Latest news with #KoreaAdvancedInstituteofScienceandTechnology
Korea Herald
10-07-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Zyx, KAIST join hands to foster next-gen AI design talent
Zyx Technology, a Korean digital design platform company, on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology to strengthen industry-academia collaboration, as well as support research with computer-aided design software. Under the agreement, Zyx Technology will donate 1,650 educational licenses of its flagship product, ZyxCAD Professional, valued at approximately 1 billion won ($728,000) to KAIST over the next three years. The package includes technical support and educational content, enabling the university to integrate ZyxCAD into its curriculum and research initiatives. The partnership aims to support student internship programs, joint software development and future cooperation in areas such as AI-powered design technologies, design automation, and interdisciplinary innovation across architecture and engineering. ZyxCAD, a Korean general-purpose CAD solution registered with the national public procurement platform, is fully compatible with AutoCAD, featuring the same command system and file compatibility. It also includes Zyx Technology's proprietary application suite 'Works,' designed to streamline advanced design workflows and automate repetitive tasks. 'This partnership is a meaningful step as Korean CAD technology is now actively supporting KAIST's research and education,' said KAIST President Lee Kwang-hyung. Zyx Technology Chairman Choi Jong-bok added, 'As KAIST is a leader for the future of design technology, it provides an ideal environment for showcasing the value of ZyxCAD. We will continue working with partners in both higher education and research.'
Time of India
20-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
A game-changer in cancer research? South Korean scientists reprogram tumour cells without chemotherapy or radiation
Cancer cells In what may signal the start of a new era in cancer therapy, South Korean researchers at KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) have come up with a way to reprogram cancer cells into normal, healthy cells using chemotherapy and radiation-free techniques. The discovery, published recently in Advanced Science, has left the worldwide medical fraternity stunned and has renewed hope for patients whose cancer treatments involve gruelling chemotherapies. Turning cancer cells good? Scientists say it's now possible Classic cancer therapies usually carry agonising side effects and destruction of adjacent normal tissues. Chemotherapy and radiation aim to destroy cancer cells, but they're brutal and can sap the body's strength. What is most revolutionary about this new technique is that it doesn't kill cancer cells; it reprograms them. Using a computer system named BENEIN (Boolean Network Inference), the KAIST researchers were able to map the genetic circuitry of colon cancer cells and essentially "reprogram" them to act like normal cells. BENEIN: The AI-powered tool that reprogrammed cancer cells to normal cells BENEIN functions by studying how genes communicate with each other within cancer cells. Once it knows the network, it selects the most influential genes that regulate the identity of the cell. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo In this situation, the researchers established that silencing three particular genes - MYB, HDAC2, and FOXA2 was sufficient to revert the cancerous nature of the cells. What's more astonishing is that the technique worked in both animal models and lab-grown cells. The cells of colon cancer treated with this procedure began to exhibit normal differentiation, and tumours significantly reduced in size when they were tested in mice. Chemotherapy and radiation Real signs of recovery: What the lab tests showed Not only did the research team observe changes in cell behaviour, but they also followed them down to the molecular level. The cancer cells treated with HDACi started expressing markers characteristic of healthy intestinal cells, including KRT20 and VDR, and turning off cancer-initiating pathways like MYC and WNT. The gene expression of the re-converted cells closely resembled healthy tissue samples included in The Cancer Genome Atlas, further validating the results. Could this become a universal cancer treatment ? Although the advance is focused on colorectal cancer, the potential is far greater than one disease. Because BENEIN is an AI and gene network-based approach, in principle, it is possible to use it against other cancers. But the researchers are warning against overconfidence and caution that additional testing is required before bringing the technique to human clinical trials. Nevertheless, the thought of reprogramming cancer cells rather than killing them is providing entirely new horizons for safer, more personalised treatment. What's next for cancer research ? The study has already positioned KAIST's team at the forefront of non-toxic cancer therapy research. Experts believe that this approach could eventually reduce dependence on chemo and radiation, especially in early-stage cancers. If future clinical trials prove successful, this could be one of the biggest shifts in oncology in decades. One step to a healthier you—join Times Health+ Yoga and feel the change
