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KAIST's Advanced Biomass R&D Center and ToolGen will cooperate
The Advanced Biomass R&D Center (ABC) at KAIST and ToolGen, Inc., a Korean biotechnology company focused on the development of engineered nucleases that can be used as essential tools for editing genetic information in microbial, plant, animal, and human cells, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on August 18, 2014 for technology exchange and research collaboration.
ABC is headed by Executive Director Ji-Won Yang, a professor emeritus at the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Chief Executive Officer Jong-Moon Kim for ToolGen.
The newly signed MOU encourages collaborations in the following areas:
- Development of genome editing technology for microalgae modification
- Development of microalgae that increases biofuel production through the
application of genome editing technology
- Creation of education and training programs for researchers
- Collaboration in other areas
In addition, the two organizations decided to cooperate in the improvement of biofuel yields using ToolGen’s genome editing technology, the commercialization of research outcomes, and the development of eco-friendly biofuels from biomass.
Executive Director Yang commented that “improving biofuel production is crucial to accelerate the commercialization of biofuels, and collaborating with ToolGen will help us realize that goal.” He further said that “The importance of this MOU lies in the fact that the global chemical industry including Korea has been making substantial efforts to shift its attention from a fossil fuel-based development to a more bio-based technology.”
Jin-Soo Kim, the director of the Genome Editing Research Center at the Institute of Basic Sciences in Korea and the cofounder of ToolGen, added that “ToolGen has successfully commercialized its third generation genetic scissors, which shows a lot of promise for commercialization. Our collaboration with KAIST will serve as the driving force to create new industries and accordingly, new jobs.”
2014.09.03 View 9744 -
The MIT Skoltech Initiative Report identifies KAIST as one of the core group of emerging leaders for academic entrepreneurship and innovation
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Skoltech Initiative was established in 2011 to support MIT’s multi-year collaboration in building the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech), a private graduate research university in Skolkovo, Russia.
Recently, the office of the MIT Skoltech Initiative has published a benchmark report conducted from 2012 to 2014 by Dr. Ruth Graham, an internationally recognized leading consultant for engineering education and research as well as academic technology-driven entrepreneurship, under the guidance of MIT professors and the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the MIT Skoltech Initiative.
The report identified more than 200 institutions as the world’s most highly-regarded entrepreneurial universities and characterized the approach taken by them to build university-based ecosystems for entrepreneurship and innovation (E&I).
Among the top-ranked institutions, the report mentioned an emerging group of leaders (EGLs) that are “located within more challenging environments but establishing strong entrepreneurship and innovation profiles and reputations.” The report named, in particular, five universities, KAIST (Korea), Technion (Israel), Aalto University (Finland), the University of Michigan (US), and the University of Auckland (NZ), as the core group of the EGLs.
This benchmarking study was written to highlight key strategies and features associated with well-regarded university E&I transformations within more challenging environments and to address barriers and limits faced by the EGLs, thereby providing a good model to other universities wishing to make similar changes.
Through an in-depth case study of a small group of emerging universities, the report concluded that three major components play a critical role in the development of institutional E&I capacity and the growth of ecosystems for E&I:
Component 1: Inclusive grassroots community of E&I engagement across university populations and regional community;
Component 2: Strength in industry-funded research and licensing of university-owned technology; and
Component 3: University E&I agenda reflected in its policies, mission, budget allocations, incentives and curriculum
For more details, please visit the link below:
http://web.mit.edu/sktech/sktech-program/entrepreneurship-innovation/benchmark.html
2014.08.20 View 8296 -
Regulatory T Cells Influence Liver Damage of Hepatitis A Patients
Liver damage becomes more severe with the decrease of regulatory T cells
“This research will aid the development of hepatitis A targeted drug,” said a KAIST researcher.
The KAIST Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering’s Professor Eui-Cheol Shin and his research team have identified the mechanism, explaining how the regulatory T cells are responsible for the body’s immune system and how they have induced liver damage of hepatitis A patients.
The research results were published online in the July 9th edition of ‘Gut,’ the world’s most prominent journal in the field of gastroenterology.
Hepatitis A is an acute form of hepatitis caused by hepatitis A virus. The virus spreads through oral contact and enters the body via digestive organs.
Regulatory T cells play an important role in maintaining the homeostasis of the body’s immune system by inhibiting the activation of other immune cells. In the case of chronic viral infections, regulatory T cells are known to contribute to the duration of the infection, weakening the immune response to virus infections. However, there has been no information on what roles the regulatory T cells perform in the case of acute viral infections.
