She is about to start driving and soon will be able to legally buy alcohol and get married, but Poppy Webb-Jones still looks and thinks like a ten-year-old girl. Unlike other 17-year-olds, Poppy is more interested in Hannah Montana and Justin Bieber than wearing make-up, experimenting with boys or staying out late. This is due to a rare condition which means she was born without any hormones, meaning she has never gone through puberty, never had a growth spurt and never thrown a teenage tantrum. To many parents of teenagers, Poppy must sound like the perfect child, but unbeknown to her or her mother Karen Webb-Meek, her condition posed a deadly risk to her health throughout her whole childhood. Poppy was born with a condition called panhypopituitarism meaning she lacks most of the hormones essential for life. Hypopituitarism is the decreased secretion of one or more of the eight hormones normally produced by the pituitary gland at the base of the brain. If there is decreased secretion of most pituitary hormones, the term panhypopituitarism (pan meaning "all") is used. Poppy has no growth hormone, meaning her bones stopped growing around the age of 11, and she has no thyroxine, which regulates the metabolism and energy levels. In addition she has no oestrogen, which controls the onset of puberty and the development of secondary sexual characteristics.
A Brit photographer has captured one of the world's most camera-shy species of fish - during a game of underwater peek-a-boo .
These are the amazing close up pictures of North Korea's mass games - after photographers were previously banned from taking shots so close to the dazzling formation dances .
BURSTING colours of reds, pinks and purples give the illusion of a collection of stunning flowers .
IN a galaxy far, far away, this collection of stunning interstellar formations will leave you STARSTRUCK .
A BROWN bear wades through waters in Alaska and waits for his lunch .
PUCKERING up and enjoying some quality time, these are the most lovable monkeys on the planet .
Some will get up close and personal with Mother Nature’s deadliest animals to get the perfect shot, posing the question, what lengths will a photographer go to for that all important picture? But in this case, the question should be what depths .
FLOATING effortlessly on his back, this little otter laps up a rare glimmer of English spring sunshine .
An Italian photographer travelled to the highlands of New Guinea where he met an Indonesian tribe untouched by the modern world .
HUDDLED together on a branch, a pair of adorable Javan scops owls soak up the sun .
Ever wished you could live in a house just like Barbie's? Canadian sculptor Heather Benning has created the life-size dollhouse of her dreams out a derelict building .
A floating market in Indonesia is bursting with vibrant colours as wooden rowing boats loaded with fruit and vegetables crowd the river .