The Exoskeleton, a computer-controlled battery driven, helps paralyzed patients walk again.

This breakthrough technology helped Manny Maldonado, a 34-year-old patient at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, walk and smile again. Exoskeleton was invented by the military and was used by soldiers to carry heavy weights long distances. It was later adapted for the paralyzed patients, being controlled by the arms movement.

The real life ‘Iron Man’ functions with computer chips, motors, batteries and a hand-operated console. Currently the gadget is available at 30 hospitals in the US and the lightest model, under 30 pounds, can be found at Vanderbilt University.

“It feels great,” said Manny Maldonado. “Number one, I don’t have to keep looking up at people. I’m back at eye level with them…It feels a lot better to breathe in. I began to sleep better at night, (the) spasms are decreased, (and I have) better bladder control…It’s just a feeling of joy. You’re back on your feet.”

The one in charge of the exoskeleton program, is Dr. Kristan Ragnarrson, chairman of Rehabilitation Medicine at Mount Sinai. According to Ragnarrson the machinery is good for the muscles, bones, skin, circulation and it also decreases the risk of blood clots and wounds, eclipsing years of research on nerve growth and chemicals. Unfortunately, the device costs around $140,000 for a single unit, so only few patients will benefit from this new and life changing technology.

“I’ve been treating people with spinal cord injury for over 40 years,” Ragnarsson said. “In the absence of a cure, I’ve been using technological devices to help them to gain mobility and to be able to better care for themselves. Now, we have this electrically powered robot where they actually can go distances without exhausting themselves. I think this is a new beginning.”

The famous actor Charles Durning, 89, died on Monday, December 24th, of natural causes at his home in New York City.

He will be remembered for his Oscar-nominated roles in “The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas” (1982) as the governor of Texas and in “To Be Or Not to Be” as a bumbling Nazi officer, but also for his numerous appearances on various talk shows, game shows and variety shows.

Charles Durning began his career on stage for the New York Shakespeare Festival, until his film career began with the breakout role in the Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning play That Championship Season in 1972. Since then he appeared in more than 100 movies and has won a Golden Globe in 1991 for his role in “The Kennedys Of Massachusetts” and a Tony in 1990 for his role in the Broadway revival of “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof”.

“I never turned down anything and never argued with any producer or director,” Durning said in 2008 when he was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

“If I’m not in a part, I drive my wife crazy,” he said during a 1997 interview. “I’ll go downstairs to get the mail, and when I come back I’ll say, ‘Any calls for me?’”

Saturday night, December 22nd, Calvin Johnson managed to reach another NFL record, surpassing Jerry Rice’s mark of 1,848 receiving yards in a season in the Detroit Lions’ 31-18 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

Calvin Johnson reached 225 yards on 11 receptions, which takes him to 1,892 yards on 117 catches so far this season with one game left to play. Johnson achieved 96 receptions for 1,681 yards and 16 touchdowns in the 2011 season, joining Randy Moss, who was the only receiver in NFL history with a record across-the-board season in 2003 for the Minnesota Vikings. Last spring the Lions offered Johnson a record-breaking 8-year, $132 million contract.

“He’s a hard worker. He got the major contract and he’s still hungry, and he wants to get out there and prove to everybody that [he is] the best receiver to ever play the game,” said Rice during the ESPN broadcast Saturday night.

Johnson not only broke Rice’s record but he also broke the record for consecutive 100-yard games, tied Michael Irvin’s record of 11 100-yard games in a season and set a record with hid 4h consecutive 10-catch game.

Ryan Paul Freel, the American Major League Baseball player, was found dead yesterday, December 22nd, in his home in Jacksonville, Fla. According to police reports Ryan died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

“RIP Ryan Freel!! Great teammate, great guy, n loved his family! Such a sad day today with his passing! Awful news! Prayers are with his family!” tweeted Sean Casey, Ryan’s former teammate with the Cincinnati Reds.

Freel was a Reds player from 2003 to 2008 and during a 3-year stretch he had 110 stolen bases. During his career he was paid $11.55 million. Unfortunately a succession of injuries plagued him after 2006 and in 2009 he was hit in the head with a pickoff throw, putting him on the disabled list. In 2010 he retired and returned to his hometown, Jacksonville. In June he was named coach of St. Joseph Academy but resigned after a short time.

Freel was twice arrested for alcohol-related offenses, in 2005 he pleaded guilty for DUI and in 2006 he was charged with misdemeanor disorderly intoxication.