The research team used the fluorescence flow cytometry technique to determine the number and characteristics of a variety of immune cells, including regulatory T cells, in the blood of hepatitis A patients.
Consequently, the researchers confirmed that the decrease in the regulatory T cells immune inhibitory ability was consistent with a significant reduction in the number of regulatory T cells in the blood of hepatitis A patients. Furthermore, it was identified that the more noticeable decrease of regulatory T cells led to the occurrence of a more severe liver injury.
The analysis of hepatitis A patient’s blood proved that the cause of the decrease in the number and function of regulatory T cells was the increased expression of cell surface protein ‘Fas,’ which induces cell death.
Professor Shin said, “This study is the first case which proposes the mechanism for clinical aspects in not only hepatitis A, but also acute virus infection.” He added on the future prospect of the research that: “In the future, we can prevent tissue damage by inhibiting cell death of regulatory T cells for severe acute viral infections that do not have an effective treatment for the virus itself.”
[Picture]
The picture shows the process of fluorescence flow cytometry technique to study regulatory T cell in the blood of hepatitis A patients.
2014.08.11 View 9644 -
ASPIRE League 2014: E-Olympics among Five Asian Universities
About 150 undergraduate students from five leading science and technology (S&T) universities in Asia met at the KAIST campus to attend the E-Olympics on August 7-9, 2014.
The E-Olympics began as a student exchange conference held under the Asian Science and Technology Pioneering Institutes of Research and Education (ASPIRE) League, which offers a variety of events, such as workshops, sports matches, lab visits, special lectures, and art performances, to promote academic and research collaborations and cultural sharing between the students of the league member universities.
Founded in 2009, the ASPIRE League is a university consortium consisted of five top S&T universities in Asia: KAIST in Korea, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and Tsinghua University in China, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore, and Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) in Japan. The ASPIRE League aims to provide a knowledge and technology hub for innovation in Asia through the advancement of science and technology and the development of human resources.
Since its start, the ASPIRE League has been holding an annual conference with programs for research collaboration, student exchange, educational cooperation, and satellite laboratories among professors, senior managers, and students of the member universities. This year, however, the consortium decided to dedicate the conference to students by holding the E-Olympics.
Each university sent 30 students to KAIST for the participation of the E-Olympics. For three days, participating students engaged in discussions and presentations at academic workshops; held athletic games including a relay race, basketball, and a rowing race; and toured a few KAIST laboratories, among them: the E-mobility Research Center, the Bio-imaging and Cell Signaling Research Center, the Mechatronics Systems and Control Center, and the Center of Field Robotics for Innovation, Exploration and Defense.
The students also attended a music concert performed by a KAIST student club and a lecture entitled “Entrepreneurship through Global Networking” that emphasized the importance of personnel networking in transferring technological innovation into business opportunities.
Chang-Dong Yoo, the Dean of the International Office at KAIST, said, “The E-Olympics will offer students from top science and technology universities in Asia opportunities to interact with each other on a more personal level. I hope that through many of the E-Olympics programs, the students will learn about each other’s culture and academic strength and develop a sense of community to create a “New Asia” by working together.”
2014.08.11 View 11791 -
2014 NEREC Conference on Nuclear Nonproliferation: July 31-August 1, 2014, Seoul
The Nonproliferation Education and Research Center (NEREC) at KAIST hosted an international conference on nuclear nonproliferation on July 31-August 1, 2014 in Seoul. The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, the Korean Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, and the Korea Nuclear Policy Society (KNPS) sponsored the event.
Over one hundred experts and "thought leaders" in nuclear security and nonproliferation attended the conference and discussed issues related to the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, the role of scientific community in mitigating nuclear threat and promoting the peaceful use of nuclear power, and nuclear disarmament policy.
Keynote speakers were: Steven E. Miller, Director of International Security Program at Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University; Scott D. Sagan, Senior Fellow of the Center for International Security and Cooperation, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University; Mark Fitzpatrick, Director of the Nonproliferation and Disarmament Programme, International Institute for Strategic Studies; Sang-Hyun Lee, Director of Security Strategy, Sejong Institute; and Man-Sung Yim, Professor of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, KAIST.
