Superheroes are born out of diversity, with unique genetic traits that make them stand out of the crowd. Well, whether or not you've seen them, there are real-life superheroes that walk among us every day - don't believe us? Just check out the amazing genetic mutations list below. Everyone's parents probably told them they are special snowflakes at one point or another and that they are not like anyone else on the planet, which is true. Still, some people out there have even more extraordinary human genomes. Bored Panda has curated a list of people with rare genetic disorders that might make you do a double-take. From extra or missing digits to unique hair colorings and birthmarks, these people are walking gene pool anomalies. Scroll down below to check it out, and don't forget to upvote your favs!
Discover more in 30 People Whose Genetics Made Them Unique
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#1 My Friend's Iris Is Split In Half
Those are some pretty colored contacts right? Nope, this person has heterochromia iridis, a genetic variation that manifests in multicolored eyes. The duel coloring is caused by an excess or lack of melanin resulting from genetics, disease or an injury. The perfect split you see in the image below is called sectoral heterochromia and occurs when there are two different colors in the same iris. There is a dominant color and then a splash of second one.
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#2 Ulnar Dimelia Or Mirror Hand Syndrome
Ulnar dimelia is a congenital deformity where the thumb is absent, the ulna is duplicated, and there are seven or eight fingers in the hand. The human body condition is often referred to as "mirror hand syndrome.” It is so rare that less than 100 cases have been reported in medical literature.
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#3 My GF Was Born Without A Nail On A Finger. So Due To Popular Demand, We Put Google Eyes On It
Anonychia congenita is a genetic condition that can affect the fingernails and toenails. People with this abnormality are usually missing all of their nails but in some cases (hyponychia) only some fingernails or a partial nails are missing. Those affected by anonychia congenita do not have any other health conditions as a result of their condition.
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#4 My Son Was Born With Natural Elf Ears
Stahl's ear (also called Spock's ear for all the Star Trek fans out there) is an ear deformity that results in a pointy ear shape as well as an extra cartilage fold. This abnormality is the result of a misshapen cartilage and when found in the first weeks of an infant's life ear molding is a viable treatment.
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#5 I Was Born Ready For This
Born with Amniotic Band Syndrome, this person claimed they used to wrestle and since it was required that opponents shake hands before the first period, it was a great way to throw people off.
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#6 I Have Only Four Fingers On My Left Hand, And Have And Index Finger Instead Of My Thumb
Symbrachydactyly is a condition where babies are born with an underdeveloped hand which causes them to have small, or in the case of the person below, missing fingers. Hand malformations are often treated with orthotics, prosthetics, physical therapy or in some cases surgery.
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#7 I Was Born With A Scar On My Eye
No this photo wasn't edited, that person really has a scar on their eye, or in medical terms - macular pucker. Macular pucker is a scar tissue that formed in the eye's macula which is located in the retina. This part of the eye gives the eye sharp vision, so this condition can cause blurred and distorted vision. Macular puckers occur when the vitreous of the eye ( a gel-like substance on its interior) pulls away from the retina.
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#8 My Boyfriend Has Freckles On Only Half Of His Face, I Think It's Cool
This guy's rare freckle pattern may seem like it's a one-of-a-kind rarity but he's not alone. Back in 2015, California woman, Samantha, went on The Doctors to ask them to explain when she had a freckle pattern that sharply went along only one side of her body. The answer- a very specific type of birthmark. "It's a very specific type of birth mark which started when you were an embryo," dermatologist Dr. Sonia Batra told her. "And the pigment cells in your neural crest, some of them actually developed a mutation or a change and as the cells migrated over, it actually effects only half the body. 'That's why there's such a sharp cut off."
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#9 My Son Has Symmetrical Hair Whorls Which Go In Opposite Directions. This Allows Him To Grow A Natural Mohawk
This may look like a cool haircut but your barber might have a tough time replicating it. A hair whorl is a patch of hair that grows in a circular clockwise or counterclockwise direction. This hair abnormality has been studied by behaviorists to see if their is a genetic link between handedness and whirl direction, but nothing absolutely conclusive has been found.
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#10 My Left Eye Is About 1/3 Grey
This is a perfect example of sectoral heterochromia, a difference in coloration of the iris when only part of it has a different color from its remainder. It may be inherited, or caused by genetic mosaicism, chimerism, disease, or injury.
