From real mermaids to the elephant man here are the weirdest human mutations. \r<br>\r<br>Subscribe to Science N 60 \r<br>\r<br>6.\r<br>Epidermodysplasia Verruciformis or the tree man illness is charerized by the formation of horn like\r<br>structures on the skin and warts the take up an overwhelming amount of surface area on the body. The\r<br>skin on the hands and feet becomes tough and thick turning a brown or yellow color resembling\r<br>branches of a tree. Several types of HPV contribute towards this condition, but HPV 5 and HPV 8 are the\r<br>ones that are most often associated with the mutation. Unfortunately, with tree man illness even when\r<br>the warts are surgically removed that isnt a guarantee that they wont return. In the case of one man,\r<br>Dede Koswara, who had 95 percent of his warts removed in 2008 only for them to resurface soon after.\r<br>Even if one cant be completely cured, after several treatments the warts have been shown to at least\r<br>grow back smaller each time.\r<br>\r<br>5.\r<br>Sirenomelia, the proper name for the better known Mermaid Syndrome, is the mutation that causes\r<br>infants to be born with what looks like a mermaid tail. In the womb the legs start to rotate and are fused\r<br>together due to only developing a single artery that cannot produce the blood flow needed to form the\r<br>lower body completely. In the 19th century the afflicted fetuses were preserved in jars and displayed for\r<br>people in freak shows as mermaid children. Its an extremely rare condition and only affects 1 in\r<br>100,000 babies, but it is much more likely to occur in identical twins. Those born with Sirenomelia\r<br>usually die within a few a days of being born and those who do survive dont live a very long life.\r<br>\r<br>4.\r<br>Progeria is the genetic mutation that causes accelerated aging in children. Its a rare condition caused by\r<br>a mutation in the gene named LMNA. The children usually all display very similar chareristics, they\r<br>lose body fat and hair. When they are born the babies look healthy and normal until around 18-24\r<br>months when the mutation starts to accelerate and becomes visible through their appearance. Sadly\r<br>children with Progeria tend to die at an average age of 14 due to heart disease.\r<br>\r<br>3.\r<br>Not all mutations are visible on the outside nor are they all a hindrance to everyday life. The children of\r<br>the Moken people, located off the coasts of Thailand and Myanmar, have developed the ability to see\r<br>clearly underwater in depths up to 75 feet. The mutation of their eyes is ually the ability for the eye\r<br>muscles to change the shape of the lens to increase light refrion, leading to underwater vision. This\r<br>evolved ability allows them to scope out tiny brown clams deep underwater even while they look\r<br>indistinguishable amongst the tiny brown rocks near them. Something thats hard for others to do even\r<br>while wearing goggles. These sea-gypsies dominate the water!\r<br>\r<br>2.\r<br>Proteus syndrome or elephant man syndrome causes the overgrowth of body parts in a asymmetrical\r<br>fashion. It varies from person to person and can affect any part of the body. At the age of 6-18 months\r<br>the growths can start to occur and get more severe with age. Proteus syndrome can even cause\r<br>neurological abnormalities that lead to seizures and vision loss, but also affect the person on an\r<br>intellectual level. The Elephant Man athe brought to the light the real life man, Joseph Carey\r<br>Merrick, who had Proteus syndrome and was a freak in the Victorian times. He was put on display for\r<br>people to gawk at and weird theories as to why he was born the was he was started to bloom. One\r<br>farfetched claim was that his mother was frightened by an elephant and that must be the reason.\r<br>\r<br>1.\r<br>Cyclopia is the birth defect whose name was inspired by the Cyclopes giants in Greek mythology. The\r<br>condition causes a single eye that is located where the base of the nose usually takes its place. The nose\r<br>can be absent or can be located above the eye in the form of a proboscis. Only one of the two eye\r<br>sockets that we are normally born with forms which gives them their unique appearance. All of the\r<br>causes leading to children being born with Cyclopia come from a unusually high presence of toxins in the\r<br>body of the mother. The toxins in the body that cause the mutation could be from alcoholism, diabetes,\r<br>and even from ingesting a toxic weed known as Corn Lily during pregnancy. Cyclopia is a fatal condition\r<br>due to the underdeveloped facial features and other deformities to the heart and vital organs.
