A research team led by Professor Seung-Woo Lee (LIFE), Sookjin Moon (LIFE Ph.D. Candidate), and Prof. Yunji Park (LIFE) revealed the mechanism by which intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) regulate the differentiation of T cells (intraepithelial lymphocytes, IELs). The study was published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (JEM), an authoritative journal on immunology.IELs work at the forefront of the human body, regulating immune responses by interacting with symbiotic bacteria. Therefore, the appropriate differentiation of IELs plays a vital role in the regulation of intestinal immune hom

From small gadgets to electric vehicles, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries have become an essential source of energy. Recently, Tesla, the leading electric automaker in the U.S., stressed the necessity of establishing an innovative production system and reducing battery costs. Battery costs account for a huge portion of electric vehicles’ prices, and thus a reduction of the expenses is crucial in order to universalize them.Professor Soojin Park (CHEM) and Son Hye-bin (CHEM Ph.D. Candidate) teamed up with Professor Seungmin Yoo of Ulsan College to develop a multifunctional separator that enabl

Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, was found guilty of providing 8.6 billion KRW in company money to Park Geun-hye, former president of Korea, and her confidante Choi Seo-won (formerly known as Choi Soon-sil) in exchange for his smooth succession as the head of Samsung. In 2017, Lee was initially sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. However, after serving 353 days in prison, his sentence was reduced to two and a half years with four years of probation at an appeals court in February 2018. In August 2019, the Supreme Court remanded the case back to the Seoul High Court for re

On Jan. 17, Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, was arrested at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) for multiple violations of probationary duty. On Aug. 20, 2020, Navalny was attacked on a plane from Tomsk to Moscow with Novichok, a nerve agent. Navalny survived and recovered in Berlin’s Charité Hospital in Germany. After recovery, he made his way back to Russia on Jan. 17. He was arrested at the airport shortly after returning to Russia.The major trigger of his probation dates back to 2014. On Dec. 30, 2014, Navalny was indict

Laboratory-grown stem cells implemented on tissues such as human organs are called organoids. These are also known as “miniature organs”. Due to their capability of reproducing the structure and function of human organs, organoids are considered as the next-generation technology for developing artificial organs and novel drugs. A research team led by Professor Shin Kunyoo (LIFE) recently developed “assembloid”, a new concept of mini-organs that can perfectly create human tissue including every cell within. The research was published in Nature on Dec. 16, 2020. Assembloid is an innovative techn

In many industries, including the automobile industry, catalysts are crucial for increasing product yield and protecting the environment. In particular, catalysts in car emission control systems are repeatedly exposed to temperature extremes. If the catalyst is unstable under such temperature changes, the catalyst is impractical for use in industrial processes. Therefore, industrial demands for catalysts that are both highly active and stable in temperature changes are high. Recently, a research team of Professor Han Jeong Woo of the Department of Chemical Engineering (CE), Kim Hyung Jun (CE P

Starting from 2020, workplaces with 50 to less than 300 employees were subject to the 52-hour workweek system. However, as the government permitted a grace period of one year, the system is to be implemented without delay starting this month. The 52-hour workweek system is mandatory for all businesses with 50 to less than 300 employees from January and less than 50 employees from July. The 52-hour workweek system limits the working hours per week to 52 hours and has been devised to improve working environments.The result of a survey of 1,300 sites in Nov. 2019 showed that 57.7% of companies co

Ever since a breeding duck farm located in Jeongeup-si, Jeollabuk-do was diagnosed with highly pathogenic Avian Influenza (AI) on Nov. 26, 2020, 29 farms in Korea have tested positive for the flu. Highly pathogenic AI is known to be highly contagious, causing severe illness in birds. As the government’s policy requires all poultry farms within three kilometers radius of the infected location to kill their livestock, 180 farms have culled 9.43 million chickens and ducks during the last month. The situation resembles the crisis of 2016-2017, when 383 cases of AI were confirmed, inevitably leadin

A joint research team of Professor Seungchul Lee (ME), Soo Young Lee (ME Ph.D. Integrated Candidate, advisor Prof. Seungchul Lee), Prof. Jin, Hyungyu (ME), Seokyeong Byun (ME Ph.D. Integrated Candidate, advisor Prof. Jin, Hyungyu), and Prof. Kim Hyoung Seop (MSE) has developed a phase prediction technology for high-entropy alloys using Artificial Intelligence (A.I.). The research was published in Volume 197 of Materials and Design.Conventionally, metallic materials are made out of alloys by mixing a prime element that is most fitting with two or three auxiliary elements. In contrast, high-entr

A joint research team led by Professor Junsuk Rho (ME and CE) and Prof. Young-Ki Kim (CE) developed an ultracompact holographic display that responds to external stimuli. The team produced such material by applying the stimuli-responsiveness of liquid crystals (LCs) to metamaterials, which is also known as “the material of dreams”.Metasurfaces have been an active field of research due to their potential to enable futuristic displays such as virtual reality and 3D holographic displays. However, the optical properties of devices based on metasurfaces cannot be changed after production, and conse