“I have not had a sip of alcohol in (nearly) three years. I definitely learned from that,” Freel told the Baltimore Sun when the Orioles acquired him in 2009. “Me and drinking probably wasn’t a good thing. Kicking that whole thing was probably the best thing to happen for me, my family and my career.”

Ryan Freel will be remembered as an outgoing, high-energy and hilarious person, a hard player and a man who loved giving back to the community.

Yesterday, December 20th, Jabari Parker, one of the top players in the US, chose to join the Duke team instead of B.Y.U..

Jabari Parker managed to lead Simeon to three consecutive Illinois state championships and he also appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated several months ago as “the best high school basketball player since LeBron James.”

“Everybody knows I hate attention,” Parker said at the news conference. “I almost had to do it this way. It wasn’t a choice for me. A lot of people wanted to know, and it would be selfish for me not to.”

He said that secondary education for him is of utmost importance as he likes kids and teaching people. When asked what he might major in he said that because he likes animals, biology might be a factor. Last month Jabari visited the Brigham Young creating a frenzy among students who printed T-shirts with the slogan ‘From Chicago to Provo.’

“It’s just Coach K,” Parker said, referring to Mike Krzyzewski, Duke’s longtime coach. “He’s one of the best coaches ever, and I want to be able to experience the things he has.”

But Parker’s apparently smooth life had several bumps, one this summer when he fractured a bone in his right foot while playing for the US team in the FIBA U-17 World Championships in Lithuania. Trying to return for Simeon’s season as soon as possible, he aggravated the injury and he will most certainly be sided for the rest of December.

If you are one of those who believe that the world will end on December 21, 2012, then you should definitely have the $441 survival kit, which includes everything you need to cook on a stove, start a fire, keep your iPhone running and even wash your clothes.

The first item in the kit is the Kikkerland Survival Tool, which costs $18, which is a compact gadget including a whistle, a bright LED light, a fire starter flint, a compass, a thermometer and a hygrometer.

The second item is the Etón BoostTurbine2000, which costs $60 and is in fact a power generator which will keep your gadgets running. If you turn the crank for one minute you will have 30 seconds of power on your phone. The generator is also fitted with a LED light which shows the battery level.

The third item is the Scrubba Wash Bag, which costs $60 and is a 5-ounce urethane bag in which you pour some water and laundry soap. Then you only have to seal the bag, add some air, knead the bag and there…clean clothes.

The fourth item is the Verilux ReadyLight Solar Rechargeable Flashlight, which costs $30. As the name say it is a rechargeable flashlight with six LED bulbs, which is powered by the sun. it charges in 8 hours and you can use it for four hours.

The fifth item is the BioLite CampStove, which costs $130. This is a portable cooking stove fitted with a battery charger. Just put twigs into the BioLite, start the fire, which will provide fire to the built-in fan. So, while you are cooking your meal, you can also charge your phone or any gadget with a USB charger.

The sixth item is the Gerber LMF II Knife, which costs $108. This is a 4.8-inch high-carbon blade on a military-grade knife, about 11-inches long. This is so tough that you can pry off metal parts and chop wood.

The seventh item is the Zippo Emergency Fire Starter Kit, which costs $25. This is a fire starter kit in a water-sealed case, which includes a flint wheel and several waxed tinder sticks. Just rough up the tinder sticks until you get a spark which will get the flames going.

The eight item is the Pandemic Quick Kit, which costs $10. You can purchase it from ContagionSurvival.com and it includes a hair net, a pair of plastic coveralls, goggles, a respirator mask, latex gloves, two hand sanitizers and a bio-hazard disposal bag.

This kit will surely help you be among the few survivors of the Mayan Apocalypse.

Got $1.5 billion? Then you can go to the moon! A team of former NASA executives created a private venture which offers two-person trips to the moon.

NASA’s last trip to the moon was 40 years ago, when the US beat the Soviet Union in the space race to the moon. Once the moon ‘conquered’ President Obama cancelled NASA’s plan to get back to the moon saying that America has already been there. But as other countries show interest in the space trip, NASA associate administrator Alan Stern, decided to create he new Golden Spike Company. He said that the targeted countries are Japan, South Korea and South Africa.

“It’s not about being first. It’s about joining the club,” Stern said. “We’re kind of cleaning up what NASA did in the 1960s. We’re going to make a commodity of it in the 2020s.”

Stern plans the first trip before the end of the decade and make up to 20 launches in total. Harvard astronomer Jonathan McDowell doubts the success of the plan as many companies have attempted to send people in the space and failed. The only successful company was Space X, which ferried cargo to the International Space Station for NASA.

