bio
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Seeing Inside Cells with Fiber Optics
Professor Jiho Park’s research team was successful in receiving minute optical signals from inside the cell using optical nano fibers.
Through the invention of this technology, we can now look inside cells in high resolution without the use of equipment such as endoscopes that damage cells. We will be able to study the biological phenomena within cells, and thus cure diseases more effectively.
Recently, ultra high resolution microscopes have been used to analyze incubated cells. However, because of the need for a very complex and large system, it had been impossible to monitor cells in the less transparent areas of the body in real time.
The research team created the wire with a semiconductor created with tin oxides to be only 100 nanometers in diameter (1nanometer= 1/1billion meters).
The nanowire is connected to the end of the optical fiber, and the light that comes through the optical fiber is transmitted to particular spots in the cell, and the optical signals from the cell are retrieved back from the cell as well
Together with this, based on the fact that nanowires do not damage cells, the research team covered the end of the wire with a photo reactive material and entered this into the cell. They were able to check that the material reacted to light and entered the cell when they transmitted light
Accordingly, this showed the possibilities of the use of this technology as a method of treatment to effectively transfer the medication into the cells.
Prof. Jiho Park stated that “in this research, we only used cells incubated outside the human body, but soon we will use this technology to stimulate and control cells within the body in a minute scale” as well as that “soon, we will be able to study the biological phenomena inside a cell to study diseases and apply this to cure them more effectively”.
This research result has been published in the online publication of ‘Nature Nanotechnology’ on December 18.
This study was done through the cooperation of various schools. Besides Prof. Jiho Park, Prof. Seungman Yang from the Biochemistry department, and Doctor Chuljoon Huh from KAIST, Prof. Yeonho Choi from Biomedical Science department of Korea University, Professor Peidon Yang and Doctor Ruoxue Yan from UC Berkeley’s chemistry department, and Luke Lee from UC Berkeley’s bioengineering department participated in the project.
2012.01.31 View 10148 -
Great Success!: 2011 Wearable Computer Contest
The 2011 Wearable Computer Contest (WCC) was held on the 28th and 29th of November at Seoul COEX. The WCC is hosted by KAIST and Korea Next Generation Computing Society and is an annual event.
A wearable computer allows the user to freely use the computer even a moving environment and involves the miniaturization, weight lightening to incorporate the computer into clothing. It is the fusion of IT technology and fashion and is opening new fields like entertainment, healthcare and other forms of fashion culture.
The competition selected 10 teams out of the 57 teams that applied that will participate in the finals.
The selected teams have to use smartphones to create a wearable computer that detects and uses the biorhythm of the wearer. A staff member commented that the requirement to use biorhythm reflected in many teams entering products related to health and safety, and body and entertainment.
The most notable of the products entered was the outfit that prevents bicycle accidents. The LED attached on the back shows the direction the bicycle is traveling, or if it is stopping and uses the smartphone as a camera to show the cyclist what’s going on behind him.
Other interesting products included a product that turned clothes into a movie theater. Whilst watching movies on the smartphone, sensors attached to the clothing give out vibrations, water vapor, smoke effect; essentially brining the 4D movie experience to each person.
In addition products like ▲LED jacket that turns music into light and vibration ▲a prosthetic arm using an electromyogram to move it ▲an exercise suit that detects regional exercise load and helps design a balanced exercise regime.
Kolon Industries Ltd. Provide the clothing for the finalists and the team that receives Kolon Special Award will be given the opportunity to commercialize the product.
2012.01.31 View 8941
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New LEDs: Large Spectrum of Colors
Professor Yonghun Cho has discovered that LEDs with hexagonal pyramid structures can emit various colors of light.
LEDs, which have been leading the light revolution is a light emitting element that uses the characteristics of semiconductors to emit light upon passing a current, and is being used for lighting, TV, and various signaling devices.
In general, the white LED used for lighting has to be constructed by spraying yellow fluorescent material on a blue LED or by creating a complicated circuit where various LED chips function together.
Prof.Cho’s research team discovered the fact that when a small hexagonal pyramid structure is formed on the semiconductor composing the LED and a current is passed through this, then each side, edge, and point on the pyramid assumes different energies.
