper, said, “Microbial foods produced from various sustainable raw materials will soon be commonly encountered at our tables.” Second author Seok Yeong Jung, a doctoral student, also said, “Microbial foods of the future will not be limited foods consumed only out of a sense of obligation to the environment, but will be complete foods that are consumed by choice because of their nutritional value and taste.” In addition, Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee said, “It is time for the industry and academia, as well as the public and private sectors, to cooperate more closely so that more diverse microbial foods can be developed and supplied in order to create a sustainable society for ourselves and our descendants.”
< Figure 2. Compositions and environmental footprints of animal, plant and microbial biomass. >
This paper was published online on April 9 in ‘Nature Microbiology’ published by Nature.
※ Paper title: From sustainable feedstocks to microbial foods
※ Author information: Kyeong Rok Choi (first author), Seok Yeong Jung (second author) and Sang Yup Lee (corresponding author)
This research was conducted under the development of platform technologies of microbial cell factories for the next-generation biorefineries project (project leader KAIST Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee) supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Cooperative Research Program for Agriculture Science and Technology Development (Project leader KAIST Research Professor Kyeong Rok Choi) of the Agricultural Microbiology Project Group (Director, Professor Pahn-Shick Chang) supported by the Rural Development Administration.
2024.04.12 View 6036 -
A KAIST-SNUH Team Devises a Way to Make Mathematical Predictions to find Metabolites Related to Somatic Mutations in Cancers
Cancer is characterized by abnormal metabolic processes different from those of normal cells. Therefore, cancer metabolism has been extensively studied to develop effective diagnosis and treatment strategies. Notable achievements of cancer metabolism studies include the discovery of oncometabolites* and the approval of anticancer drugs by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that target enzymes associated with oncometabolites. Approved anticancer drugs such as ‘Tibsovo (active ingredient: ivosidenib)’ and ‘Idhifa (active ingredient: enasidenib)’ are both used for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. Despite such achievements, studying cancer metabolism, especially oncometabolites, remains challenging due to time-consuming and expensive methodologies such as metabolomics. Thus, the number of confirmed oncometabolites is very small although a relatively large number of cancer-associated gene mutations have been well studied.
*Oncometabolite: A metabolite that shows pro-oncogenic function when abnormally accumulated in cancer cells. An oncometabolite is often generated as a result of gene mutations, and this accumulation promotes the growth and survival of cancer cells. Representative oncometabolites include 2-hydroxyglutarate, succinate, and fumarate.
On March 18th, a KAIST research team led by Professor Hyun Uk Kim from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering developed a computational workflow that systematically predicts metabolites and metabolic pathways associated with somatic mutations in cancer through collaboration with research teams under Prof Youngil Koh, Prof. Hongseok Yun, and Prof. Chang Wook Jeong from Seoul National University Hospital.
The research teams have successfully reconstructed patient-specific genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs)* for 1,043 cancer patients across 24 cancer types by integrating publicly available cancer patients’ transcriptome data (i.e., from international cancer genome consortiums such as PCAWG and TCGA) into a generic human GEM. The resulting patient-specific GEMs make it possible to predict each patient’s metabolic phenotypes.
*Genome-scale metabolic model (GEM): A computational model that mathematically describes all of the biochemical reactions that take place inside a cell. It allows for the prediction of the cell’s metabolic phenotypes under various genetic and/or environmental conditions.
< Figure 1. Schematic diagram of a computational methodology for predicting metabolites and metabolic pathways associated with cancer somatic mutations. of a computational methodology for predicting metabolites and metabolic pathways associated with cancer somatic mutations. >
The team developed a four-step computational workflow using the patient-specific GEMs from 1,043 cancer patients and somatic mutation data obtained from the corresponding cancer patients. This workflow begins with the calculation of the flux-sum value of each metabolite by simulating the patient-specific GEMs. The flux-sum value quantifies the intracellular importance of a metabolite. Next, the workflow identifies metabolites that appear to be significantly associated with specific gene mutations through a statistical analysis of the predicted flux-sum data and the mutation data. Finally, the workflow selects altered metabolic pathways that significantly contribute to the biosynthesis of the predicted oncometabolite candidates, ultimately generating metabolite-gene-pathway sets as an output.
