Samsung ships its 55- and 65-inch 4K TVs to Korea on July 6th

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If you're one of the lucky 100-plus Koreans who pre-ordered one of Samsung's F9000-series 4K TVs this June, you'll be glad to know that you're getting your reward very soon. The company has just announced that both the 55- and 65-inch F9000 sets should ship to Korea on July 6th. As before, the series is a more affordable yet functionally similar alternative to Samsung's 85-inch behemoth -- customers get the Ultra HD screen resolution and Evolution Kit support at relatively modest prices of 6.4 million won ($5,670) for the 55-inch TV and 8.9 million won ($7,913) for its 65-inch cousin. We're still twiddling our thumbs waiting for a launch on this side of the Pacific, but those who need something to tide themselves over can read Samsung's translated press release after the break.

Scientists grow human liver from stem cells, hope to relieve transplant woes (video)

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Stem cell research has resulted in several important breakthroughs in medicine, such as rebuilding the larynx and regenerating spinal cord connectors. Now the liver, one of the most highly sought after organs on the donor transplant list, could get some serious stem cell assistance as well. A team of scientists led by Takanori Takebe of Yokohama City University has successfully created a miniature version of the human liver with the help of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), which are derived from adult somatic cells. They developed the iPSC into generalized liver cells called hepatocytes, at which point the researchers mixed in endothelial cells and mesenchymal stem cells, left the petri dishes alone for a couple days, and voila -- an extremely tiny version of a human liver, said to be the first-ever functional human organ grown from stem cells, was born.
The liver "buds," as they're known, measure five millimeters long and are the sort you would find in human embryos shortly after fertilization. When implanted in mice, the baby livers managed to perform all the functions of their adult equivalents. The researchers' next step would be to generate liver buds that are a touch closer to normal liver tissue -- like the addition of bile ducts -- and to see if they can mass produce them by the tens of thousands. Don't go wasting your liver just yet though, as it'll likely be years before the likes of you and me will be able to have a lab-grown liver in our bodies. In the meantime, check out the time-lapse video after the break to see a young liver bud take shape in a petri dish.

Plasma thruster could propel small satellites into deep space for cheap

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A few years from now, we might be able to send small satellites into deep space for cheap using a new propulsion system being developed by University of Michigan engineers -- assuming they raise enough money via Kickstarter. Called CAT (CubeSat Ambipolar Thruster), it's designed to propel 10 x 10 x 10 centimeter CubeSat blocks far beyond the planet's orbit using only solar energy for fuel. Thus far, similar satellites can only orbit the Earth after going along for a ride on current rockets that are larger and more expensive. In the future, CATs could head to the asteroid belt, or even as far as Saturn and Jupiter to investigate water on their moons. The $200,000 its engineers aim to raise (in exchange for your name etched on the golden layer of a spacecraft panel) will go towards the CAT engine's development and testing. The team could send an experimental thruster to space as soon as 2014 with help from NASA-Ames and Google, with a spacecraft launch targeted for 2015.

White Nexus 4 sells out, no longer available on Google Play

If you've been putting off buying a white Nexus 4, be ready to wallow in regret: you've missed your chance to get one straight from Google Play. Both the 8GB and 16GB versions are "no longer available for sale," a little more than a month after the company's online store started carrying them. A Google spokesperson told us that the alabaster phone has indeed sold out, and that the Play Store won't carry it again, as it was a limited edition release. All's not lost, though -- T-Mobile still sells the white Nexus 4, but you'll pay a slight premium for it.