Korea Herald
10-06-2025
- Science
- Korea Herald
AI teaching assistant shows real promise at S. Korea tech university KAIST
South Korea's top science and engineering university has rolled out a custom-built AI teaching assistant to help students in large graduate courses, and early results show it helped reduce repetitive student questions while encouraging more active, self-directed learning. At Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, a team of researchers led by AI graduate school professor Choi Yoon-jae and design professor Hong Hwa-jung developed a virtual teaching assistant, or VTA, that can answer student questions at any time, with responses tailored to specific lectures and coursework. The tool was piloted last fall in a programming class for AI, taken by 477 graduate students. It's the first time such a system has been tested at scale in a Korean university setting. What sets the KAIST VTA apart is that it isn't a generic chatbot. Instead, it runs on what's called a retrieval-augmented generation model, which pulls directly from course materials like slides, coding exercises and lecture videos. When students ask a question, the system finds the most relevant content and formulates a response based on that context. This means answers are grounded in what's actually taught, not just generated from a general AI model. Over 50 percent of students used the system regularly during the 14-week semester, generating nearly 3,870 questions and answers. Students without a strong background in AI or coding were among the most active users, suggesting the VTA helped close knowledge gaps for those new to the subject. These figures come from internal usage data collected by KAIST during the semester. The system didn't just benefit students. According to lead TA and doctoral researcher Kwon Soon-jun, it reduced the number of routine questions from students, such as basic concept definitions or explanations already given in class. That allowed human teaching assistants to focus more on deeper, more complex issues. Compared to the previous year's course, the volume of questions requiring direct responses from TAs dropped by around 40 percent, based on data compiled by Professor Choi. Students also appeared more comfortable asking questions through the VTA than to human TAs, especially when it came to theoretical topics. Surveys conducted by Choi's research team before, during and after the course showed that students became increasingly confident in the system's reliability, and those who had been hesitant to speak up in class reported higher satisfaction levels when using the AI assistant. The VTA's source code has been released publicly on GitHub to encourage adoption by other educators and researchers. The work was also accepted to the Industry Track at ACL 2025, one of the leading international conferences in natural language processing
Korea Herald
26-05-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
From mussels to hair: How a KAIST scientist turned polyphenol into a global shampoo hit
Selling out in Paris and with CES buzz, Grabity shampoo gains traction on global stage It all started with mussels. How do they cling so tightly to rocks underwater without hands? The answer lies in polyphenol — a transparent, adhesive substance they secrete. Inspired by this natural phenomenon, Lee Hae-sin, a leading chemical engineering professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, developed Grabity shampoo — a runaway hit that grips hair the way mussels cling to rocks. Since its launch in April last year, over 1.2 million units have been sold, with sales of 20 billion won ($14.6 million). The shampoo has demonstrated a remarkable ability to reduce hair loss by up to 70 percent — and by as much as 90 percent among patients clinically diagnosed with hair loss — making it a breakout success for Lee's startup, Polyphenol Factory. Born in a science lab, the shampoo is now setting its sights on global expansion, with its proven effectiveness aimed at tapping into the billion-dollar hair loss treatment industry. 'We're just a little over a year old as a brand, and the popularity we gained in Korea gave us the confidence to go abroad,' Lee said in an interview with The Korea Herald on May 16, the day he returned to Seoul from Paris, where his company showcased Grabity at Foire de Paris 2025, one of Europe's largest consumer trade fairs. 'But we didn't expect to receive such an overwhelming response from people of different nationalities and ethnicities, since the product was originally developed with Korean consumers in mind.' From lab to locks: The science behind a viral hair loss fix At Foire de Paris 2025, Polyphenol Factory's booth drew about 10,000 visitors on the first day alone, with all 5,000 units of Grabity shampoo selling out. An additional 5,000 units brought in by the company quickly sold out as well. 