The two co-first authors, Dr. GaRyoung Lee (currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School) and Dr. Sang Mi Lee (currently a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School) said, “The computational workflow developed can systematically predict how genetic mutations affect cellular metabolism through metabolic pathways. Importantly, it can easily be applied to different types of cancer based on the mutation and transcriptome data of cancer patient cohorts.”
Prof. Kim said, “The computational workflow and its resulting prediction outcomes will serve as the groundwork for identifying novel oncometabolites and for facilitating the development of various treatment and diagnosis strategies”.
This study, which was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea, has been published online in Genome Biology, a representative journal in the field of biotechnology and genetics, under the title "Prediction of metabolites associated with somatic mutations in cancers by using genome‑scale metabolic models and mutation data".
2024.03.18 View 5319 -
KAIST Research Team Creates the Scent of Jasmine from Microorganisms
The fragrance of jasmine and ylang-ylang, used widely in the manufacturing of cosmetics, foods, and beverages, can be produced by direct extraction from their respective flowers. In reality, this makes it difficult for production to meet demand, so companies use benzyl acetate, a major aromatic component of the two fragrances that is chemically synthesized from raw materials derived from petroleum.
On February 26, a KAIST research team led by Research Professor Kyeong Rok Choi from the BioProcess Engineering Research Center and Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering revealed the development of the first microbial process to effectively produce benzyl acetate, an industrially useful compound, from renewable carbon sources such as glucose. The results were published in their paper titled “A microbial process for the production of benzyl acetate”.
< Figure 1. Production of benzyl acetate through co-culture of upstream and downstream strains harboring the benzoic acid-dependent pathway. >
The team, led by Distinguished Professor Lee, aimed to produce benzyl acetate through an environmentally friendly and sustainable method, and developed an Escherichia coli strand to convert glucose into benzyl acetate through system metabolic engineering*.
*System metabolic engineering: a field of research founded by Distinguished Professor Lee to effectively develop microbial cell plants, a core component of the bio-industry that will replace the existing chemical industry, which is highly dependent on petroleum.
The research team developed a metabolic pathway that biosynthesizes benzyl acetate from benzoic acid derived from glucose, and successfully produced benzyl acetate by co-culturing** the strain.
**co-culture: simultaneously synthesizing two or more types of microorganisms in a mixture
However, it has been confirmed that the enzyme used to convert benzoic acid into benzyl acetate in this co-culturing technique acts non-specifically on an intermediate product during benzoic acid biosynthesis, producing a by-product called cinnamyl acetate. This process consumes the intermediate product needed for benzoic acid biosynthesis, thereby reducing the production efficiency of the target compound, benzyl acetate.
To overcome this problem, Distinguished Professor Lee and his team devised a delayed co-culture method, where they first produced benzoic acid in the earlier stages of fermentation by only culturing the top strain that produces benzoic acid from glucose, and later inoculated the bottom strain to convert the accumulated benzoic acid in the culture medium into benzyl acetate.
By applying this co-culture technique, the team suppressed the formation of by-products without further strain improvement or applying additional enzymes, and multiplied the concentration of the target compound by 10 times, producing 2.2 g/L of benzyl acetate. In addition, the team confirmed its potential for the commercial production of benzyl acetate through a technical economic analysis on this microbial process.
< Figure 2. Delayed co-culture of the Bn1 and Bn-BnAc3 strains for improved production of benzyl acetate through the benzoic acid-independent pathway.>
Research Professor Keyong Rok Choi, who was the first author of this paper, said, “This work is significant in that we have developed an effective microbial process to produce the industrially useful compound benzyl acetate, and also in that we have suggested a new approach to overcome the target chemical efficiency diminution and by-product formation issues caused commonly through non-specific enzyme activities during metabolic engineering.”
