In this August 17, 2016, photo, from left to right, Chhering Chodom, 60, Tashi Yangzom, 50, Lobsang Chhering, 27, and Dorje Tandup, 58, drink milk tea on the side of the road. For centuries, the sleepy valley nestled in the Indian Himalayas remained a hidden Buddhist enclave forbidden to outsiders. Enduring the harsh year-round conditions of the high mountain desert, the people of Spiti Valley lived by a simple communal code – share the Earth's bounty, be hospitable to neighbors, and eschew greed and temptation at all turns. That's all starting to change, for better or worse. (Photo by Thomas Cytrynowicz/AP Photo)

A picture taken on April 27, 2021, shows the electrical wires running between homes in the capital Baghdad's Murabaa neighbourhood. Between January and March alone, the interior ministry recorded 7,000 fires, the deadliest of which erupted on Sunday in a Covid-19 hospital in Baghdad. Eighty-two people died and 100 others were injured in the inferno, which sparked shock and outrage in the country. Baghdad, a sprawling metropolis of 10 million people, has the tragic distinction of being the Iraqi city hit by the most fires every year. (Photo by Sabah Arar/AFP Photo)

Conjoined twins Angelica (C) and Angelina Sabuco (L) play with child life specialist Allison Brooks during a press conference at the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford on October 31, 2011 in Palo Alto, California. Two year-old conjoined twins Angelica and Angelina Subaco who are connected at the chest and abdomen are preparing for separation surgery by Dr. Gary Hartman. The surgery will last between 6 and 8 hours that is followed by three hours of reconstructive surgery for each girl. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Young artists perform at the presentation of clowns in a hall of the Arts Palace during the first clown festival in Belarus in Bobruisk, some 150 km from Minsk, Belarus, 01 April 2018. About 60 clowns from Belarus and Russia gathered to entertain spectators. For 1 day Bobruisk became a capital of Jokes and Humour. Theaters of clownery, mime-theaters, individual performers of humorous genre, stilts and hospital clowns performed on a stage of the Palace of Arts. (Photo by Tatyana Zenkovich/EPA/EFE)

Even the powerhouse of Europe has its fair share of abandoned properties and empty shop fronts as seen in these pictures of decaying buildings in Germany. Photographer Daniel Barter, 30, from London traveled Berlin and the surrounding countryside to capture buildings in need of work on film. Far from being resplendent in vintage glory, the deserted music venues and crumbling hospitals are a shadow of their former selves. German eagle motifs flake off ceilings and concert halls designed for hundreds have not seen a show for years. Photo: Lung sanatorium. (Photo by Daniel Barter/Caters News)

“A British photographer has captured incredible images of Italys most beautiful derelict buildings – by sneaking into abandoned structures. The stunning shots of hospitals, churchs and deserted buildings show abandoned beds, overgrown arches and staggering staircases. Gaz Mather, 40, is a dedicated urban explorer who takes stunning photographs of deserted buildings – documenting their haunting decay. Gaz from Manchester spent a long weekend touring deserted buildings in the Northern region of Italy”. – Caters News. Photo: Abandoned Villa. (Photo by Gaz Mather/Cater News)

Chinese woman Zhang Jing, known as the “Ugly Girl” smiles after doctors removed the stitches from her fourth session of cosmetic surgery at a hospital on March 23, 2005 in Shanghai, China. Zhang Jing, 26 years old, from Tianjin Municipality, was forced to leave school because her classmates sneered at her appearance during her teenage years. After leaving junior high school, Zhang found herself still unacceptable by society, she struggled to look for a job, but was turned down by one thousand job applications in ten years. Zhang's story was widely reported by the media in 2003, this helped her find a job and get three chances of free plastic surgery. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

“Cockayne syndrome (also called Weber-Cockayne syndrome, or Neill-Dingwall Syndrome) is a rare autosomal recessive congenital disorder characterized by growth failure, impaired development of the nervous system, abnormal sensitivity to sunlight (photosensitivity), and premature aging. Hearing loss and eye abnormalities (pigmentary retinopathy) are other common features, but problems with any or all of the internal organs are possible. It is associated with a group of disorders called leukodystrophies. The underlying disorder is a defect in a DNA repair mechanism. It is named after English physician Edward Alfred Cockayne (1880–1956)”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Mother of 12-year-old Chinese girl Sun Yangyang suffering from Cockayne syndrome, tends her at the First Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University on November 11, 2006 in Changchun of Jilin Province, China. The disease results in the senile appearance of Yangyang and also causes eyesight, hearing weakness and other problems. Doctors failed to cure the girl... (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)