At the conference, Professor Yim, Director of KAIST NEREC said, “Korea has grown to become a key player in the development of commercial nuclear energy over the past decades. We hope that our conference encourages Korea to be more involved in the efforts of the international community to enhance the global nonproliferation regime.”
2014.08.05 View 12478 -
Discovery of New Therapeutic Targets for Alzheimer's Disease
A Korean research team headed by Professor Dae-Soo Kim of Biological Sciences at KAIST and Dr. Chang-Jun Lee from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) successfully identified that reactive astrocytes, commonly observed in brains affected by Alzheimer’s disease, produce abnormal amounts of inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) in reaction to the enzyme Monoamine oxidase B (Mao-B) and release GABA through the Bestrophin-1 channel to suppress the normal signal transmission of brain nerve cells.
By suppressing the GABA production or release from reactive astrocytes, the research team was able to restore the model mice's memory and learning impairment caused by Alzheimer’s disease. This discovery will allow the development of new drugs to treat Alzheimer’s and other related diseases.
The research result was published in the June 29, 2014 edition of Nature Medicine (Title: GABA from Reactive Astrocytes Impairs Memory in Mouse Models of Alzheimer’s Disease).
For details, please read the article below:
Technology News, July 10, 2014
"Discovery of New Drug Targets for Memory Impairment in Alzheimer’s Disease"
http://technews.tmcnet.com/news/2014/07/10/7917811.htm
2014.07.16 View 8379 -
Professor Min Hyuk Kim Appointed an Associate Editor on ACM Transactions on Graphics
Professor Min Hyuk Kim of KAIST's Computer Science Department has been appointed an associate editor for a prestigious international journal in the field of graphics, ACM Transactions on Graphics (TOG).
Founded in 1947, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society, delivering knowledge that advances computing as a science and profession.
Published during the past 35 years, ACM TOG is a highly regarded, peer-reviewed scientific journal that aims to disseminate the latest findings of research in computer graphics. Professor Kim is the first Korean scholar to serve the journal as an editor.
Professor Kim’s responsibilities are many, and they include selecting appropriate reviewers for submitted manuscripts to be published in the journal and reporting the results of review process.
He said, “The appointment was a great honor, and I’m looking forward to having the opportunity to make further contributions to the advancement of the graphics field.”
Professor Kim has published numerous papers on computer graphics with a focus on research in 3D imaging spectroscopy and visual perception.
2014.07.14 View 9237 -
Opening of "Education Donation Center" for Knowledge Sharing
KAIST is a leader in knowledge-sharing services for the educationally underprivileged. KAIST held the opening ceremony of the Education Donation Center at its Munji Campus on July 4, 2014 and was appointed as a “2014 Chungcheong-Gangwon province model local education donation center” sponsored by the Education Ministry of Korea and Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity.
The Education Donation Center (EDC) will integrate programs run by the Chungcheong-Gangwon province education donation organizations and introduce them to local chapter organizations. The EDC will recommend new donation organizations to the organizations in need. To ensure efficient donation, the EDC will consult programs of donation organizations. The EDC will also suggest regionally suitable education donation programs. KAIST will provide three staff members, six graduate students, and one to manage the career counselor to the center.
Joo-Sung Lee of the Business & Technology Management Department is the professor in charge of the EDC. He explained, “The center is the medium between the newly participating education donation organizations and the demand organizations. I will invest every effort to provide high-quality educational benefits to educationally underprivileged people."
KAIST has also been running an education service group called ‘Midam Scholarship’, an online education donation group called ‘Chalk’, and science camp programs for youth to establish the sharing and collaboration culture of KAIST.
2014.07.10 View 8099 -
"KAIST Day" at the Korean Baseball League: Hanwha Eagles Home Game
KAIST is out to promote school spirit and to strengthen the communication with Daejeon citizens.
KAIST’s Graduate Student Union held “KAIST Day” by supporting a baseball game between the Lotte Giants and Hanwha Eagles, a home team of Daejeon City, on June 26, 2014 at Daejeon Baseball Stadium.
Marking the third KAIST Day this year, the event has been organized to provide graduate students with opportunities to leave their labs and enjoy a moment of relaxation, such as watching baseball games.
The event began with an opening ceremony, followed by the main baseball game. The KAIST cheering squad, ELKA, held a pregame performance to root for a home-team victory. KAIST President Steve Kang and Sin-Yeong Kim, a master’s student at KAIST, threw the first pitch to celebrate KAIST Day.
