Science, Health, Education, Society
407 storiesWHO says risk low as US presses Russia for transparency on plague lab death
The U.S. State Department is monitoring reports of a fatal case of suspected pneumonic plague in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has publicly called on Moscow to be more transparent about the death of a 28-year-ol…
Russian anti-plague lab researcher dies; US and EU say they are monitoring
A 28-year-old female researcher at the Irkutsk anti-plague research institute in Shelekhov, Russia, died after being diagnosed with pneumonia of unknown cause, the state agency Rospotrebnadzor said. About 200 people who may have had contact…
Nuri rocket’s fifth launch judged a success; five main satellites reach target orbit
The fifth flight of South Korea’s Nuri launch vehicle reached its target orbit and separated five main payload satellites, and the government and researchers judged the launch a final success, Newsis reported, citing the Korea AeroSpace Adm…
Russia quarantines hospital as lab worker’s death puts nearly 200 under observation
A female employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East died last week of pneumonia of unknown cause, Russian authorities said, and a hospital in the town of Shelekhov was placed under quarantine. Officia…
More Than 250,000 Rally Across France as Student School Protests Escalate
More than 256,000 people rallied across France on Tuesday and hundreds of schools were shut or blockaded as students, parents and teachers demanded more education funding. Police fired tear gas in Paris and other cities, and Fox News, citin…
WHO says Russia reported no plague case in Irkutsk as US tracks lab worker's death
The World Health Organization said Russian authorities reported no plague case had been recorded in the Irkutsk region, while the cause of a 28-year-old anti-plague laboratory worker's death remained unconfirmed. The US State Department sai…
Students protest across France over school resources as unions join
Students demonstrated in cities across France on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, demanding more resources and better conditions in schools, according to the Associated Press, with marches in Rennes, Paris and Bordeaux. The New York Times reported th…
2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded for optogenetics
The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics, the Nobel Foundation announced on October 5. The technique l…
MFDS approves Hanmi's EPPE, Korea's first homegrown GLP-1 obesity drug
Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety approved Hanmi Pharmaceutical's EPPE auto-injector (efpeglenatide) on Oct 7, the first domestically developed GLP-1 obesity drug and the country's 45th homegrown new drug. The injectable is indicated…
KCTU to vote Oct 7 on return to social dialogue; council ready to talk
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (민주노총) will hold its 85th temporary delegate conference at 1 p.m. on Oct 7 at KINTEX in Goyang to vote on joining the Economic, Social and Labor Council (경사노위), which would end a 27-year absence from…
Busan shark Bukkangi crosses net, returns to waterway; rescue paused
The shark nicknamed Bukkangi, believed to be a dusky shark about 3 m long, crossed a large net and returned to the artificial waterway at Busan's Bukhang Chinsu Park around noon on Oct 3, a day after a second attempt to guide it to open sea…
Nobel chemistry prize goes to Japan's Soai Kenso and France's Henri Kagan
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said on 7 October that the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry goes to Soai Kenso, 76, professor emeritus at Tokyo University of Science, and Henri Kagan of France, for the discovery of nonlinear effects and …
Nuri rocket lifts off on fifth flight carrying record 15 satellites
South Korea's Nuri rocket launched at 12:25 p.m. on Oct. 7 from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, after the launch management committee confirmed the time that morning. The rocket carries 15 satellites — five NEOANSAT microsatellite cluster…
Nuri rocket completes fifth launch, placing satellites in orbit
South Korea’s Nuri rocket lifted off at 12:25 p.m. local time on Oct 7 from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, carrying 15 satellites, the most in its history, and placed the five main ultra-small cluster satellites in their target orbit. Ne…
South Korea re-designates 92 population decline regions, adds Busan Geumjeong, Dongducheon and Tongyeong
South Korea's Ministry of the Interior and Safety re-designated 92 cities, counties and districts as population decline regions on Oct. 7, up from 89 in the first designation five years earlier. Busan's Geumjeong-gu, Gyeonggi's Dongducheon …
Nobel medicine prize goes to three researchers for optogenetics
The Karolinska Institute announced on October 5 that the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine goes to Karl Deisseroth of Stanford University, Peter Hegemann of Humboldt University of Berlin and Georg Nagel of the University of Würzbur…
Nuri rocket lifts off at 12:25 with 15 satellites on fifth flight
South Korea's Nuri launch vehicle lifted off at 12:25 local time on Oct 7 from the second pad of the Naro Space Center in Goheung, carrying five ultra-small cluster satellites and 10 cubesats. Kerosene and liquid oxygen loading was complete…
Nuri rocket deploys five NEONSAT satellites; reports differ on one cubesat
The Nuri rocket's fifth flight launched on Oct 7 from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, and its main payload, five NEONSAT cluster satellites, separated successfully, according to Newsis and Seoul Economic Daily. News…
Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai win 2026 Nobel Prize in chemistry
Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai won the 2026 Nobel Prize in chemistry, announced Wednesday at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, for work on molecules that exist as mirror images of each other. Kagan showed in the 1980s that …
Nobel physics prize goes to IceCube neutrino researcher Francis Halzen
Sweden's Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said on 6 October that the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics goes to Francis Halzen of the University of Wisconsin-Madison for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery…