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.
A middle spotted woodpecker swoops into her nest and feeds her young in a forest in Trentino, Italy .
A student has finally hit puberty after a four year battle against anorexia stunted his growth .
A PENSIONER was left with a fractured jaw after being beaten and robbed outside his home in Birmingham last weekend .
LYING flat out on his back, this little meerkat makes the most of the English sunshine .
PICKING up a tiny tea-pot with its paws, a little red squirrel struggles to prepare its morning tea .
Villages on the Somerset Levels have faced weeks of flooding with no respite from the conditions in sight .
From a floating jelly fish to a relaxed seal, Britain’s unappreciated beach life is captured above and below the water .
It’s a role reversal in the Visayan Sea as HUNDREDS of tiny, glistening eggs are carried around inside the mouth of their cardinalfish father .
SNEAKING slowly into the water, this Bengal tiger plans a vicious attack on three unsuspecting deer .
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 .
An adorable little squirrel wakes from a nap and pops out his tongue for the camera .
Pictures of John Anslow a prisoner who escaped from a prison escort van in North Worcestershire Monday, 23 January .