Due to the energy differences, lights of bluegreen, yellow, and orange were emitted from the side, edge, and points of the pyramid, respectively. This shows the prospect of displaying white light as well as that of many other colors.
Thus, applying the nanopyramidal structure to LEDs will allow the emission of light with a large spectrum with just the flow of the current, enabling a new type of LED light emitting particles that would display various colors from a single LED chip without the use of a fluorescent material.
Also, originally, LEDs have had limitations to its efficiency because of its structural characteristics where fluorescent materials had to be sprayed on, but the nanopyramidal structures will overcome this structural barrier to create brighter light
2012.01.31 View 7984
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'Scientist-Engineer of the Month' for December: Professor Choi Joon Ho
Professor Choi Joon Ho (department of Biological Sciences) was made ‘Scientist-Engineer of December’ for his discovery of new gene (twenty-four) that helps biorhythm and proving that this gene helps control biorhythm.
Professor Choi published 100 dissertations over the past 25 years and made significant advancements in the field of molecular virus and neurobiology.
In 1995 Professor Choi uncovered the fact that the NS3 protein in C type hepatitis function as RNA helicase thereby opening the path to developing a cure for C type hepatitis; this is an international patent with Chiron corporation. The result was published in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications Journal and was the most domestically referred to dissertation in biological sciences in 1999.
In addition Professor Choi published in Nature magazine in 1999, a dissertation that uncovered the fact that the DNA of papillomar virus has another protein (hSNF5) that direct it apart from ordinary proteins.
In 2000~2005 Professor Choi published many dissertations in journals like Immunity, Cancer Research, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Oncogene, Journal of Virology, and etc.
Professor Choi screened over 10,000 species of pomace fly mutations and discovered the twenty-four gene that affects the biorhythm of pomace flies. He analyzed this gene further and found a new function that was different from known biorhythm mechanisms.
This research allowed a better understanding of biological clock of pomace flies and therefore was another step towards better understanding the control mechanism of human biological clock.
2012.01.31 View 9915
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Closer to the Dream: Graphene
A technique that allows easy and larger observation area of graphene’s crystal face was developed by Korean Research Team.
The research team, led by Professor Jeong Hui Tae (KAIST), consists of Doctorate candidate Kim Dae Woo, Dr. Kim Yoon Ho (primary author), Doctorate candidate Jeong Hyun Soo. The research is supported by WCU (World Class Research University) Development Plan, Mid-Aged Researcher Support Business and was published in the online edition of Nature Nanotechnology.
(Dissertation: Direct visualization of large0area graphene domains and boundaries by optical birefringency)
Professor Jeong’s team used the optical property of the liquid display used in LCD to visualize the size and shape of the single crystals along a flat surface. The visualization of the single crystal allowed the measurement of a near theoretical value of electrical conductivity of graphene.
Graphene has great electrical conductivity, transparent, mechanically stable, flexible, and is therefore regarded as the next generation electrical material. However the polycrystalinity of graphene meant that the actual electrical, mechanical properties were lower than the theoretical values. The reason was thought to be because of the size of the crystal faces and boundary structures.
Therefore, in order to create graphene that has good properties, observing the domain and boundary of graphene crystal faces is essential.
The new technique developed by the research team is another step towards commercializing transparent electrodes, flexible display, and electric materials like solar cells.
2012.01.31 View 11063
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The Hindu, "Use of microalgae helps in controlling pollution," December 8, 2011
The Hindu, an Indian newspaper, reported on December 8, 2011 a research work by Professor Ji-Won Yang from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. For the news article, please go to the link at http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/article2695634.ece?homepage=true.
The Hindu, December 8, 2011
Use of microalgae helps in controlling pollution
By N. Gopal Raj
2011.12.12 View 9899
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Professor Choi Chul Hui appointed as editor-in-chief of Nanobiosensors in a disease diagnosis magazine
Professor Choi Chul Hui of the Department of Biological and Brain Engineering has been appointed the editor-in-chief of Nanobiosensors, an international medical magazine that concentrates on disease diagnosis.
