Update: 12:30

Northern Irish universities appeal to the senses
Northern Ireland's two universities are appealing to the senses as well as to the intellect. Ulster University has unveiled a six-site Millennium Arboretum with more than 100 varieties of trees on its Coleraine campus, while Queen's University Belfast will tomorrow launch the Naughton art gallery in its Great Hall.

Scientists uncover plant protection protein
An international team of scientists today reports the recovery of a protein, DIR1, that helps plants protect themselves against disease. Writing in Nature , the scientists from the John Innes Centre, Norwich, and from Edinburgh and Toronto Universities and the Noble Foundation, say the work could lead to a reduction in the need for pesticides.

Study highlights pensioner poverty
Pensioners living in deprived cities have their lives blighted by poverty, crime and isolation, according to research for Help the Aged from the Centre for Social Gerontology at Keele University. The charity has called on the government to end pensioner poverty following its study of households in Liverpool, Manchester and Newham, east London.