June 16, 1987

LEAD: FOR thousands of years, people have used herbs, microbes or other substances for drugs that somehow either helped the body or poisoned its foes: aspirin was derived from willow bark; digitalis, a potent heart drug, comes from the foxglove plant; penicillin is made from a common mold. In recent years many of these ancient healing substances have been improved synthetically and new sources have been found.

LEAD: The Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 today that the Constitution bars the use at death sentencing hearings of evidence about the victim's personal characteristics, the impact of a murder on the victim's family members and their feelings.

LEAD: Denos D. Vourderis confesses that when he took Lula Lolas to the Coney Island beach in 1946, his motivation was to get a peek at her legs. He liked what he saw enough to propose matrimony.

LEAD: As violent demonstrations in South Korea continued, senior Reagan Administration officials said today that the United States had no plan for a major diplomatic initiative that would press South Korea to move toward democracy.

LEAD: Nicaraguan rebels who killed an armed American in Nicaragua six weeks ago say they selected their victim because they thought he was a Cuban adviser to the Nicaraguan Government.