As the editor-in-chief, Professor Choi will be involved in dissertation evaluations and overall direction of the magazine.
Professor Choi is one of the leading authorities in the field of clinical medicine and has published 60 SCI level dissertations in the fields of cell biology, computational biology, and bio-optics.
He is also the executive director of the KAIST BioImaging Research Center, and his research lab focuses on cell signals and bio imaging. Professor Choi is researching the generation process of degenerative diseases like arteriosclerosis by taking a multidisciplinary approach.
Professor Choi has recently developed a new bio imaging technique that allows for the measurement of perfusion and a new technology for the drug delivery to nerves using ultra short wavelength laser beams.
2011.10.10 View 10967 -
Professor Kim Seung Woo and Professor Ko Kyu Young Receive the 7th Gyeong Am Scholar Awards.
Professors Kim Seung Woo and Ko Kyu Young of KAIST were named the winners for the 7th Gyeong Am Scholar Awards.
The award winners are: Professor Ko Kyu Young of KAIST in the Biological Sciences category, Professor Kim Seung Woo of KAIST in the Engineering category, Professor Kim Young Shik of Seoul National University and Professor Kil Hui Seoung of Sogang University in the Humanities category, and Professor Hong Byoung Hee of Seoul National University in the Natural Sciences category.
In the Liberal Arts category leader of Universal Ballet Company Moon Hoon Sook was chosen, and the Special Achievement Award was given to Historian Dr. Park Myoung Sun. Professor Ko discovered that it is Angionpoietin-1 that induces the growth of new blood vessels and thus made a significant contribution to the field of blood vessel formation, immune mechanism, and causes of cancer spread.
Professor Kim developed a mini extreme ultra violet laser light source using the resonance principles of plasmon and made a great contribution in the acquiring of core technologies and its industrial commercialization in the field of super precise optical instruments.
Gyeong Am Education and Culture Foundation was founded by the Chairman of Tae Yang Group, Song Geum Jo who had donated his entire fortune amounting to 100billion Korean Won to society by creating a public foundation aimed at encouraging advancements in learning, training of experts, and cultural developments for the betterment of Korea.
The Gyeong Am Scholar Awards was established in 2005 and recognizes those scholars and artists who are making significant contributions in the frontlines of society.
The awards ceremony is to be held at Busan on the 4th of November, three thirty in the afternoon and the winner of each category is to receive 100mil Korean Won in prize money with a commemorative plaque.
2011.09.26 View 11213 -
Cancer detection from an implantable, flexible LED
Professor Keon Jae Lee
A KAIST research team has developed a new type of biocompatible and bendable GaN LED biosensor.
Daejeon, the Republic of Korea, August 8, 2011—Can a flexible LED conformably placed on the human heart, situated on the corrugated surface of the human brain, or rolled upon the blood vessels, diagnose or even treat various diseases? These things might be a reality in the near future.
The team of Professor Keon Jae Lee (Department of Materials Science and Engineering, KAIST) has developed a new concept: a biocompatible, flexible Gallium Nitride (GaN) LED that can detect prostate cancer.
GaN LED, a highly efficient light emitting device, has been commercialized in LED TVs and in the lighting industry. Until now, it has been difficult to use this semiconductor material to fabricate flexible electronic systems due to its brittleness. The research team, however, has succeeded in developing a highly efficient, flexible GaN LED and in detecting cancer using a flexible LED biosensor.
Prof. Lee was involved in the first co-invention of "High Performance Flexible Single Crystal GaN" during his PhD course at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). This flexible GaN LED biosensor utilized a similar protocol to transfer thin GaN LED films onto flexible substrates, followed by a biocompatible packaging process; the system’s overall potential for use in implantable biomedical applications was demonstrated.
Professor John Roger (Department of Materials Science and Engineering, UIUC) said,
“Bio-integrated LEDs represent an exciting, new technology with strong potential to address important challenges in human health. This present work represents a very nice contribution to this emerging field.”
This paper was published in the online issue of Nano Energy Elsevier Journal (Editor, Prof. Zhong Lin Wang) dated September 16, 2011.
