The News:
Newly Found Gene Mutation Banishes Pain
By Richard Knox
National Public Radio, All Things Considered
December 13, 2006
A Pakistani teenager who entertained street crowds by walking on hot coals and sticking knives through his arms has led scientists to find a genetic defect that renders its carriers unable to feel pain. Scientists at the University of Cambridge in England pinpointed the cause: a defect in a gene that codes for a protein on the surface of pain-sensing nerve cells. Pain experts think that if they can find a drug to block the same protein that is disabled in Pakistani children, it could be the safest and most effective painkiller ever devised.
The Research:
Read the research article behind this story in the journal NATURE.