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#11 Half Of The Eyelashes On My Right Eye Are White
When this person was 11, they woke up one morning to some of their eyelashes white. It happened overnight. Their mom thought they had bleached them somehow. It was only a very small section at first but it’s now over half of the eyelashes on this eye. It affects both top and bottom lashes, and they occasionally get one or two white hairs in their eyebrow. It’s a condition called Vitiligo and it occurs when your immune system is weak in a specific area, causing the color pigmentation to ‘drain’ out of the skin, or in their case, eyelashes.
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#12 My Wife Discovered That She And My Sister Both Have Syndactyly Connected Toes. They Celebrated Their Similar Trait With New Tattoos
Scientifically, this condition is known as syndactyly, but it's commonly referred to as webbed toes, even though it applies to both fingers and toes. Common in the animal kingdom, this condition is rarer among humans. Statistically there's one baby with webbed toes in 2000-2500 births. So syndactyly is not extremely rare and even Ashton Kutcher has it.
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#13 My Dad's Index Tip Was Cut Off When He Was 10, My Index Is Shorter Than My Pinky
This case would require more scientific study. According to research as of now acquired characteristics are non-heritable characteristics of a living creature and that includes injuries and accidents. One possible explanation for this short index finger? a hand abnormality.
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#14 My Kid Has One Streak Of Very Dark Hair
When you have a blonde streak or a white streak because of a localized decrease of melanin it's called poliosis. However, there is no certain name for when the area has increased melanin. Some people are calling this a "birthmark" and other's are saying it's probably just a discoloration in the hair and that it will eventually even out.
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#15 A Friend Of Mine Can Grab Things Backwards
Often referred to as "double jointed" people who can move their joints beyond its normal range have what are called hypermobility. This is more common among children (10% to 15%) and usually decreases with age, as approximately 5% of adults have this ability. There are multiple causes of hypermobility including: altered bone shapes, stretched ligaments, muscle tone or stiffness and proprioception (sense of movement).
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#16 I Was Born With 6 Toes On My Left Foot And My Co-Worker Was Born With 4 Toes On Her Right Foot
Six toes is a very common birth defect called Hexadactyly, which literally translates to six digits. This condition usually manifests as an extra finger or toe on the side of the toes or in between. Extra digits are usually harmless and can be removed easily but in other cases can be the side effect of a more serious condition.
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#17 I Was Born Missing My Right Pinky And Thumb
Out of all the babies born 10% are born with malformations of the hand. These congenital defects occur early in pregnancy and are sometimes inherited or a symptom of another condition. The person in this photo has a cleft hand (also called ectrodactyly or split hand) which occurs when the middle part of the hand develops abnormally. Babies with this condition are born missing one or more central fingers on the hand. There are two types of cleft hands: typical (V-shaped and usually missing or partially missing middle fingers); and atypical (U-shaped and usually involves only one hand).
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#18 I Was Born Without A Bridge In My Nose
Nasal bridge is a saddle-shaped area that includes the nasal root and the lateral aspects of the nose. It appears that the person has a so-called depressed nasal bridge, which can occur due to various conditions. The most commonly encountered congenital syndromes with a depressed nasal bridge in the pediatric orthopaedic practice are cleidocranial dysplasia, children with neurodevelopmental delay, achondroplasia, Conradi-Hünermann-Happle syndrome, Cornelia de Lange syndrome, osteogenesis imperfecta and Klippel-Feil syndrome. Interestingly enough, this unique feature has its perks - the person who posted the photo said that his nose never bleeds.
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#19 I Was Born With A Condition Where My Right Thumb Is Unable To Bend
Trigger finger is a condition that is found in one or more tendons of the hand. The tendon that allows the thumb to flex is too swollen and locks. Eventually the the thumb completely locks and is unable to bend at all. This condition is present in 3.3 per 1000 live births.
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#20 My Daughter Was Born With A Perfect Number 2 On Her Head
Bizarre birthmarks open the doors to myths, legends and folklore. In some cultures, it's believed that birthmarks represent your past life, in others - that gods have marked the baby as the chosen one to accomplish colossal deeds. In this case, as the parents of this baby joked, it's their first kid, so the number 2 might represent that the baby was supposed to have a twin, which she ate.
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