National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Monday, November 23, 2009

Photo: Feeling No Pain: New Form of Rare Gene Disorder Decoded


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A street entertainer threads a blade through his tongue—seeming to feel no pain—on August 23, 2006, as part of the Edinburgh Festival held annually in Scotland.

A young performer in Pakistan who could put knives through his arms was found to have a new form of a rare disorder that actually makes him unable to feel pain.

Photograph by Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images