The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Gene turns heart cells into pacemaker: Lab study Posted: 18 Dec 2012 02:19 AM PST  New research is a step toward the goal of a biological fix for irregular heartbeat. – shutterstock.com The research is a step toward the goal of a biological fix for irregular heartbeat, which at present is tackled by drugs or electronic pacemakers, its investigators said. The heart has 10 billion cells but fewer than 10,000 of them are pacemaker cells, which generate electrical activity that spreads to other cardiac cells, making the organ contract rhythmically and pump blood. The work, reported in the journal Nature Biotechology on Sunday, uses a virus to deliver a human gene called Tbx18, whose normal role is to coax immature cells into becoming pacemaker cells. Ordinary cells "infected" by the harmless Trojan horse were reprogrammed by Tbx 18 and became these important specialised cells. "The new cells generated electrical impulses spontaneously and were indistinguishable from native pacemaker cells," said Hee Cheol Cho at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles, California. The promising technique builds on decade-long research into biological pacemakers. It has so far been tested on guinea pigs and rats. "We expect this to work in humans. It would be two to three years from now until the first clinical trial, the first target patients being the ones with (pacemaker) device infection," Cho said in an email. – AFP/Relaxnews |
| In South Korea’s ‘Exam Village’ young voters yearn for change Posted: 17 Dec 2012 10:16 PM PST  Young South Koreans wait to cast their absentee ballot at a polling station in their "exam village" in in Seoul, December 13, 2012. — Reuters pics There are 30,000 residents of a drab neighbourhood of the South Korean capital known as Exam Village, where people preparing for tests for low-level civil service jobs have gravitated for years.  Kim Sa-myeong studies in his small room. That frustration might translate into votes for the leftist candidate, Moon Jae-in, who has promised more welfare, better education and taxes for the super-wealthy. Moon is competing against Park Geun-hye from the ruling conservatives, who has pledged a continuation of current policies. Opinion polls show the race is too close to call, with Park, the 60-year-old daughter of South Korean dictator Park Chung-hee, relying on older voters who tend to turn out in force, while Moon's chances might depend on more fickle younger voters. They often can't be bothered to vote but that might be different this time.  Kim emerges from his Goshiwon, one of the many private dorms. "I want to see regime change. Everything is so stuck," said Kim Sa-myeong, 27, in his tiny room in one of the many private dorms that house students in the neighbourhood. In the past four decades, South Korea has transformed itself from one of the world's poorest countries into an industrial powerhouse where top companies such as Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor make telephones and cars for global markets. Gross domestic product per capita is more than US$30,000 (RM91,590) a year, the world's 29th highest, and South Korean television dramas and pop stars are taking the world by storm. But reality for many young South Koreans is a world away from glitzy showbiz and corporate triumph.  The $2 rice staple in "exam village". He borrows money from his family to get by and studies until midnight. The drab walls of his room are plastered with lists of English words he's trying to learn. "Even if I become a public servant, I don't think it will be much fun if this continues," said Kim, referring to the conservative government of President Lee Myung-bak, whose single mandatory five-year term is coming to an end. Kim speaks in a hushed voice, wary of disturbing fellow students immersed in books in their rooms all around. Promises South Korean students consistently outperform their counterparts in reading and maths. University enrolment rates are 80 per cent, the highest in the world, and tuition costs are ranked the third highest among rich nations. While graduates of top universities can aim for jobs with Samsung or Hyundai, those from lower-ranked universities set their sights on a state job, with 28.7 per cent of graduates wanting to get government work. Exam Village, the real name of which is Noryangjin, is packed with cram schools and study rooms. Students trudge along narrow alleys, backpacks full of books slung over their shoulders. No one was willing to say they were supporting Park.  Class at a cram school in a Goshichon. Kang has been living and studying in Exam Village for a year in the hope of passing exams to become a police officer. She said she voted for Moon and tweeted a picture of herself carrying a sign reading "12.19 Vote!" to encourage her friends. Moon came to the neighbourhood to campaign and stood with students at a street stall to eat one of their staple $2 rice meals from a plastic container. He promised job quotas for young people and an increase in the number of civil service job opportunities. But he's got his work cut out, if he wins. The percentage of people between 15 and 29 who are not in employment, education or training stood at 36.8 per cent, the highest level among countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2008, according to Korea Labour Institute. Of about 300,000 people taking the civil service exams, only about 10,000 will pass. "No matter who becomes president, the job problem isn't going to be solved quickly," said Oh Eun-a, a 25-year-old woman also hoping to pass the police exam. "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer and it's is getting worse. "Becoming a public servant is the only dream that the have-nots can pursue," Oh said. — Reuters |
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