Distinguished Professor Lee said, “If we can increase the variety and number of microbial processes that produce useful chemicals through sustainable methods and at the same time develop effective strategies to solve chronic and inevitable problems that arise during microbial strain development, we will be able to accelerate the transition from the petrochemical industry into the eco-friendly and sustainable bio-industry.
This work was published online in Nature Chemical Engineering, issued by Nature.
This research was supported by the ‘Implementation of Intelligent Cell Factory Technology (PI: Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee) Project by the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the ‘Development of Protein Production Technology from Inorganic Substances through Microbiological Metabolic System Control’ (PI: Research Professor Kyeong Rok Choi) by the Agricultural Microbiological Project Group at the Rural Development Administration.
2024.03.05 View 5608 -
KAIST Team Develops an Insect-Mimicking Semiconductor to Detect Motion
The recent development of an “intelligent sensor” semiconductor that mimics the optic nerve of insects while operating at ultra-high speeds and low power offers extensive expandability into various innovative technologies. This technology is expected to be applied to various fields including transportation, safety, and security systems, contributing to both industry and society.
On February 19, a KAIST research team led by Professor Kyung Min Kim from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE) announced the successful developed an intelligent motion detector by merging various memristor* devices to mimic the visual intelligence** of the optic nerve of insects.
*Memristor: a “memory resistor” whose state of resistance changes depending on the input signal
**Visual intelligence: the ability to interpret visual information and perform calculations within the optic nerve
With the recent advances in AI technology, vision systems are being improved by utilizing AI in various tasks such as image recognition, object detection, and motion analysis. However, existing vision systems typically recognize objects and their behaviour from the received image signals using complex algorithms. This method requires a significant amount of data traffic and higher power consumption, making it difficult to apply in mobile or IoT devices.
Meanwhile, insects are known to be able to effectively process visual information through an optic nerve circuit called the elementary motion detector, allowing them to detect objects and recognize their motion at an advanced level. However, mimicking this pathway using conventional silicon integrated circuit (CMOS) technology requires complex circuits, and its implementation into actual devices has thus been limited.
< Figure 1. Working principle of a biological elementary motion detection system. >
Professor Kyung Min Kim’s research team developed an intelligent motion detecting sensor that operates at a high level of efficiency and ultra-high speeds. The device has a simple structure consisting of only two types of memristors and a resistor developed by the team. The two different memristors each carry out a signal delay function and a signal integration and ignition function, respectively. Through them, the team could directly mimic the optic nerve of insects to analyze object movement.
< Figure 2. (Left) Optical image of the M-EMD device in the left panel (scale bar 200 μm) and SEM image of the device in the right panel (scale bar: 20 μm). (Middle) Responses of the M-EMD in positive direction. (Right) Responses of the M-EMD in negative direction. >
To demonstrate its potential for practical applications, the research team used the newly developed motion detector to design a neuromorphic computing system that can predict the path of a vehicle. The results showed that the device used 92.9% less energy compared to existing technology and predicted motion with more accuracy.
< Figure 3. Neuromorphic computing system configuration based on motion recognition devices >
Professor Kim said, “Insects make use of their very simple visual intelligence systems to detect the motion of objects at a surprising high speed. This research is significant in that we could mimic the functions of a nerve using a memristor device.” He added, “Edge AI devices, such as AI-topped mobile phones, are becoming increasingly important. This research can contribute to the integration of efficient vision systems for motion recognition, so we expect it to be applied to various fields such as autonomous vehicles, vehicle transportation systems, robotics, and machine vision.”
This research, conducted by co-first authors Hanchan Song and Min Gu Lee, both Ph.D. candidates at KAIST DMSE, was published in the online issue of Advanced Materials on January 29.
This research was supported by the Mid-Sized Research Project by the National Research Foundation of Korea, the Next-Generation Intelligent Semiconductor Technology Development Project, the PIM Artificial Intelligence Semiconductor Core Technology Development Project, the National Nano Fab Center, and the Leap Research Project by KAIST.
