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Professor Eunjoon Kim's team finds synapse-forming protein
Professor Eunjoon Kim’s team finds synapse-forming protein
- discover a new protein ‘NGL’ that promotes the formation of neuronal synapses
- can presume the cause of various brain disorders including schizophrenia
- will be published at Nature Neuroscience Vol. 9 in September
A new protein that promotes the formation of synapses in human brains was discovered by a Korean research team.
The team led by Eunjoon Kim, Professor of Department of Biological Sciences and Head of Creative Research Group of Synapse Formation), announced that it had discovered a new fact that NGL protein promotes the formation of neuronal synapses and this fact would be published in Nature Neuroscience Vol. 9 on September 18.
Professor Kim’s team discovered that a membrane protein named ‘NGL’ located at post synapse links with other membrane protein named netrin-G in pre synapse, acting as crosslink, and promotes the formation of a new synapse.
‘NGL’ is the second protein found to crosslink synapse, following neuoroligin. With the discovery of this new protein, the principle of synapse formation and the causes of various brain disorders can be presumed.
In the human brain, about more than 100 billion neuron cells and about 10,000 synapses compose neural circuit. A synapse is the place where innervation occurs between neuron cells. The formation of synapse induces the formation of neural circuit, and neural circuit is deeply related with various brain disorders as well as normal development of brains or brain functions.
“As netrin-G linked with NGL is related with schizonphrenia and neuoroligin and synapse crosslinking protein having a similar function with NGL is deeply related with mental retardation and autism, I think NGL is related with various brain disorders including schizophrenia.”
<Explanation of attached photos>
■ Photo1: Experiment for confirming NGL’s ability to form synapse No. 1
Mix ordinary cell (green) revealing NGL at its surface and neuron cell. Axon grows toward NGL (ordinary cell) located in the middle of ten o’clock direction and meets NGL, where NGL induces the formation of pre synapse (red) in the contacting axon.
Whether pre synapse has been formed can be told by the fluorescent dying (red) of pre synapse protein named Synapsin.
- Figure a-b: formation of synapse by NGL
- Figure c-d: transformed NGL losing synapse forming ability cannot form synapse
■ Photo 2: Experiment for confirming NGL’s ability to form synapse No. 2
When beads coated with NGL are scattered on neuron cell, the beads contact with the axon of the neuron cell (the beads are clearly visible at the phase differentiation image in the middle panel). At this time, NGL induces the formation of pre synapse (red) in the axon. Whether pre synapse has been formed can be told by the fluorescent dying (red) of pre synapse protein named SynPhy (panel a) or VGlut1 (panel b).
2006.09.21 View 16071 -
President Nam-Pyo Suh won 'International award'
President Nam-Pyo Suh won ‘International award’
In recognition of distinguished scientific and industrial contributions to the field of production engineering, KAIST president Nam-Pyo Suh won ‘General Pierre Nicolau Award’ conferred by College International pour la Recherche en Productique (CIRP).
President Suh is a world-renowned scholar who has made excellent achievements at plastic manufacturing process, metal manufacturing process, wear and tear theory, design theory, etc. in the field of production and manufacturing technologies and also the founder of production/ design theory using axiom.
General Pierre Nicolau Award’ has been established to honor General Pierre Nicolau, a world-renowned French authority in the field of production engineering, and commemorate his contributions to the founding of CIRP.
2006.09.18 View 12219
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KAIST stadium remodeled
KAIST stadium remodeled
KAIST stadium was reopened on last Thursday, September 14 after its 1.2 billion won-paid remodeling, which equipped the stadium with international standard soccer field, urethane running track, and inline skating track.
■ Main facilities
- Urethane running track
(straight track: 6 lanes, 100 meter-long/ corner track: 4 lanes, 400 meter-long)
- Inline skating track (Width: 4.9m)
- International standard artificial turf soccer field (drainage plate method employed)
- Four night light towers
- Total 1,530 seats installed in the stand
- Shower booths and modern-style toilets
■ Total construction cost: 1.2 billion won
- 0.3 billion won from Seoul Olympic Sports Promotion Foundation (assistance fund),
- 0.9 billion won from KAIST budget
■ Features
- Day/night, all weather, and full-season available
- Artificial turf soccer field employing drainage plate method will reduce about 290 million won from the budget.
2006.09.18 View 12015
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First collection of students for undergraduate courses 2007
If you want to be a global leader, come to KAIST!
