The National Museum of Science is holding the special exhibition ‘Siiyeonseu, Science!’ from Jan. 7 to Feb. 9, 2025, in the Biological Exploration Hall./Courtesy of National Museum of Science

The National Museum of Nature and Science announced that it will hold a special exhibition titled 'Science!' in celebration of the Year of the Snake starting from Jan. 7 to Feb. 9, 2025, at the Biological Exploration Hall. This exhibition will allow visitors to experience various advanced scientific and technological achievements inspired by snakes, developed by leading domestic research institutions, including the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, the Korea Robot Technology Institute, the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, Pukyong National University, and NCBIT. Special events will provide opportunities for visitors to communicate with experts and enthusiasts about the behavior, habits, and ecology of snakes.

On the 27th, the National Radio Research Agency under the Ministry of Science and ICT announced that it has established national standards for the quantum field for the first time in South Korea. The national standards define the concepts and functions of quantum key distribution networks, and establish essential foundations for commercializing quantum information technology, including service quality assessment criteria. Director General Jung Chang-rim of the National Radio Research Agency noted, “We will continue to strengthen public-private cooperation in national and international standards to enhance global competitiveness in the quantum field and lead the market, and we will not spare comprehensive support.”

The research results of the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS) were selected as the '2024 Grants Excellent Research Achievements.' The selected technology is the 'light-AI-based urine cancer diagnostic technology' developed by the molecular sensing material research team. This achievement was recognized for developing a sensor that can diagnose cancer within 10 minutes by using Nano-optical materials and artificial intelligence (AI) to amplify the metabolic signals present in urine from cancer patients and healthy individuals by more than one billion times. Senior researcher Jung Ho-sang stated, “Members of the Korea Institute of Materials Science will continuously strive for the global top-level technology development.”

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced that the 2000th representative model of public research-based entrepreneurship and technology commercialization, known as a research institute corporation, has emerged. A research institute corporation is a business established within a research and development special zone to directly commercialize technologies from public research institutions. This 2000th research institute corporation is DeepEye of the Ulsan Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Special Zone, which has built a foundation for growth through support for the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Nurturing Project. This registration as a research institute corporation will serve as a starting point for fully commercializing its 'AI-based eddy current testing (ECT) automatic evaluation solution.'

The Interdisciplinary Research Unit of the Institute for Basic Science will present a performance titled 'Air·Medium - Rising,' integrating science, technology, and art, on the 27th at 7 p.m. at the Kim Hee-soo Art Center of the Sulim Cultural Foundation. Director General Ham Seong-ho commented on the performance, saying, “We will explore new possibilities that arise by transcending the boundaries between science and art, and through text and performance, we will let the various interpretations and forms of the text shine on stage, vividly expressing the various ways to view reality.”