[International] :
South Korea, the United States and Japan are set to hold their trilateral multidomain Freedom Edge exercise this week.  According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff(JCS), this year’s second Freedom Edge exercise runs Wednesday to Friday in international waters south of Jeju Island.  The three ...

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Ah, the humble cup of joe — our reliable morning sidekick. It's hard to imagine a time when coffee didn't cost half your paycheck or come with a laundry list of milk options. But once upon a time, you could get a steaming mug for under a buck, no barista needed.

Archangel Jophiel, whose name means "Beauty of God," is said to emanate divine inspiration and wisdom, transforming negative emotions into positive energy. His energy encourages both inner and outer beauty, helping people cultivate not just physical grace but also a deeper sense of spiritual self.

The Archangel Uriel is one of the seven angels who sit at the top of the heavenly food chain. He's one of seven archangels mentioned throughout Christian tradition. These archangels oversee God's legions of heavenly servants and help run the world as we know it.

Some people love to do it, others hate it, but washing your car could add years to its life.

[Culture] :
KBS hit drama "Winter Sonata" which led the Korean Wave in the 2000s will be released as a theatrical film in Japan next year. Pan Entertainment, which produced the show, announced Monday that it had decided to release a film version after receiving continuous requests from Japanese distributors and ...

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[Culture] :
Korean American writer Kim Ju-hea was named the winner of the 2024 Yasnaya Polyana Literary Award in the foreign fiction category for her debut novel, "Beasts of a Little Land." Kim and Kirill Batygin, who translated the book into Russian, were awarded Russia's largest annual prize in literature at Moscow's ...

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[Culture] :
J-Hope of K-pop sensation BTS will complete his 18 months of mandatory military service and be discharged from the Army on Thursday.  The singer’s agency, BigHit Music, revealed the date on Monday in the group’s fan community platform, saying no event will be held to mark the occasion while urging ...

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[Culture] :
BTS member J-Hope completed his 18-month military service on Thursday. Upon being discharged earlier in the morning, J-Hope appeared at the gate of the 36th Infantry Division's Recruit Training Center in Wonju, Gangwon Province, and thanked the group's fandom, ARMY, saying he was able to complete his ...

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[Culture] :
 Calligraphy by the late Korean independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun will soon be on display for the South Korean public. According to the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History, a special exhibition on Ahn’s writings will open Thursday in cooperation with the Ahn Junggeun Memorial Association ...

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[Culture] :
A U.S. music magazine has picked “Ditto” by the K-pop girl group NewJeans as one of the top songs of the 2020s. According to the group’s agency, ADOR, Thursday, the song ranked 23rd on Paste magazine’s “100 Best Songs of the 2020s So Far.” According to the U.S. magazine, no K-pop group has ...

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[Culture] :
ADOR, the agency that manages the K-pop girl group NewJeans, has rejected a proposal to reinstate Min Hee-jin as CEO. According to industry sources, the agency’s board of directors met Wednesday at HYBE’s headquarters in Yongsan, Seoul, and the majority voted against the proposal. The board meeting was ...

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"Watch it wiggle, see it jiggle" Remember that jingle? We're talking about Jell-O, or gelatin. But just how does how does it do that? And what is this stuff made of?

Who doesn’t love a good laugh, especially when it’s shared with friends and family? Jokes for kids are not just a source of entertainment; they help children develop language skills, social connections and a sense of humor.

Telling dad jokes is a hallmark of fatherhood; those groan-worthy quips that somehow always seem to land, even if it’s just to elicit a chuckle or a sigh. They're simple, usually pun-filled, and often require little setup. The funniest dad jokes come with punchlines so obvious, you can’t help but laugh while rolling your eyes.

Jinjin of Astro has dropped a single in remembrance of bandmate Moonbin who passed away one year ago.The digital single “Fly”, which features Moonbin’s voice, was co-written by the two members of...

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P1Harmony is set to release a best-hits album in Japan.According to the six-member boy group's agency FNC Entertainment on Friday, 'Love & P1ece : The Best of P1Harmony' will be released on August 21. It...

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TWS will release a brand new album next month. Their label, Pledis Entertainment, announced the rookie group is preparing for a comeback, adding that a pre-release for the album will drop early next month.TWS has...

