Science that finds answers in the principles of nature, and a culture that brings science into everyday life, came together in one place.
At the venue of The 1st Gangneung NP·BIO International Conference, which opened on the 22nd at Saint Johns Hotel Gangneung, cutting-edge bio technologies inspired by the principles of nature and science-culture content gathered in one place. The event was co-hosted by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Gangneung City, and ChosunBiz.
◇Postech implements a drug delivery technology using mussel protein
From a drug delivery technology that mimics the adhesive power of mussels to an artificial synthesis technology for a neuroprotective substance discovered in the symbiosis of soybean insects and fungi, studies that decode nature's principles through science drew the attention of visitors.
Professor Cha Hyeong-jun's team at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Graduate School of Medical Science at Pohang University of Science and Technology POSTECH focused on the "adhesive protein," the secret that allows mussels to cling tightly to rocks even under the sea. The team applied this protein to create a delivery system that allows drugs to remain for a long time in specific parts of the body.
Existing drugs often circulate throughout the body when administered intravenously or orally, leading to side effects and systemic toxicity, but this technology reduces such problems by attaching directly to the diseased area and slowly releasing the drug.
They then advanced the technology further and developed an inhalable nanoparticle for lung cancer treatment. By adding specific amino acids to the mussel adhesive protein, they created particles that adhere well to the lung mucosa while selectively releasing the drug. In other words, it stays around cancer cells, enabling targeted therapy.
◇KAIST finds "clues to treating brain diseases" in soybean insect fungi
Professor Han Sun-gyu's team at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) succeeded in producing in the lab "herpotrichone," a natural product so rare it is one of the few in nature.
Only trace amounts of this substance can be obtained from fungi that live in symbiosis with soybean insects, and it has the effect of reducing inflammation in the brain and protecting nerve cells. It is drawing attention as a candidate treatment for degenerative brain diseases such as dementia and Parkinson's disease, but research has been difficult because the amount available from nature is far too small.
Han's team simulated the process by which the fungus produces the substance and devised a method to chemically reproduce its complex structure. Like fitting puzzle pieces together, they combined carbon and hydrogen to form rings and precisely controlled hydrogen bonding so that the reaction would occur only at the exact sites. As a result, they became the first in the world to artificially synthesize three types: herpotrichone A, B, and C.
The team is also developing candidate treatments for Alzheimer's disease based on natural products. They synthesized derivatives of "colinolactone," which has the effect of removing the toxic brain proteins amyloid beta and tau, and confirmed stronger bioactivity than the original substance.
They also developed a method to mass-produce the useful component "diosgenin" by controlling the toxic metabolic pathway of black nightshade, and recently created an artificial intelligence (AI) model called "READRetro" that predicts plants' natural product biosynthetic pathways to accelerate the search for new drug candidates.
◇Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology builds an integrated "Central Bank" for natural product resources
At this conference, not only individual studies by universities and research institutes but also the national-level "Multi-ministerial Bio Research Resource Advancement Project" was introduced. In this project, which aims for systematic management and industrialization of bio research resources, the natural products sector is overseen by the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), which serves as the "Natural Products Central Bank."
The Natural Products Central Bank integrates and manages a variety of natural product resources, including domestic and overseas plants and plant cell lines, and based on this is building a standardized system for securing and distributing materials. It also organizes standard analytical methods, component and efficacy information, and extract data, and operates a "natural products big data platform" that researchers and corporations can easily use.
Along with this, it provides separation and analysis services, resource distribution services, and information integration programs for joint use by academia, industry, and research, as well as a support system for corporations.
The Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology plans to collaborate with other clusters, such as those for synthetic compounds, model animals, and seeds, to contribute to revitalizing the national bioeconomy by streamlining the development of source materials for food and medicine and the production of natural product-based goods.
◇Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science & Creativity brings science into everyday life
At this conference, in addition to research on natural products, a variety of programs were presented to let people enjoy science in daily life. The Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science & Creativity (KOSAC) unveiled its own digital content and talk shows to help citizens and teenagers feel more familiar with science.
The flagship content "Gwak Gwak! A day in the life of a scientist" is a video series that captures everything from the serious image of researchers in the lab to their sometimes clumsy daily lives, cheerfully delivering the message that "scientists are, after all, people just like us."
Another popular program, "Today's Science," is a segment in which researchers themselves scientifically answer everyday questions, communicating with audiences under the slogan "knowledge first, laughs as a bonus."
In particular, the science talk show "Over-immersed," linked with YouTube, also drew attention. Hosted by famous creators Seungheonss and Charles Enter, the program was well received as an immersive science content series so engaging that "no one watches it just once."
In addition, KOSAC's "Science Friends" project collaborated with 15 popular YouTube channels—including Heopop, Doctor Friends, My Lin, Samulgoongi, Sini, Sssoyoung, and Allblanc—to produce and share science content that resonates with the public. Through this event, a new forum for communication was created, expanding science beyond the laboratory into culture and everyday life.
This conference, under the theme "Beyond Gangneung to the world: connecting the future of natural products and biotechnology!," runs from the 22nd to the 24th.