AN Irish woman has become the first adult in the world to receive a revolutionary REMOTE CONTROLLED 'ROBO SPINE', which uses magnets to combat the effects of scoliosis. Deirdre McDonnell, 34, from Drogheda, County Louth, can now stand tall for the first time after undergoing the pioneering MAGEC rod operation. The operation, also known as the magnetic expansion control system, involves the insertion of a magnetic rod that is screwed onto the spine and controlled externally in order to correct the curvature caused by scoliosis. Up until now, the £15K procedure has only been performed on children, as it was thought only to be effective for early onset scoliosis - typically diagnosed before the age of ten.
Hot on the heels of a little rabbit, this cheetah is on a mission to catch his prey .
SAILING peacefully across a river in the early morning light, a fisherman in China keeps a 1000 year old tradition alive .
A brave praying mantis makes an unusual friend in an Oriental garden lizard .
A PENSIONER was left with a fractured jaw after being beaten and robbed outside his home in Birmingham last weekend .
VENTURING into the ocean with self-made spears and nets, the fishermen of Zanzibar put their lives on the line when they catch food for their families .
Here's a collection of art for the DIGIT-AL age as these fascinating illusions of landmarks, places and even a banana are made using just a pair of hands .
FROM a HOLLYWOOD actress to the face of an innocent child, these are incredible drawings with an unlikely twist .
FLAUNTING its new accessory, a fashionable green dumpy tree frog poses for the camera while wearing a SNAIL as a hat .
Sitting all alone on drift ice in the Arctic Ocean, this lonely little fella looks lost .
LYING flat out on his back, this little meerkat makes the most of the English sunshine .