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Girl group NewJeans dropped a double single on Friday, coming back after ten months since their second mini album 'Get Up.''How Sweet' was released at 1 p.m. Friday, carrying the title track of the same...

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Jin of BTS has been discharged Wednesday, finishing up 18 months of mandatory military service. Fellow bandmates RM, J-Hope, V, Jungkook, and Jimin took the day off from their military service to greet the first...

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Band FTIsland will make a comeback with their seventh full-length album in July.The group's agency FNC Entertainment released the band's promotion schedule for the album 'Serious' through its official...

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Jimin of BTS is set to release an English version of the single 'Be Mine.' The singer's agency BigHit Music said that the track would be released on Friday. 'Be Mine' is a track listed in...

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Jennie, a member of K-pop girl group Blackpink, will be releasing a new single this week. Titled, “Mantra,” the new release will drop Oct. 11. The highly anticipated comeback comes...

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Omega X will release its 2nd Japanese EP next month. The new album is called “To.” and it will be released on Nov. 13. The group’s last Japanese album was its debut EP,...

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On the morning of October 18, at Yeoido KBS HallKBS WORLD Radio filmed K-pop stars making their way to attend rehearsals for Music Bank.

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Start your week off right with NVee and DJ Hyerim in another exciting episode of I Feel You! Today, they’re spilling stories about everything from their school days and being the coolest aunts...

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Jin of BTS will release his first solo album next month. Titled “Happy” the album will drop on Nov. 15. His label, BigHit Music, said “Happy” is about finding happiness...

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In this week's episode of 'Good Vibes Only,' we're doubling up on the positive energy with two special guests: singer Kim Younggeun and singer-songwriter/producer NIve! Younggeun...

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In Xander's first Good Vibes Only episode, YouTuber Joel Bennett joins to share his love for his new home Seoul, a city halfway across the globe. Watch as they hit it off instantly over their...

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[Economy] :
Global investment banks have slashed their growth outlook for South Korea for this year. According to the Korea Center for International Finance on Friday, the growth forecast by eight foreign investment banks averaged two-point-three percent at the end of October, representing a zero-point-two percentage ...

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[Economy] :
The nation added 83-thousand jobs in October, with job growth falling below 100-thousand for the first time in four months.  According to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the number of employed people stood at 28-point-eight million last month, up 83-thousand from the same month last year. Job growth fell ...

[more...]

[Economy] :
The country’s import prices jumped more than two percent in October due to the won’s depreciation against the U.S. dollar and a rise in global oil prices.  According to data from the Bank of Korea on Wednesday, the country’s import price index reached 137-point-61 in October, up two-point-two ...

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Trailblazing seismologist named new editor-in-chief of GJI  The Royal Astronomical Society

BGS launches project to enhance value of ground investigation data  Ground Engineering

The Common Ground project  British Geological Survey

BGS joins new initiative supporting technical career paths  British Geological Survey

Electromagnetic geophysics in Japan: a conference experience  British Geological Survey

This paper describes real-time statistical analysis of liquid jet images for SFX experiments at the European XFEL. This analysis forms one part of the automated jet re-alignment system for SFX experiments at the SPB/SFX instrument of European XFEL.

RAPID (RAtio method Pattern InDexing) is an ImageJ macro script developed for the quick determination of sample orientation and indexing of calibrated and uncalibrated zone axis aligned electron diffraction patterns from materials with a cubic crystal structure. In addition to SAED and NBED patterns, the program is also capable of handling zone axis TEM Kikuchi patterns and FFTs derived from HR(S)TEM images. The software enables users to rapidly determine whether materials are cubic, pseudo-cubic, or non-cubic, and to distinguish between P, I, and F Bravais lattices. It can also provide lattice parameters for material verification and aid in determining the camera constant of the instrument, thus making the program a convenient tool for on-site crystallographic analysis in the TEM laboratory.