640 students to be selected in the first collection
KAIST is an institute of science and technology belonging to the Ministry of Science and Technology, not to the Ministry of Education. KAIST, having executed student selection without examination since 1992, selects students with great talent in science and mathematics by early admission, not by the scores of the nationwide college entrance examination, which is the prototype of on-demand collection executed by ordinary universities.
As such, though similar to on-demand collection in fall semester by the other universities in its characteristics, KAIST’s first collection of students for undergraduate courses 2007 is considerably different in that the number of students to be selected is 640, 90% of its entrance quota (700 students). High school graduates and high school students to graduate in February 2007 are eligible for admission, and second year high school students also can apply for admission under the condition of specific examination.
The process of the first collection is composed of two steps. The first step is the examination of submitted documents. A certified score of English by one of TEPS, TOEFL, and TOEIC must be submitted, and those students having no certified score must express their intention to take a special TEPS test through internet application. In the examination of submitted documents, in-depth examination on high school record, certified score of English, cover letter, teacher’s letter of recommendation, evidence on student’s excellence, etc. is carried out.
The second step is an interview. Around 900 candidates, 1.4 times larger than the number of final selectors (640 students), are selected as candidates for interview through the first step (examination of submitted documents), and among them, top 70% of the candidates (around 450 candidates) will take an interview for personality examination and the other 30% will take an interview for specialty examination.
The interview for specialty examination will test on two subjects - Mathematics and Science. Mathematics is a compulsory subject and Science is tested by one subject among Physics, Biology, and Chemistry. The preparation time for each subject is 30 minutes and the interview time is 20 minutes. The coverage of the interview for specialty examination is Math I, II, and infinitesimal calculus for Mathematics, and Science I and II for Science with priority given to the 7th step of education.
<Interview with Dongsu Kwon, Manager of KAIST Admission Team>
Q> What do you think of the features of KAIST entrance exam?
A> A fact that students do not have to make a separate preparation for the admission to KAIST. Just studying what they are interested in and exhibiting the consequence itself will do. It is possible to tell those students who’ve studied with interests with mere documents and interview. KAIST entrance exam is a designed system to carry out regular education faithfully, not a system to select a small number of well-prepared students.
Q> What type of students does KAIST want?
A> Students having evident fields of interest, students having authentic passion, and students studying voluntarily. I think KAIST is the best place for students who have passion in Math and Science and eager to be a great scholar to pave their way for the further during the college period of four years.
Q> The degree of importance of the certified score of English (one of TEPS, TOEFL, and TOEIC) for the admission to KAIST
A> In KAIST, many classes use English textbooks, therefore, students are required to possess specific level of English abilities. However, since English can be improved in the campus, English score is not an absolute criterion and can be supplemented by other merits of candidates. However, it’s evident that candidates having high English score take priority in the exam.
Q> Is it true that the number of graduates of non-science high school is increasing?
A> Their rate hits about 30%. This results from considerably improved level of graduates from non-science high school, compared to their previous. Particularly, as KAIST has been widely known through TV drama and so on, a great number of top-class students from non-science high school apply for KAIST. These factors are considered to raise the current rate of graduates from non-science high school in KAIST, and there is no disparity in examination between graduates from science high school and non-science high school.
Click here to apply for KAIST first collection of students for undergraduate courses 2007
(September 8 (Fri.) - 11 (Mon.) 17:00, 2006)
2006.09.11 View 13025
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Professor Tae-Gwan Park awarded Minister Prize
Professor Tae-Gwan Park awarded Minister Prize
Professor Tae-Gwan Park (Department of Biological Sciences) was awarded the Minister Prize in the science innovation sector at the NANO KOREA 2006, which was opened on August 30.
This prize is given to researchers who have shown excellent research results in the field of Nanotechnology, and Professor Park was awarded the Minister Prize in recognition of his innovative achievements in the fields of Tissue Engineering, Drug Delivery, Gene Therapy, which are fusion technologies of NT and BT that utilize nanobiomaterials.
2006.09.06 View 15136
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CJIS donates development fund of two hundreds million won to KAIST
CJIS donates development fund of two hundreds million won to KAIST
CJ Investment & Securities Co., Ltd. (CJIS/ CEO Hong-Chang Kim) donated a development fund of two hundreds million won to KAIST (President Nam-Pyo Suh) on Monday, August 30 to contribute to the development of KAIST and its fostering of science genius.
