Medical experts are describing it as an extraordinary example of sixth-sense - an identical twin's headaches which led to his brother having a life-saving brain tumor operation.
When Sydney man Brenton Gurney, 38, began suffering from a series of headaches, he went for a brain scan, which revealed nothing wrong.
But Brenton then suggested his identical twin Craig should go for a check up - and specialists found a 1.6in brain tumor in the base of his skull.
Craig had a 10-hour operation to remove the tumor and has now recovered.
The incident has left medical experts acknowledging that there is still a lot to learn about the remarkable relationship between identical twins.
Justine Gatt, who has been studying twins at Sydney's Westmead Millennium Institute, said it showed 'there's a lot more to know'.
She said: 'This is not something that happens often.'
It was not the first time one of the twin brothers had felt the symptoms of the other. On one occasion it was Craig who detected his brother had a life-threatening mystery rash.
He also knew when Brenton had dislocated his shoulder and, in a curious coincidence - or was there more to it? - both men married women called Nicole.
'We're really closely connected and we've always been able to pick each other, know what each other was thinking,' Craig told the Channel Nine tv network.
In the astonishing case of Brenton having a persistent headache, Craig told the Sydney Morning Herald his brother had saved his life by suggesting he should have an MRI scan.
Brenton had sought medical help after suffering headaches but when an MRI scan gave him the all-clear he grew concerned he might be picking up a problem that his brother had.
He persuaded Craig to go for tests and the rare brain tumor was found in the base of his skull.
'There's no doubt in my mind that Brenton's actions and getting involved in the study effectively saved my life,' said Craig, referring to research being carried out by psychologists.
Specialist surgeon Dr Narinder Singh said when Craig sought his help 'he was quite shell shocked, along with his wife, because he was completely asymptomatic'.
This means he had a serious problem but was not experiencing symptoms.
The brothers have been helping twin research studies since their mother registered them with the Australian Twin Registry soon after their birth.
They said they believed it was 'almost a duty' for twins to take part in studies so scientists can learn more about the part that genes and the environment play on their health.
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