Third- and fourth-generation synchrotron light sources with high fluxes and beam energies enable the use of innovative X-ray translucent experimental apparatus. These experimental devices access geologically relevant conditions whilst enabling in situ characterization using the spatial and temporal resolutions accessible at imaging beamlines. Here, Heitt Mjölnir is introduced, a heated miniature triaxial rig based on the design of Mjölnir, but covering a wider temperature range and larger sample volume at similar pressure capacities. This device is designed to investigate coupled thermal, chemical, hydraulic and mechanical processes from grain to centimetre scales using cylindrical samples of 10 mm × 20 mm (diameter × length). Heitt Mjölnir can simultaneously reach confining (hydraulic) pressures of 30 MPa and 500 MPa of axial stress with independently controlled sample pore fluid pressure < 30 MPa. This internally heated apparatus operates to temperatures up to 573 K with a minimal vertical thermal gradient in the sample of <0.3 K mm−1. This new apparatus has been deployed in operando studies at the TOMCAT (Swiss Light Source), I12 JEEP (Diamond Light Source) and PSICHÉ (Synchrotron SOLEIL) beamlines for 4D X-ray microtomography with scan intervals of a few minutes. Heitt Mjölnir is portable and modular, allowing a wide range of 4D characterizations of low-grade metamorphism and deformational processes. It enables spatially and temporally resolved fluid–rock interaction studies at conditions of crustal reservoirs and is suitable for characterization of material properties in geothermal, carbonation or subsurface gas storage applications. Technical drawings and an operation guide are included in this publication.

Experimental characterization of the structural, electronic and dynamic properties of dilute systems in aqueous solvents, such as nanoparticles, molecules and proteins, are nowadays an open challenge. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is probably one of the most established approaches to this aim as it is element-specific. However, typical dilute systems of interest are often composed of light elements that require extreme-ultraviolet to soft X-ray photons. In this spectral regime, water and other solvents are rather opaque, thus demanding radical reduction of the solvent volume and removal of the liquid to minimize background absorption. Here, we present an experimental endstation designed to operate a liquid flat jet of sub-micrometre thickness in a vacuum environment compatible with extreme ultraviolet/soft XAS measurements in transmission geometry. The apparatus developed can be easily connected to synchrotron and free-electron-laser user-facility beamlines dedicated to XAS experiments. The conditions for stable generation and control of the liquid flat jet are analyzed and discussed. Preliminary soft XAS measurements on some test solutions are shown.

Laser-induced projectile impact testing (LIPIT) based on synchrotron imaging is proposed and validated. This emerging high-velocity, high-strain microscale dynamic loading technique offers a unique perspective on the strain and energy dissipation behavior of materials subjected to high-speed microscale single-particle impacts. When combined with synchrotron radiation imaging techniques, LIPIT allows for in situ observation of particle infiltration. Two validation experiments were carried out, demonstrating the potential of LIPIT in the roentgenoscopy of the dynamic properties of various materials. With a spatial resolution of 10 µm and a temporal resolution of 33.4 µs, the system was successfully realized at the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility 3W1 beamline. This innovative approach opens up new avenues for studying the dynamic properties of materials in situ.

In a photoinjector electron source, the initial transverse electron bunch properties are determined by the spatial properties of the laser beam on the photocathode. Spatial shaping of the laser is commonly achieved by relay imaging an illuminated circular mask onto the photocathode. However, the Gibbs phenomenon shows that recreating the sharp edge and discontinuity of the cut profile at the mask on the cathode is not possible with an optical relay of finite aperture. Furthermore, the practical injection of the laser into the photoinjector results in the beam passing through small or asymmetrically positioned apertures. This work uses wavefront propagation to show how the transport apertures cause ripple structures to appear in the transverse laser profile even when effectively the full laser power is transmitted. The impact of these structures on the propagated electron bunch has also been studied with electron bunches of high and low charge density. With high charge density, the ripples in the initial charge distribution rapidly wash-out through space charge effects. However, for bunches with low charge density, the ripples can persist through the bunch transport. Although statistical properties of the electron bunch in the cases studied are not greatly affected, there is the potential for the distorted electron bunch to negatively impact machine performance. Therefore, these effects should be considered in the design phase of accelerators using photoinjectors.

