The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has criticised the Irish government for failing to ratify a UN protocol against torture, despite signalling its intention to do so ten years ago.

There is no independent inspection in Ireland of a range of detention facilities, including Garda stations, prisoner transport and immigration units, according to an expert report.

"A precautionary approach is still reasonable, but with luck this should dispel any guilt and anxiety felt by women who have an occasional glass of wine while they are pregnant."

A piece of feathered dinosaur tail has been found trapped in amber and perfectly preserved for almost 100 million years.

Bumblebees use tiny vibrating hairs to sense electric fields transmitted by flowers, a study has shown.

The likelihood of self-harm and depression is higher among teenagers who identify very strongly with being a Goth, research has found.

USA: Screen and TV star, diva and beloved Muppet Miss Piggy has been recognised for her contributions to society with a feminist award at the Brooklyn Museum in New York.

ENGLAND: A TV journalist has been described as being as “cool as a cucumber” for carrying on without flinching when he was the victim of a snowball attack while live on a news channel.

A popular sedative has been linked with an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

A popular sedative has been linked with an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Scientists say they have discovered how to “switch off” autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

Men who eat more than 10 portions of tomatoes each week have an 18% lower risk of developing prostate cancer, new research suggests.

A woman who suffered from a mystery condition that stopped her breathing every five minutes as she slept has finally been diagnosed 25 years later – by her mother.

MONKEY BUSINESS

Burying Eirgrid’s controversial high-voltage powerlines would cost around €4 a year per person, according to an expert who insists this would be the best course of action.

Authors write about misery and unhappiness around 10 years after they have experienced an economic downturn, a study has found.

Elephant does her best to say goodbye to circus

Epic trek for reindeer entrepreneur

Dogs can act as an effective early-warning system for diabetes patients, scientists have claimed.

The lubricating effect of melting water on glaciers will have only a “minor” role in future sea-level rise, according to new research.

The family of one of the two British teenagers attacked with acid on Zanzibar has released a photograph of the injuries suffered by their daughter as they arrived back in the UK.

Women who drink as little as one small glass of wine a week while pregnant could risk reducing their child’s IQ, a study has suggested.

Sardines and other silvery fish whose bodies reflect light may offer scientists useful tips on designing optical devices.

Silicon chips that exploit the weird properties of quantum physics could be common components in laptops and smartphones within a few years.

ONE evening, after a particularly infuriating day at work, I dialled an old friend as I left the office.

AN “ARTIFICIAL volcano” experiment at a disused British airfield next month could help save the planet from global warming.

TEENAGE pregnancy could be “contagious” and caught by girls influenced by their elder sisters who have children while young, new research suggests.

EXPERTS said parents should limit the time their children are allowed watch TV or play with game consoles after a study found those who spent too much time at such activities suffer more psychological difficulties.

A CONSORTIUM of scientists have published the first genome for wheat, an achievement that should benefit food security challenged by Earth’s surging population, climate change and an emerging plant pest.

A GALAXY cluster 10.2 billion light years away has been named as the farthest from Earth ever found.

LASERS beamed from space have revealed that glaciers in the Antarctic and Greenland are melting faster then predicted, climate scientists said yesterday.

DISASTER-MOVIE scenarios resulting from a collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) have been greatly exaggerated, say climate scientists.

Mothers who are pregnant in the summer have taller, stronger-boned babies because they benefit from the sun’s vitamin-boosting rays, a childhood study revealed today.

AN artificial airway created from stem cells has been used to save a woman’s left lung in a landmark operation that could change the face of transplant surgery.

Scientists have used DNA testing to uncover the earliest evidence that Stone Age man lived in nuclear families.

DINOSAURS fought back from two mass extinctions and waited up to 50 million years to achieve world domination, research revealed yesterday.

FARMERS have been working the land of Ireland for 5,000 years, but recent evidence suggests cows and goats were being milked in the Near East and the Balkans some 3,000 years earlier.

DINOSAURS were running out of evolutionary steam during their last 50 million years on Earth, scientists have learned.

Excited scientists today hailed the discovery of water ice on Mars as a major breakthrough in the search for life on the planet.

A PINT of milk a day can reduce the risk of stroke or heart disease among men by a third, according to a study presented in Dublin.

ROAD deaths can be cut by up to 71% by the use of speed cameras, an academic study on the impact of the devices worldwide has shown.

PLANS to add aptitude tests to the selection procedure for medical schools will lead to more doctors’ children entering the profession, a medical professor warned.

BABIES born just slightly prematurely have more health problems than those born at full-term, according to US researchers.

TO bond with your baby you just can’t beat a cuddle, a leading child psychologist yesterday advised parents.