'I had never tested or sold our product to what you'd call a Western demographic, but I found that people were genuinely interested,' Lee said, noting that one visitor even returned the next day with a friend after trying the product. 'Despite differences in hair types, Grabity proved to be effective.' Grabity received similarly enthusiastic responses during its US debut at CES 2025, the world's largest annual tech and consumer trade show held in January in Las Vegas. Grabity shampoo and treatment products are currently available on Amazon, but Lee is preparing for an official launch in the US and other major markets. Polyphenol Factory has partnered with Lotte Home Shopping to expand into several European countries as well as Japan and Taiwan. The key ingredient that helps Grabity hold hair in place is polyphenol, a natural compound commonly found in plants. 'The adhesive has to withstand exposure to water during shampooing, and polyphenol is a great substance that has this capability,' Lee explained. While shedding 50 to 70 hairs per day is normal for a healthy scalp, individuals experiencing hair loss may shed over 100 strands daily. As hair strands become thinner and narrower than the pores they grow from, they loosen and more easily fall out. Grabity's formula addresses this by filling that gap — the polyphenols form bonds between the hair strand and the pore wall, acting as a natural adhesive to hold hair in place. 'In our clinical study with patients diagnosed with hair loss, daily hair shedding dropped by up to 90 percent, with some seeing results in just two weeks,' Lee said. 'Someone losing 100 strands a day saw that fall to around 30.' In 2023, Lee registered his lab as a faculty-led startup at KAIST, where the ingredients were specially processed into a high-adhesion form. The resulting technology was patented under the name LiftMax 380. This processed polyphenol sets Grabity apart from many other shampoo products on the market that claim to use the compound. According to Lee, most products simply add polyphenol extracts into a conventional shampoo base. 'It's more like turning soybeans into tofu,' he explained. 'You're not just adding a raw ingredient — you're changing its form and function.' For Grabity, Lee's lab uses extracts from walnut shells. How blood vessel breakthrough became hair care hit Lee's work with polyphenol dates back to his postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he studied how the compound could be used to deliver anti-inflammatory drugs directly to the walls of blood vessels — helping prevent arterial narrowing, a key factor in conditions like arteriosclerosis and cerebral infarction. 'To prevent blood vessels from narrowing and becoming blocked, the anti-inflammatory drug needs to be delivered precisely to the affected vessel. But it was always challenging because blood flows at an incredibly fast speed — faster than cars on a highway,' Lee said. 'Polyphenols have made this targeted delivery possible.' He published his research and transferred the technology to a Japanese company. Learning that polyphenols bond well to blood due to its high plasma protein content, Lee was inspired to develop his next invention: a hemostatic agent. 'When I thought about what might work outside the body, hair came to mind easily, because it's made of keratin — a protein,' he said. Grabity's production remains limited, as the LiftMax 380 solution is mixed in-house by a 15-member team, including seven core researchers, before being manufactured by a partner factory. With demand surging — and resale prices on secondhand platforms reaching up to seven times the original price when the product sells out — Polyphenol Factory is planning to expand its production capacity. Still, Lee is clear that scaling up the company is not his ultimate goal. 'We often talk about 'innovation in the everyday,'' Lee said. 'Polyphenols can be used in highly technical applications, but I wanted to create products that people can actually feel and use in their daily lives — something accessible, not just advanced.' New products using the same nature-driven material are already in the pipeline, including nail and eyelash adhesives, and even a solution for hair implantation. His research has shown that polyphenol-based adhesives can effectively implant hair without follicles. While the implanted hair does not grow, it can visibly fill in thinning areas — a solution Lee believes could be especially helpful for women experiencing small, patchy hair loss. 'We're not a cosmetics company. We're a tech company,' he said, emphasizing his role as a researcher. Lee, now an endowed chair in KAIST's department of chemistry, in his career has authored 237 papers and holds 68 technology patents. 'If there's no clear scientific foundation behind what we offer, we won't expand product lines just for the sake of it. We don't do concept-only products. That's our guiding principle.'