“This is unlikely to be the one that will pan out,” McDowell said.

The tragic shooting at the elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut left many victims and grieving families, but also several heroes who will be remembered for their courage and abnegation.

When Adam Lanza entered the Sandy Hook Elementary School with semi-automatic weapons and started to shoot small children, principal, Dawn Hochsprung, was in a meeting with a parent and senior staff. At the sound of gunshots everybody dived for cover, while Ms Hochsprung and the school’s psychologist, Mary Sherlach ran out to confront the shooter and shout at the others to lock the doors. Ms Hochsprung had the presence of mind to turn on the school intercom, so that teachers in each classroom could have time to take cover. Both Ms Hochsprung and Ms Sherlach, who was preparing to retire, were killed as they ran towards the danger.

“They didn’t think twice about confronting [him] or seeing what was going on,” said school therapist Diane Day, who was in the meeting.

By the time the killer entered Victoria Soto’s classroom, she has had time to hide her pupils in cupboards then tried to convince theLanza they were in a different part of the school. He didn’t bother to find the kids but instead he shot the 27-year-old teacher.

“I’m just proud that Vicki had the instincts to protect her kids from harm. It brings peace to know that Vicki was doing what she loved, protecting the children, and in our eyes she’s a hero,” said her cousin, Jim Wiltsie.

Maryrose Kristopik, a music teacher, hid her 20 students into a closet blocking the door with her own body. She told the children that they had to keep quiet as there was a bad person in the school and he wouldn’t know they were hiding there. Another teacher, Kaitlin Roig, huddled 15 children into a tiny bathroom and pulled a bookshelf across the door. She was so scared that when the police came she told them to put their badges under the door to be sure it was them. Unfortunately there were 20 children the school’s staff could not save and families who realized they would never see their beloved children again.

“All of them were hoping their child would be found OK. But when they gave out the actual death toll, they realised their child was gone,” said Monsignor Robert Weiss of Newtown’s St Rose of Lima Catholic church.

Police officials in Australia are warning drivers not to rely on Apple’s maps app on the popular iPhones, after some motorists were directed into life-threatening situations.

iPhone users who rely on the iOS operating system when trying to reach a location, take the risk of ending up off the beaten track, according to the Australian police. The alert follows after drivers complained that the application lists the Mildura city in the middle of the Murray Sunset National Park, almost 44 miles away from its actual location.

Police officials have been called to help distressed drivers who have followed the Apple app directions and became stranded within the Murray-Sunset National Park, a place with no water supply, no phone coverage and where temperatures that can reach as high as 114 degrees Fahrenheit, putting lives at risk. Inspector Simon Clemence said that a motorist who got lost in the park following application’s directions made contact with the outside world after 24 hours.

“One guy got far enough in to lose phone coverage and he was stuck there and he got bogged and he had to walk out … it took him 24 hours to get to a point where he had phone coverage and then we came and rescued him,” he said. “This is a direct result of this map application.”

Westvleteren 12, the Belgian beer considered the best in the world, is available in the US for the first time. Connoisseurs are willing to pay up to $100 on a six-pack of this rare Belgian beer.

Why rare? Well this beer is brewed since 1945 by Belgian monks and until Wednesday, December 12th, it was sold only at the St. Sixtus Abbey. Beginning this past week the beer became available at select locations in the US, but since the beverage is manufactures in limited amounts, you really have to hurry if you want to get your hands on the gift set containing six 11.2 ounce bottle and two glasses.

On December 14th, beer enthusiasts lined up starting with 4 a.m. in front of a Binny’s Beverage Depot in Chicago, which opened at 9 a.m. Retailers from Delaware to Oregon said they have sold their limited supply of Westvleteren 12 hours before it hit the shelves. Although the suggested price for the gift set was $84.99, the pack reached $92.50 in places such San Francisco.

People even began selling empty gift packs on eBay for more than $200 and on Friday morning, December 14th, full six packs were being sold for about $500 on the site. This might be the only time the beer gets to the US as the St. Sixtus Abbey monks reluctantly agreed to sell the beer abroad in small amounts as they need the money to renovate their home, including fixing a leaky roof.

“They say, ‘We are monks, we don’t want to be too commercial. We needed some money to help us buy the new abbey and that’s it,’” Bode said. “Back to normal again,” said Mark Bode, the longtime spokesman for the Westvleteren Brewery regarding the monks’ decision.