news highlight

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  KAIST patch lets astronauts apply eye drops without gravity SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - Putting in eye drops on Earth takes little more than tilting the head back, but in space a drop never falls into the eye. Researchers in South Korea have built a wearable patch that pushes medicine into the eye with gas from a reaction between vitamin C and baking soda, so the process no longer depends on gravity. KAIST said Wednesday that a team led by Jeong Ki-hun, a professor in its Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, developed the patch with a te October 21, 2026
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  KMU partners with GEO firm to train marketers for AI era SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - Kookmin University's business graduate school will develop courses on how brands stay visible in artificial intelligence-powered search, under a new agreement with a communications firm that specializes in the field, the university said Wednesday. Kookmin University (KMU)'s Graduate School of Business Administration signed the memorandum of understanding with Message House on Monday at its business building in Seoul. Message House designs corpo October 21, 2026
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  Kookmin lecture brings Experian data scientist to talk AI careers SEOUL, October 20 (AJP) - Students in the humanities and social sciences do not need to abandon their majors to keep up with artificial intelligence, a senior data scientist at the credit bureau Experian told students at Kookmin University in Seoul earlier this month. Han Sun-hyoung, a senior principal data scientist at Experian, called AI "work leverage" that builds on the expertise students already have. Han said it is not a threat that should push them into a differen October 20, 2026
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  Sookmyung professor honored for midlife leggings research SEOUL, October 20 (AJP) - Most leggings on the market are built around younger women's bodies, and a study measuring how tight they should sit on women in their 40s and 50s has won a Sookmyung Women's University professor a national science paper award. Lim Ho-sun, a professor in Sookmyung's Department of Clothing and Textiles, and her co-author Lee Jong-kyu found that garment pressure should stay below 2.48 kilopascals at the middle of the kneecap, 2.09 kilopascals ju October 20, 2026
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  Four-legged robots to patrol Cheonan parks in Korean first SEOUL, October 19 (AJP) - Four-legged robots will patrol riverside trails and parks in Cheonan, a city south of Seoul, after regulators approved South Korea's first trial of legged robots on pedestrian paths, the city government said Monday. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources' regulatory sandbox committee granted the trial a special exemption on Oct. 13, on condition that it meets additional requirements. The decision lets the robots patrol Cheoncheon Stream, C October 19, 2026
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  Korean display lets sound follow the picture SEOUL, October 15 (AJP) - A speakerless display developed by South Korean state researchers moves sound across the screen along with the image, vibrating only the spot where a voice or object appears, the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials said Thursday. The prototype, measuring about 100 inches, pairs a transparent LED film with an aluminum panel driven by 80 voice coil motors mounted on its back. Tests showed the display steered sound to the targeted section of the scre October 15, 2026
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  Osteoporosis study finds dual-role bone protein SEOUL, October 13 (AJP) - A single protein speeds the breakdown of bone and holds back the growth of new bone, researchers at Sookmyung Women's University found in mice. The finding points to a possible new target for osteoporosis treatment. Bone is rebuilt constantly throughout life. Cells called osteoclasts break down old bone, while cells called osteoblasts lay down new bone. Healthy bone depends on the two staying in balance. When breakdown outpaces building, bone mass October 14, 2026
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  Two coatings curb dendrites in anode-free batteries SEOUL, October 13 (AJP) - A team from Sookmyung Women's University, Seoul National University and battery maker Samsung SDI developed a way to keep lithium growing evenly inside anode-free batteries. These batteries are a next-generation design that packs more energy into the same space, but they tend to wear out early. An anode-free battery has no separate anode material. During charging, lithium from the cathode travels across the cell and plates directly onto a thin copp October 13, 2026
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  Soft beetle robot shows operator what it touches SEOUL, October 13 (AJP) - A soft robot modeled on a beetle can walk, pick up small objects and report back what it sees and how firmly it is gripping, while a person steers it by bending a finger. Researchers at KAIST, the South Korean science and technology university, and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), working with a team at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, described the robot, called BeetleBot, in the journal Science Advances in August. KAIST October 13, 2026