Euronews
17-04-2025
- Science
- Euronews
New breakthrough in quantum mechanics could make electronics more efficient
ADVERTISEMENT Physicists have discovered that a quantum mechanical phenomenon previously understood to only occur at extremely low temperatures can happen at room temperature. Even better, the currents they generated were 10 times stronger than before. The breakthrough means that we may have taken a step closer to low-power, high-performance electronics at a time when demand for artificial intelligence (AI) is soaring. The new study, published by researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and Sogang University in South Korea, has found a new way to generate spin currents at room temperature using a method called longitudinal spin pumping, The team said the observation was "highly unexpected". Related Most Europeans know about quantum without knowing specifically what it is, new survey finds "Spin pumping is a method that generates spin currents through magnetisation dynamics. Previous studies have relied on classical magnetisation dynamics, which produce relatively small spin currents," Kyung-Jin Lee, a researcher at the Department of Physics at KAIST, told Euronews NEXT. "In our research, we discovered that spin pumping currents generated from quantum magnetisation dynamics are an order of magnitude larger than those from classical magnetisation dynamics," Lee added. Experts say this could mean we are a step closer to more efficient memory and computing devices that consume less power. A team at KAIST conducted a 'challenging' experiment to detect spin pumping currents on the nanosecond timescale, using a new material made of iron rhodium Kab-Jin Kim/ KAIST "A mechanism that can boost a spin current 10 times [more] than earlier… is very promising and exciting," Aamir Ali, a quantum technology research specialist at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, told Euronews Next. Lee adds that with so many mobile devices today, energy efficiency is important, especially as the growing demand for AI requires more computing power. What is spintronics and how can it help our lives? Most electronics we use today rely on electronic circuits. In these small chips, electrons move to process and store information. One downside of this mechanism is that energy is lost and generates heat while electrons move through a circuit. Spintronics has gained in popularity as a potential solution. Related Scientists develop record cold refrigerator that could unlock full potential of quantum computers Spintronics researchers around the world have been trying to generate enough currents using an electron's spin rather than its charge as in traditional electronics. "Spintronics also offers mechanisms that give much more sensitivity in detecting spin than traditional charge-based electronics," said Ali. ADVERTISEMENT Ali said it means that hard disk drives can be read faster. In 2007, Albert Fert and Peter Grünberg were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR), a spintronics phenomenon that enabled ultra-sensitive magnetic read heads in hard disk drives. Spintronics devices are already being developed and used at room temperature by semiconductor manufacturers around the world, but they rely on relatively weaker spin-based effects. A mechanism that can boost a spin current 10 times [more] than earlier… is very promising and exciting. Aamir Ali Quantum technology research specialist, Chalmers University of Technology Experts say generating spin currents is challenging. ADVERTISEMENT The research team believes their new findings could directly impact a type of memory called Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (MRAM), which is a spintronics component with a wide range of applications from software and medical devices to aerospace. "MRAM devices rely on spin currents to record data, and our findings – demonstrating that quantum magnetisation dynamics at room temperature can generate significantly larger spin currents – could lead to lower power consumption in MRAM. This advancement may further accelerate MRAM adoption by enhancing its energy efficiency and scalability," said Lee. Semiconductor giants like Samsung are exploring whether MRAM could become the next-generation memory for AI computing. Researchers of the study at a KAIST lab Kab-Jin Kim /KAIST Experimental-theoretical approach Researchers say the combined experimental-theoretical approach was crucial in establishing the findings, as quantum science involves particles that can't be seen by humans. ADVERTISEMENT First, a team at Sogang University made a new material made of iron rhodium. After, a team at KAIST conducted a "challenging" experiment to detect spin pumping currents on the nanosecond timescale, which required advanced ultrafast measurement techniques, according to the research team. Related What is the quantum threat and what has simple maths got to do with protecting global security? Then a theory group analysed the experimental data. Researchers say they now aim to turn these findings into real-world designs that could change the way our electronics work. ADVERTISEMENT "Looking ahead, we plan to explore new materials and mechanisms to further enhance spin current generation," Lee said. "Additionally, we aim to develop novel spintronic device architectures that leverage quantum effects for ultra-low-power and high-performance memory and logic applications". For more on this story, watch the video in the media player above.
