Kirste and Dan served up your daily dish of news.

Korean convenience stores have gold bar vending machines.

The popularity of gold bars is surging at convenience stores around South Korea. Over $19 million worth of gold bars have been sold at convenience stores in the past nine months! Gold bar vending machines were introduced last year offering five sizes. Prices fluctuate daily in keeping with the international valuation for gold, according to GS Retail, which operates more than 10,000 convenience stores all over South Korea. “The most popular gold bar is the smallest, the 0.13-ounce one, currently priced at around $225. People in their 20s and 30s appear to be the main buyers. Purchasing physical gold as an investment vehicle, especially in these times when its value is continuing to rise.” Said a GS Retail representative.

A paralysed man can walk again with brain and spinal cord implants.

Gert-Jan Oskam was paralysed in 2011 but has regained the ability to stand and walk with the help of implants in his brain and spinal cord. He was told he would never walk again after a biking accident caused partial damage to his spinal cord. “We’ve captured the thoughts of Gert-Jan and translated them into a stimulation of the spinal cord to re-establish voluntary movement,” said Grégoire Courtine, a co-author of the study and a neuroscientist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. The technology enables natural control over the movements of his legs to stand, walk, climb stairs and even traverse complex terrain.