Today's News..

1. A purported militant spokesman said after the deadline passed that the remaining 21 hostages were still alive..

2. Korea is making all-out diplomatic efforts to prevent the killing of any more of the 21 surviving Korean hostages by Taliban militants in Afghanistan, officials said..

3. Korea stock prices plummeted yesterday on heavy foreign selling sparked by an overnight plunge on Wall Street..

4. The presidential office said yesterday that President Roh Moo-hyun will not grant any special pardons before the December election..

5. The Seoul Administration Court has ruled that health insurance can cover obesity treatment if it does not include cosmetic surgery..


The left-handed gene identified..

About 10% of humans are left-handed and scientist at Oxford University have discovered a gene that appears to increase the odds of this trait.. The gene looks to play a key role in determining whether the left side or the right side of the brain controls speech and language, leaving the other side to control emotions. Further research on the gene's role in brain development is required but it may help to understand asymmetry in the brain. The gene is also associated with a slight increase in the risk of developing psychotic mental illness that are linked to an abnormal balance in brain function. Earlier, left-handed people were found to have a greater risk to other diseases, having and accident and quicker thinking when playing computer games or sports, than their right handed counterparts..



Redesigning the toilet..

A new study hightlights the environmental damage of flush toilets and the radical innovaions needed to change the bathroom culture of Western society. Flush toilets, as oposed to squat toilets, squander precious drinking water. An average person uses about 4,000 gallons of drinking water to flush away waste, according to a study, while other parts of the world, such as India and some African nations, suffer from water shortage.. Still, Westerners's insistence on flush toilets can not be ignored and is being incorporated into the design of those rethinking the toilet.. Dry toilets that collect waste to be used later as fertilizer and vacuum toilets are being considered. The study states that "both technological advancements and changes in social and cultural patterns" are needed to make a long-lasting change..


From Morning Special..