One of the most challenging aspects of X-ray research is the delivery of liquid sample flows into the soft X-ray beam. Currently, cylindrical microjets are the most commonly used sample injection systems for soft X-ray liquid spectroscopy. However, they suffer from several drawbacks, such as complicated geometry due to their curved surface. In this study, we propose a novel 3D-printed nozzle design by introducing microscopic flat sheet jets that provide micrometre-thick liquid sheets with high stability, intending to make this technology more widely available to users. Our research is a collaboration between the EuXFEL and MAX IV research facilities. This collaboration aims to develop and refine a 3D-printed flat sheet nozzle design and a versatile jetting platform that is compatible with multiple endstations and measurement techniques. Our flat sheet jet platform improves the stability of the jet and increases its surface area, enabling more precise scanning and differential measurements in X-ray absorption, scattering, and imaging applications. Here, we demonstrate the performance of this new arrangement for a flat sheet jet setup with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, photoelectron angular distribution, and soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy experiments performed at the photoemission end­station of the FlexPES beamline at MAX IV Laboratory in Lund, Sweden.

Beauveriolides, including the main beauveriolide I {systematic name: (3R,6S,9S,13S)-9-benzyl-13-[(2S)-hexan-2-yl]-6-methyl-3-(2-methyl­prop­yl)-1-oxa-4,7,10-tri­aza­cyclo­tridecane-2,5,8,11-tetrone, C27H41N3O5}, are a series of cyclo­depsipeptides that have shown promising results in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and in the prevention of foam cell formation in atherosclerosis. Their crystal structure studies have been difficult due to their tiny crystal size and fibre-like morphology, until now. Recent developments in 3D electron diffraction methodology have made it possible to accurately study the crystal structures of submicron crystals by overcoming the problems of beam sensitivity and dynamical scattering. In this study, the absolute structure of beauveriolide I was determined by 3D electron diffraction. The cyclo­dep­si­peptide crystallizes in the space group I2 with lattice parameters a = 40.2744 (4), b = 5.0976 (5), c = 27.698 (4) Å and β = 105.729 (6)°. After dynamical refinement, its absolute structure was determined by comparing the R factors and calculating the z-scores of the two possible enanti­omorphs of beauveriolide I.

Data acquisition and processing for cryo-electron tomography can be a significant bottleneck for users. To simplify and streamline the cryo-ET workflow, Tomo Live, an on-the-fly solution that automates the alignment and reconstruction of tilt-series data, enabling real-time data-quality assessment, has been developed. Through the integration of Tomo Live into the data-acquisition workflow for cryo-ET, motion correction is performed directly after each of the acquired tilt angles. Immediately after the tilt-series acquisition has completed, an unattended tilt-series alignment and reconstruction into a 3D volume is performed. The results are displayed in real time in a dedicated remote web platform that runs on the microscope hardware. Through this web platform, users can review the acquired data (aligned stack and 3D volume) and several quality metrics that are obtained during the alignment and reconstruction process. These quality metrics can be used for fast feedback for subsequent acquisitions to save time. Parameters such as Alignment Accuracy, Deleted Tilts and Tilt Axis Correction Angle are visualized as graphs and can be used as filters to export only the best tomograms (raw data, reconstruction and intermediate data) for further processing. Here, the Tomo Live algorithms and workflow are described and representative results on several biological samples are presented. The Tomo Live workflow is accessible to both expert and non-expert users, making it a valuable tool for the continued advancement of structural biology, cell biology and histology.

Single-particle cryo-electron microscopy has become a widely adopted method in structural biology due to many recent technological advances in microscopes, detectors and image processing. Before being able to inspect a biological sample in an electron microscope, it needs to be deposited in a thin layer on a grid and rapidly frozen. The VitroJet was designed with this aim, as well as avoiding the delicate manual handling and transfer steps that occur during the conventional grid-preparation process. Since its creation, numerous technical developments have resulted in a device that is now widely utilized in multiple laboratories worldwide. It features plasma treatment, low-volume sample deposition through pin printing, optical ice-thickness measurement and cryofixation of pre-clipped Autogrids through jet vitrification. This paper presents recent technical improvements to the VitroJet and the benefits that it brings to the cryo-EM workflow. A wide variety of applications are shown: membrane proteins, nucleosomes, fatty-acid synthase, Tobacco mosaic virus, lipid nanoparticles, tick-borne encephalitis viruses and bacteriophages. These case studies illustrate the advancement of the VitroJet into an instrument that enables accurate control and reproducibility, demonstrating its suitability for time-efficient cryo-EM structure determination.