2024.02.29 View 6116 -
Team KAIST placed among top two at MBZIRC Maritime Grand Challenge
Representing Korean Robotics at Sea: KAIST’s 26-month strife rewarded
Team KAIST placed among top two at MBZIRC Maritime Grand Challenge
- Team KAIST, composed of students from the labs of Professor Jinwhan Kim of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Professor Hyunchul Shim of the School of Electrical and Engineering, came through the challenge as the first runner-up winning the prize money totaling up to $650,000 (KRW 860 million).
- Successfully led the autonomous collaboration of unmanned aerial and maritime vehicles using cutting-edge robotics and AI technology through to the final round of the competition held in Abu Dhabi from January 10 to February 6, 2024.
KAIST (President Kwang-Hyung Lee), reported on the 8th that Team KAIST, led by students from the labs of Professor Jinwhan Kim of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Professor Hyunchul Shim of the School of Electrical Engineering, with Pablo Aviation as a partner, won a total prize money of $650,000 (KRW 860 million) at the Maritime Grand Challenge by the Mohamed Bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge (MBZIRC), finishing first runner-up.
This competition, which is the largest ever robotics competition held over water, is sponsored by the government of the United Arab Emirates and organized by ASPIRE, an organization under the Abu Dhabi Ministry of Science, with a total prize money of $3 million.
In the competition, which started at the end of 2021, 52 teams from around the world participated and five teams were selected to go on to the finals in February 2023 after going through the first and second stages of screening. The final round was held from January 10 to February 6, 2024, using actual unmanned ships and drones in a secluded sea area of 10 km2 off the coast of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. A total of 18 KAIST students and Professor Jinwhan Kim and Professor Hyunchul Shim took part in this competition at the location at Abu Dhabi.
Team KAIST will receive $500,000 in prize money for taking second place in the final, and the team’s prize money totals up to $650,000 including $150,000 that was as special midterm award for finalists.
The final mission scenario is to find the target vessel on the run carrying illegal cargoes among many ships moving within the GPS-disabled marine surface, and inspect the deck for two different types of stolen cargo to recover them using the aerial vehicle to bring the small cargo and the robot manipulator topped on an unmanned ship to retrieve the larger one. The true aim of the mission is to complete it through autonomous collaboration of the unmanned ship and the aerial vehicle without human intervention throughout the entire mission process. In particular, since GPS cannot be used in this competition due to regulations, Professor Jinwhan Kim's research team developed autonomous operation techniques for unmanned ships, including searching and navigating methods using maritime radar, and Professor Hyunchul Shim's research team developed video-based navigation and a technology to combine a small autonomous robot with a drone.
The final mission is to retrieve cargo on board a ship fleeing at sea through autonomous collaboration between unmanned ships and unmanned aerial vehicles without human intervention. The overall mission consists the first stage of conducting the inspection to find the target ship among several ships moving at sea and the second stage of conducting the intervention mission to retrieve the cargoes on the deck of the ship. Each team was given a total of three opportunities, and the team that completed the highest-level mission in the shortest time during the three attempts received the highest score.
In the first attempt, KAIST was the only team to succeed in the first stage search mission, but the competition began in earnest as the Croatian team also completed the first stage mission in the second attempt. As the competition schedule was delayed due to strong winds and high waves that continued for several days, the organizers decided to hold the finals with the three teams, including the Team KAIST and the team from Croatia’s the University of Zagreb, which completed the first stage of the mission, and Team Fly-Eagle, a team of researcher from China and UAE that partially completed the first stage. The three teams were given the chance to proceed to the finals and try for the third attempt, and in the final competition, the Croatian team won, KAIST took the second place, and the combined team of UAE-China combined team took the third place. The final prize to be given for the winning team is set at $2 million with $500,000 for the runner-up team, and $250,000 for the third-place.
