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Asia Pacific Biotech News' special coverage of Korean biotechnology

Daejeon, Republic of Korea, February 2, 2016--The Asia Pacific Biotech News (APBN), a monthly magazine based in Singapore, which offers comprehensive reports on the fields of pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and biotechnology, recently published a special feature on Korea's biotechnology research and development (R&D) programs.

The magazine feature selected five research programs sponsored by the Korean government, which are either part of the Global Frontier or the Climate Change Technology Development Projects.

The programs are:

Exploring gambles reveals foundational difficulty behind economic theory (and a solution!)

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 2, 2016 -- In the wake of the financial crisis, many started questioning different aspects of the economic formalism.

Greenland ice sheet releasing 'Mississippi River' worth of phosphorus

WASHINGTON, DC -- Not only is Greenland's melting ice sheet adding huge amounts of water to the oceans, it could also be unleashing 400,000 metric tons of phosphorus every year - as much as the mighty Mississippi River releases into the Gulf of Mexico, according to a new study. Phosphorus is a key nutrient that could, if it reaches the open ocean, enrich waters of the Arctic Ocean, potentially stimulating growth of the marine food chain, the study's authors said.

Maps of forests, fields and soils to aid climate change forecasts

Detailed maps of the world's natural landscapes could help scientists to better predict the impacts of future climate change.

The complex charts of forests, grasslands and other productive ecosystems provide the most complete picture yet of how carbon from the atmosphere is reused and recycled by Earth's natural habitats.

Although it is well known that these landscapes absorb and process massive amounts of carbon dioxide, little is known about where exactly the carbon is stored or how long it remains there.

Lava flow crisis averted (for now)

Boulder, Colorado, USA - Lava flow crises are nothing new on Hawai'i, where their destructive forces have been demonstrated repeatedly. The 2014-2015 Pahoa lava flow crisis, however, was unique in terms of its societal impact and volcanological characteristics. Despite a low effusion rate, the long-lived lava flow, whose extent reached 20 km (the longest at Kilauea Volcano in hundreds of years), was poised for months to impact thousands of people, although direct impacts were ultimately minor (thus far).

US Forest Service releases findings on the effects of drought for forests and rangelands

The U.S. Forest Service today released a new report, Effects of Drought on Forests and Rangelands in the United States: A Comprehensive Science Synthesis, that provides a national assessment of peer-reviewed scientific research on the impacts of drought on U.S. forests and rangelands. This report will help the Forest Service better manage forests and grasslands impacted by climate change.

Sleep apnea linked with an increased risk of chronic kidney disease

New research published in Respirology suggests that sleep apnea may increase the risk of developing chronic kidney disease to a similar extent as hypertension.

Researchers analyzed information from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database from 2000 and 2010 concerning 43,434 individuals, including 8687 with sleep apnea.

Over an average follow-up of 3.9 years, the risk of developing chronic kidney disease was 58% higher among adults with sleep apnea than in other adults, after adjusting for individuals' demographic and clinical characteristics.

Study examines long-term effectiveness of hepatitis A vaccination in children

In a follow-up study of children who were vaccinated against hepatitis A virus at ages 6 to 21 months, most children who were vaccinated at 12 or 15 months continued to have anti-hepatitis A antibodies in their blood until at least age 15 to 16 years, and modeling experiments suggested that this protection should persist for at least 30 years.

"The findings support current US hepatitis A vaccine recommendations and do not suggest a need for vaccine booster doses in these individuals," said Dr. Philip Spradling, lead author of the Hepatology study.

Increase in volcanic eruptions at the end of the ice age caused by melting ice caps and erosion

The combination of erosion and melting ice caps led to a massive increase in volcanic activity at the end of the last ice age, according to new research. As the climate warmed, the ice caps melted, decreasing the pressure on the Earth's mantle, leading to an increase in both magma production and volcanic eruptions. The researchers, led by the University of Cambridge, have found that erosion also played a major role in the process, and may have contributed to an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.

Study documents drought's impact on redwood forest ferns

The native ferns that form a lush green understory in coastal redwood forests are well adapted to dry summers and periodic droughts, but California's current prolonged drought has taken a toll on them. A comprehensive study of water relations in native ferns, conducted during one of the worst droughts in California's recent history, shows that extreme conditions have tested the limits of drought tolerance in these plants.

"We've seen permanent dieback in some patches," said Jarmila Pittermann, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UC Santa Cruz.

Rapid formation of bubbles in magma may trigger sudden volcanic eruptions

It has long been observed that some volcanoes erupt with little prior warning. Now, scientists have come up with an explanation behind these sudden eruptions that could change the way observers monitor active or dormant volcanoes.

Man-made climate change helped cause south of England floods, say scientists

Human-induced climate change increased the risk of severe storms like those that hit the south of England in the winter of 2013/14, causing devastating flooding and costing several people their lives.

That's according to new analysis from an international team of climate scientists led by researchers at Oxford University.

New technique to find copper deposits

A geologist at the University of Exeter has developed a new and relatively inexpensive way to establish whether certain types of magmatic rocks are more likely to contain valuable metal deposits.

A highway for spin waves

The success story of information processing by way of moving electrons is slowly coming to an end. The trend towards more and more compact chips constitutes a major challenge for manufacturers, since the increasing miniaturization creates partly unsolvable physical problems. This is why magnetic spin waves could be the future: they are faster than electronic charge carriers and use less power.

Small ponds produce an outsized share of greenhouse gases

New Haven, Conn. - Tiny ponds play a disproportionately large role in global greenhouse gas emissions from inland waters, according to a new study by Yale's School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.

Although ponds less than a quarter of an acre in size make up only 8.6% of the surface area of the world's lakes and ponds, they account for 15.1% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and 40.6% of diffusive methane (CH4) emissions. The findings appear in the Feb. 1 online edition of the journal Nature Geoscience.