Flexible GaN LED produces blue light.
2011.09.20 View 12118 -
Professor Lee Sang Yeop Nominated the Chairman of Emerging Technologies Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum
Professor Lee Sang Yeop, Dean of College Life Science & Bioengineering, was appointed as the chairman of the Emerging Technologies Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum.
He will be in office till the 31st of August 2012, exactly 1 year from the date of his appointment.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a ‘think tank’ consisting of world leaders in various fields like economics, politics, and policies and has created the ‘Global Agenda Council’ to solve the problems mankind faces in achieving environmentally sustainable growth and suggest a collective vision and strategy.
The committee to be chaired by Professor Lee (Emerging Technologies Global Agenda Council) will discuss the direction in which the fields of biological engineering, nanotechnology, and IT (information technology) should develop and discuss the possible impact these fields will have on the society.
Professor Lee commented that, “I am extremely happy to be appointed as the chair of the Emerging Technologies Global Agenda Council at the World Economic Forum which is a gathering of world class leaders” and that “it is a great opportunity to spread Korea’s success and lessons in the advancement of science and technology.”
Professor Lee is the creator of the field of system metabolism engineering and is making great strides in manipulating the microorganism’s metabolic pathways on a systems scale to make changing chemicals derived from oil into eco-friendly and bio-based products.
2011.09.20 View 9926 -
Review of organophosphonate nerve agent remediation and sensing chemistry
Professor David Churchill, Dept. of Chemistry, KAIST
Scientists in Daejeon, South Korea and Lexington, Kentucky (USA) have recently published a review on the subject of nerve agent remediation and probing chemistry (Chemical Reviews, DOI:10.1021/cr100193y). This article endeavored to pursue organophosphonate nerve agent chemistry deeply and comprehensively and to reflect that decontamination / sensing and nerve agents / pesticides are quite inextricable: when one tries to degrade nerve agents one also needs to detect what components are still present “downstream,” etc. Nerve agents and many pesticides also share a common generalized organophosphate / -phosphonate structure.
Also, the use of simulant molecules (mimics) and a consideration of the closely related organophosphonate pesticides were also treated comprehensively in the Review. The authors reached back into the literature when developing some sections to make important connections to the contemporary topics of interest. The review also includes industrial insights.
Kibong Kim, Olga G. Tsay and David G. Churchill of the Department of Chemistry at KAIST and David A. Atwood of the Department of Chemistry of the University of Kentucky endeavored to "make a variety of connections in research strategies and (sub-) fields to present what is still possible, fruitful, practical, and necessary and to facilitate a current comprehensive molecular level understanding of organophosphonate degradation and sensing," Churchill says.
The authors feel that for the time being, researchers in varying research areas “can use this manuscript effectively when considering future research directions.”
2011.09.19 View 9334 -
New Technology Developed for Analysis of New Drugs by Using Smart Nano-Sensors
Doctor Sang-Kyu Lee
Doctor Sang-Kyu Lee of the Department of Biological Sciences, KAIST, has developed the technology that allows biological nano particles to be implanted into human cells for monitoring the effect of new drugs in real time from within the cell. It is expected that this technology will boost the ability to weigh the effects and properties of a new drug more quickly and accurately.
Conventionally, the candidate drug was injected into the human body, and then its cells are extracted to analyze the effects of the drugs. The problem with this method was that the cells were analyzed at a ‘dead’ state which made it incredibly difficult to find candidate substances due to uncontrollable side effects. This made the development of new drugs very difficult despite the large costs and efforts invested into its development.
The research team latched onto the idea that nanoparticles can connect to form a large complex. The complex acts as a nanosensor which allows for real time observation of drug target and the drug itself binding.
The team named the nanosensor technology ‘InCell SMART-i’ and was named ‘Hot Paper’ of the September edition of ‘Angewandte Chemie International Edition’ magazine, a world famous Chemistry Magazine.When a new drug injected into the human body, the drug and drug targets are gradually combined, and the smart nanosensor detects in real time the effect of the new drug as shown in the pictures above (shaded spot).
2011.09.19 View 9820