Picture below:
President Steve Kang, Mia Kang, and graduate students cheering at the Hanwha Eagles' home team baseball game on June 26, 2014 at Daejeon Baseball Stadium
2014.07.02 View 7011 -
KAIST doctoral student wins prize at 2014 International Military Science and Technology Fair
Min-Kyu Yoo (far left), a doctoral student in the Department of Materials Science Engineering, KAIST, received a silver prize at the 2014 International Military Science and Technology Fair held from May 29 to June 1, 2014 at KINTEX, Ilsan City, Korea.
Yoo presented a paper on aluminum composite materials that were reinforced by carbon nanotubes. Carbon nanotubes reinforced aluminum composite materials have strong mechanical properties, and some nations have used them to manufacture battle tanks.
Aluminum generates hydrogen in an alkaline solution. Utilizing this property and the galvanic corrosion of carbon nanotubes and aluminums, Yoo developed a hydrogen energy system that is fueled with composite materials of carbon nanotube reinforced aluminum. He produced 5 kW electric power and maintained it 22 days using 10 kg of the composite materials for a proton exchange membrane fuel cell and its auxiliary power system.
Yoo’s research will alleviate the difficulty of transporting fuels during wartime and can be applied to the development of an auxiliary power system for next generation aircrafts and battle tanks.
2014.06.24 View 8146 -
First Instance of Negative Effects from Terahertz-Range Electromagnetic Waves
Professor Philhan Kim
Electromagnetic waves (EM-wave) in the terahertz range were widely regarded as the “dream wavelength” due to its perceived neutrality. Its application was also wider than X-rays. However, KAIST scientists have discovered negative effects from terahertz EM-waves.
Professor Philhan Kim of KAIST’s Graduate School of Nanoscience and Technology and Dr. Young-wook Jeong of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) observed inflammation of animal skin tissue when exposed to terahertz EM-waves.
The results were published in the online edition of Optics Express (May 19, 20104).
Terahertz waves range from 0.1 to 10 terahertz and have a longer wavelength than visible or infrared light. Commonly used to see through objects like the X-ray, it was believed that the low energy of terahertz waves did not inflict any harm on the human body.
Despite being applied for security checks, next-generation wireless communications, and medical imaging technology, little research has been conducted in proving its safety and impact. Conventional research failed to predict the exact impact of terahertz waves on organic tissues as only artificially cultured cells were used.
The research team at KAERI developed a high power terahertz EM-wave generator that can be used on live organisms. A high power generator was necessary in applications such as biosensors and required up to 10 times greater power than currently used telecommunications EM-wave. Simultaneously, a KAIST research team developed a high speed, high resolution video-laser microscope that can distinguish cells within the organism.
The experiment exposed 30 minutes of terahertz EM-wave on genetically modified mice and found six times the normal number of inflammation cells in the skin tissue after six hours. It was the first instance where negative side effects of terahertz EM-wave were observed.
Professor Kim commented that “the research has set a standard for how we can use the terahertz EM-wave safely” and that “we will use this research to analyze and understand the effects of other EM-waves on organisms.”
2014.06.20 View 8795 -
Professor Sang Ouk Kim Receives the "Scientist of the Month Award" from the Korean Government
Professor Sang Ouk Kim of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, KAIST, received the Scientist of the Month Award in June 2014 for his development of a fundamental technology that allows free control of the properties of carbon-based materials.
Since June 1997, the Korean government has awarded monthly one scientist working in industry, universities, or research institutions to recognize his or her research achievements, as well as to promote science and technology.
Professor Kim implemented a technique known as doping, which has been used in ordinary semiconductor processes, to demonstrate the physical properties of carbon-based materials. Carbon nanotubes, graphene, and other carbon materials have superior mechanical and electrical properties and are regarded as next-generation materials. However, difficulty in controlling their qualities has made applications in various devices unfavorable. The doping technique in semiconductor production is to artificially introduce impurities into an extremely pure semiconductor for the purpose of modulating its electrical properties.
Profess Kim doped elements like nitrogen and boron to enable minute control of the physical properties of carbon-based materials and applied the technique to development of organic solar cells, organic light-emitting devices, and flexible memory. He also increased the application range by using a self-assembly method to change freely the structure of carbon-based materials.
Professor Kim has published 53 papers in renowned journals such as Advanced Materials and Nanoletters. He was rewarded further by being invited to write a review paper for the 25th anniversary special edition for Advanced Materials.
2014.06.19 View 9345