At the donation ceremony held at the main conference room in KAIST main administration building, CJIS CEO Hong-Chang Kim said, “I am very pleased to contribute to the development of KAIST, which is developing into a world-class research university.” In response to this, KAIST president Nam-Pyo Suh said, “I am very grateful for CJIS’s support. I will do my best to make KAIST one of the world-class research universities to be the hub of the world as well as Korea in the field of the cutting-edge science and technology.”
2006.09.06 View 14348
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Professor Ryong Ryoo, selected as a scientist wished to resemble and to be 2006
Professor Ryong Ryoo, selected as a scientist wished to resemble and to be 2006
Professor Ryong Ryoo (Department of Chemistry) was selected as a scientist wished to resemble and to be 2006.
Professor Ryoo developed in 2000 world’s first nanoporous carbon material in which numberless several nanometer-sized holes were drilled. The development of this nanoporous material was introduced by international scientific journal NATURE in 2000 and 2001 and expected to contribute to the progress of mankind through the development of high efficiency fuel cell or ultra-light computer. Professor Ryoo also developed a new technology that can considerably improve the catalyst activation and stability of ‘Zeolite’, a main catalyst in the petrochemical industry, which was introduced by NATURE materials. The above achievements qualified Professor Ryoo for the selection.
‘Scientists wished to resemble and to be 2006’ were selected among scientists showing vigorous activities in the science and technology circle on the basis of their recent achievements, etc. by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Korea Science Foundation, and total 10 scientists qualified to be the model of children and the youth were announced on August 24.
2006.09.06 View 15652
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President Nam Pyo Suh appreciates Exhibition 'Rounault' with executives
The president of KAIST Nam Pyo Suh appreciated the exhibition ‘Rounault - artist preserving the freedom of sprit’, which was held at Daejeon Museum of Art in commemoration of the 120th anniversary of amity between Korea and France, with all KAIST executives.
About 80 executives of KAIST including President Suh, Inspector Incheol Yeo, Vice president Soonheung Chang, deans, chiefs of office, heads of department, heads of team, etc. enjoyed the exhibition for one hour from 5:20 p.m. August 24, Thursday.
President Suh revealed his intention that KAIST would cooperate with Daejeon City Hall and its community to develop Daejeon into one of the world-class high-tech cities at the press conference, which was held on July 14 in commemoration of his inauguration.
This day’s event was also the expression of an intention that KAIST would be together with Daejeon community.
An official from KAIST revealed that the purports of the event are ▲ KAIST will actively participate in the events happening in the community, which makes Daejeon citizen have affection to KAIST and ▲ KAIST wishes to play a practical role to enhance Daejeon’s image as the city of science and technology, and art and culture.
2006.09.05 View 15556
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Professor Sejin Kwon develops thruster for small satellite
- World’s first application of high-performance liquid propellant to small satellite thruster
- Show about four times higher thrust performance than the cold gas thruster of University of Surrey, the state-of-the-art technology in the field of small satellite
- Expect a considerable contribution to the extension of the lifespan and mission range of small satellites
The team of Professor Sejin Kwon (Department of Aerospace Engineering in KAIST/ President Nam Pyo Suh) and Space Solution Inc. (President Jaehun Lee) have jointly developed a micro thruster for small satellite motion-control.
Kwon"s team has succeeded in developing an integrated thruster which can be mounted on a satellite by integrating catalyst reactor and propellant-supplying system, which are the core technologies of small satellite thruster system.
For the first time in the world, Kwon’s team employs a high-performance liquid propellant to the thruster.
In the thruster, liquid-state hydrogen peroxide is dissolved into vapor and oxygen at the catalytic layer to emit a huge amount of heat. And, the emitted heat is converted into the kinetic energy of the gas to produce a propulsive force.
This thruster can perform the motion-control of a several tens-kilogram satellite with a propulsive force of less than one Newton and shows about four times higher thrust performance than the cold gas thruster of University of Surrey, who possesses the state-of-the-art technologies in the field of small satellites.
Professor Kwon said, “Although University of Surrey has also tried to develop a similar system, it’s not yet solved the problem on catalytic reactor bed. I expect this thruster will considerably contribute to the extension of the lifespan and mission range of scientific small satellites. Also, this thruster can be employed for the attitude control of the upper end of the launch vehicle, which is now being developed by the Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI).”
<Thruster module for small satellite application>
2006.09.05 View 15137
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Former Information and Communication Minister Soonhoon Bae appointed to Vice president of KAIST
“KAIST graduate school of management will be a world-class graduate school of management”
Professor Soonhoon Bae was appointed to the vice president of KAIST in Seoul campus on August 16.