Former Vice President and Democrat Joe Biden is the projected winner of the presidency over Donald Trump, the Republican incumbent president. Many media outlets reported that Joe Biden secured more than the requisite 270 out of 538 electoral votes needed to win the presidency on Nov. 7, when he won 20 electoral votes from Pennsylvania. However, Trump has claimed many times on Twitter that he should have won the election if not for election fraud.The 2020 U.S. general election took place on Nov. 3. In the U.S., almost every state casts all its electoral votes to the candidate that receives the

On Oct. 25, Lee Kun-hee, former chairman of Samsung Electronics and former head of the Samsung Group, passed away at the age of 78. He died of renal failure after six years and five months of myocardial infarction. The funeral was held privately by family members only. The unexpected death of the former head of Korea’s biggest company caused a shock across the country. However, an issue triggered by his death also drew attention: inheritance tax.Inheritance tax is a tax on wealth delivered by the death of a family member. The inheritance tax aims to resolve the gap between the rich and the poo

The Institute for Basic Science (IBS) research team led by Professor Kim Kimoon (CHEM, director of the Center for Self-assembly and Complexity at IBS) successfully visualized and controlled chemical reactions in a solution using audible sound for the first time.Audible sound cannot directly affect chemical processes like bond formation or dissociation due to its low energy. Therefore, previous teams focused solely on the effect of sound on water surface movement or used sound to control floating and sediment particles. However, the IBS team hypothesized that if they could regulate gas solubili

On June 26, triathlete Choi Suk-hyun chose to leap to death at the age of 22. Before committing suicide, she asked her mother to disclose the crimes of her assailants. The young athlete had withstood constant physical and verbal assault for several years ever since she became part of the triathlon team of Gyeongju City Hall. The team coach, Kim Kyu-bong, and senior athletes, Jang Yun-jung and Kim Do-hwan, were charged with violence, while the so-called team doctor, Ahn Ju-hyeon, who turned out to not have a doctor’s license at all, was also reported for many other types of harassment.It was re

Plastic got its name—‘the present from god in the 20th century’—for its light weight, cheapness, and thermoplasticity. However, plastic transforms sensitively depending on the process condition. It also takes time to change a settled process. Hence, real-time optimization of plastic process was regarded as impossible.The research team of Professor Junsuk Rho (ME and CE), Chihun Lee (ME Ph.D. Candidate, advisor Prof. Junsuk Rho), Prof. Seungchul Lee (ME), Juwon Na (ME Ph.D. Integrated Candidate, advisor Prof. Seungchul Lee), and Prof. Seongjin Park (ME) developed a system recommending the condi

On Aug. 13, notices were posted on various online shopping malls that delivery of ordered items will be delayed from Aug. 14 to Aug. 16. This is because the courier industry set Aug. 14 as “No Courier Delivery Day”. Major courier companies decided to completely stop courier services, such as courier delivery, item collection, sorting, and transportation, for three days.“No Courier Delivery Day” was discussed and decided as a result of the incident in which three courier workers died due to overwork this year. Earlier this year, people began ordering daily necessities online as COVID-19 spread.

On May 26, a 30-year-old man assaulted a woman and fled at Seoul Station. He approached the woman, hit her shoulder, and attacked her with his fist. She collapsed and hit her head on the floor, and fractured her left cheekbone. She was also diagnosed with a 1.5 centimeter tear next to her left eye.Furthermore, on June 10, another woman waiting for the bus was indiscriminately assaulted by a man, and a woman who was trying to stop the violence was also assaulted.Amid such increase in violence against women, various points of view have been suggested on the definition of “Misogyny crime”.The Seo

Moon Jae-in, the president of Korea, vowed to turn all unstable employment in the public sector into permanent employment within his term. Following his pledge, the Incheon International Airport Corporation (IIAC) announced its plans to convert nearly 10,000 contract employees to permanent payroll on June 22. A total of 9,785 employees are to be affected, and, among them, 2,143 will be directly hired by IIAC, and the remaining will be hired by three different affiliated companies. However, the decision of turning 2,143 irregular employees to permanent employees directly hired by IIAC is facing

Professor Lee Jang-Sik (MSE) and Prof. Lee Donghwa (AMS)’s co-research team recently succeeded in designing a new halide perovskite (HP) with high environmental stability and low-operating voltages, making it suitable for resistive switching memory (RSM). Combined first-principles screening based on quantum mechanics and experimental verification have been utilized to establish such findings.Even with the consistent development in memory technology, the exponentially increased usage of fast and high-quality data transfer requires further improvement in memory technology to increase overall sta

On July 2, POSTECH and KCC announced their success in generating eco-friendly electricity from waste heat produced by one of KCC’s plants. This is the first time in Korea that factory waste heat has been converted into electricity. POSTECH and KCC conducted a thermoelectric power generation experiment at KCC’s Gimcheon Plant, using the “thermoelectric module-based energy generation technology” developed by Professor Baek Chang-ki (CiTE)’s research team. Thermoelectric power generation is a technology that directly converts heat energy into electrical energy using the temperature difference bet