In the Brazilian state of Goias, situated in the center of the nation and home to the national capital of Brasilia, residents’ expressions in the sunbaked hills of Araras are all but non-existent. Blood-red eyes peer through twisted expressions, across faces scorched and scarred by the sun. Home to a very rare, and very dangerous genetic skin disorder, Xeroderma pigmentosum, the residents of Araras have become “children of the night” as they evade the excruciating effects that sunlight has on their dermal layers.
At rest, we breathe approx. 12-15 times per minute, and for each inhalation we change approx. one litre of air. Depending on the activity level, this makes up a daily quantity in the order of twenty cubic metres of air that - with its content of pollution in the form of particles and different gases - can make us ill depending on how polluted the air is.