Vice president Bae started his carrier with Daewoo Inc. as the head of the technical H.Q. in Daewoo Heavy Industry in 1976, and took office as the CEO of Daewoo Electronics (1991-95) and Daewoo Inc. (1995-97).
He was also the Minister of Information and Communication in 1998 and the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Northeast Asian Business Hub during 2004-05.
He became an issue by ‘TANKism’, a motto of making strong and core function-convergent electronic goods, when he was the CEO of Daewoo Electronics in 1992. From 1999, he’s made lectures for KAIST graduate school of techno management and Classroom No. 101 in Supex Management Hall where he has made lectures is called ‘tank classroom’.
Vice president Bae expressed his intention of the globalization and level-up of the school by saying, “I will focus on basic researches of management and thus raise the level of KAIST graduate school up to be qualified for Nobel Prize. I’ve taken many high-rank positions such as the CEO of major companies and the minister, however, position doesn’t matter at all. I am fully satisfied with the fact that the organizations that I belonged to have been reborn as world-class communities, and I am planning to lead KAIST graduate school of management in such a direction.”
2006.09.05 View 14795
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Ju-pyeong Lee won the Best Paper Award from IEEE RTAS
Ju-pyeong Lee, doctoral student of the Dept. of Electrical Engineering of KAIST, received the Best Paper Award from the 11th Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Real-Time and Embedded Technology and Applications Symposium (IEEE RTAS) sponsored by IEEE TC on Real Time System and supported from the U.S. National Science Foundation.
He is in the Computer Engineering laboratory, and won the honor by his research of technique of Delayed Locking Technique for Improving Real-Time Performance of Embedded Linux by Prediction of Timer Interrupt. His paper was selected to be the best because of its practicality. His research purposed the technique that can dramatically improve real time problem, which was indicated to be the big problem of Linux. Moreover, he presented the way to easily materialize this technique in the practical system.
Best Paper Award is the prize awarded by IEEE Computer Society in the recognition of outstanding achievement in the field of real time system and embedded technology.
IEEE RTAS is a symposium held annually by IEEE. In this year, the 11th symposium was held from March 7 to March 10, for four days, in San Francisco, United States. The purpose of this year symposium was to seek papers describing significant contributions both to state of the art and state of the practice in the broad field of embedded and open real-time computing, control, and communication. Therefore, it especially focused on online real-time and embedded applications ranging from industrial embedded applications such as aeronautics and automotive systems to open multimedia, telecommunication and mobile computing systems.
Approximately 200 related erudite from almost 20 countries including United States, England, France, Germany, Italy, and Sweden participated in this symposium. Total number of papers submitted to IEEE RTAS was 158, while only 53 of them were selected.
by Hye-jung Won / Staff ReporterApril, 2005 / The KAIST Herald
2005.04.12 View 17876
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National NanoFab Center Established
NNFC Emerges with Cutting-edge Nanotech
On March 16, a dedication ceremony was held at KAIST to mark the completion of the National NanoFab Center(NNFC). The opening was graced with the presence of several prominent figures, namely, President Robert B. Laughlin, Daejeon City Mayor Hong-chul Yum, and Myung Oh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and Technology.Celebrations of the opening were attended by roughly 300 related personnel. After a welcoming speech given by Hee-Chul Lee, President of NNFC, the event proceeded with a ribbon cutting ceremony, followed by a grand tour of the cleanroom.
The newly completed NNFC on campus boasts a total area of 17,035 square meters which consists of a four-storey research building, a cleanroom and a central utility building.
Still at the first stage of its equipment supplementation, the center has currently achieved an immense 140 in gear variety, worth approximately 80 billion won. At its final stage, a total of 206 equipment arrangements are to be available for various research purposes.
Implementing the use of state-of-the-art facilities, NNFC’s devices include an electron beam capable of critical measurements as small as ten nanometers and an ion beam structure for the analysis of nano-scale materials. These equipments are to be used in numerous areas - fundamental physics, biotechnology and nanoscience
Until the year 2011, a sum of 290 billion won is to be invested in the NNFC by the government and other private organizations. The center, along with Daedeok Techno Valley, aspires to play an integral role in maturing towards a new age of nanotechnology.
President Lee of the NNFC stated that the center is essential for Korea’s nanotechnology skills to achieve higher standards and compete with countries such as the U.S. and Japan. President Lee is also a professor of KAIST at the Division of Electrical Engineering.
By Kyoung-lee Park / Staff ReporterApril, 2005 / The KAIST Herald
2005.04.12 View 21626