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.
These images of vintage cars, bikes and vans, pictured all over the world, could easily have come from a globetrotting petrol-head’s photo album .
POPE MOBBED BY THOUSANDS OF WORSHIPPERS IN RIO - Thousands of worshippers gather to celebrate the Papal visit on Copacabana beach, Rio de Janeiro ,Brazil .
A British jewellery designer with a passion for London's iconic Gherkin has created a pen with an INK-REDIBLE price tag of £27,500 .
STOOD side by side next to a busy road, these buildings were once bustling with life .
This frozen lighthouse in Michigan could easily be mistaken for a still from the snow swept disaster movie The Day After Tomorrow .
GETTING behind the camera, this monkey practices his photography skills on his friends .
COURAGEOUS climbers descend 400 metres as they manoeuvre their way through thick walls of ice .
HOTSPOT MEDIA - FUNKY BUMP: FROM MIRROR bellies to rainbow bumps these pregnancy casts of stone and bronze could be the funkiest way to preserve your bump for posterity .
THROWING himself off 1,100ft bridges in a wheelchair, this is the PARALYSED base jumper who knows no fear .
Leaping out of the ocean, a group of gentoo penguins fly through the air before landing safely on an iceberg .
An Italian photographer travelled to northern India where he visited poverty stricken suburbs and captured ordinary people in a series of intimate and expressive portraits .