Professor Jinwhan Kim of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, who served as the advisor for Team KAIST, said, “I would like to express my gratitude and congratulations to the students who put in a huge academic and physical efforts in preparing for the competition over the past two years. I feel rewarded because, regardless of the results, every bit of efforts put into this up to this point will become the base of their confidence and a valuable asset in their growth into a great researcher.” Sol Han, a doctoral student in mechanical engineering who served as the team leader, said, “I am disappointed of how narrowly we missed out on winning at the end, but I am satisfied with the significance of the output we’ve got and I am grateful to the team members who worked hard together for that.”
HD Hyundai, Rainbow Robotics, Avikus, and FIMS also participated as sponsors for Team KAIST's campaign.
2024.02.09 View 10022 -
A KAIST Research Team Develops a Novel “Bone Bandage” Material for Cracked Bones
Bone regeneration is a complex process, and existing methods to aid regeneration including transplants and growth factor transmissions face limitations such as the high cost. But recently, a piezoelectric material that can promote the growth of bone tissue has been developed.
A KAIST research team led by Professor Seungbum Hong from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE) announced on January 25 the development of a biomimetic scaffold that generates electrical signals upon the application of pressure by utilizing the unique osteogenic ability of hydroxyapatite (HAp). This research was conducted in collaboration with a team led by Professor Jangho Kim from the Department of Convergence Biosystems Engineering at Chonnam National University.
HAp is a basic calcium phosphate material found in bones and teeth. This biocompatible mineral substance is also known to prevent tooth decay and is often used in toothpaste.
Previous studies on piezoelectric scaffolds confirmed the effects of piezoelectricity on promoting bone regeneration and improving bone fusion in various polymer-based materials, but were limited in simulating the complex cellular environment required for optimal bone tissue regeneration. However, this research suggests a new method for utilizing the unique osteogenic abilities of HAp to develop a material that mimics the environment for bone tissue in a living body.
< Figure 1. Design and characterization of piezoelectrically and topographically originated biomimetic scaffolds. (a) Schematic representation of the enhanced bone regeneration mechanism through electrical and topographical cues provided by HAp-incorporated P(VDF-TrFE) scaffolds. (b) Schematic diagram of the fabrication process. >
The research team developed a manufacturing process that fuses HAp with a polymer film. The flexible and free-standing scaffold developed through this process demonstrated its remarkable potential for promoting bone regeneration through in-vitro and in-vivo experiments in rats.
The team also identified the principles of bone regeneration that their scaffold is based on. Using atomic force microscopy (AFM), they analysed the electrical properties of the scaffold and evaluated the detailed surface properties related to cell shape and cell skeletal protein formation. They also investigated the effects of piezoelectricity and surface properties on the expression of growth factors.
Professor Hong from KAIST’s DMSE said, “We have developed a HAp-based piezoelectric composite material that can act like a ‘bone bandage’ through its ability to accelerate bone regeneration.” He added, “This research not only suggests a new direction for designing biomaterials, but is also significant in having explored the effects of piezoelectricity and surface properties on bone regeneration.”
This research, conducted by co-first authors Soyun Joo and Soyeon Kim from Professor Hong’s group, was published on ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces on January 4 under the title “Piezoelectrically and Topographically Engineered Scaffolds for Accelerating Bone Regeneration”. From Professor Kim’s group, Ph.D. candidate Yonghyun Gwon also participated as co-first author, and Professor Kim himself as a corresponding author.
< Figure 2. Analysis of piezoelectric and surface properties of the biomimetic scaffolds using atomic force microscopy. (a) PFM amplitude and phase images of box-poled composite scaffolds. The white bar represents 2 μm. (b) 3D representations of composite scaffolds paired with typical 2D line sections. (c) In vivo bone regeneration micro-CT analysis, (d) schematic representation of filler-derived electrical origins in bone regeneration. >
This research was supported by the KAIST Research and Development Team, the KUSTAR-KAIST Joint Research Center, the KAIST Global Singularity Project, and the government-funded Basic Research Project by the National Research Foundation of Korea.
2024.02.01 View 6655