Identical Twins Not Identical After All

Identical Twins Not Identical After All 159

Posted by samzenpus on Thursday February 21, 2008 @04:56AM from the one-of-these-things-is-not-like-the-other dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "Contrary to previous beliefs, identical twins are not genetically identical. Researchers studied 19 pairs of monozygotic, or identical, twins and found differences in copy number variation in DNA which occurs when a set of coding letters in DNA are missing, or when extra copies of segments of DNA are produced. In most cases, variation in the number of copies likely has no impact on health or development but in others, it may be one factor in the likelihood of developing a disease (pdf). "Those differences may point the way to better understanding of genetic diseases when we study so-called discordant monozygotic twins....a pair of twins where one twin has a disorder and the other does not," says Carl Bruder, Ph.D. "If twin A develops Parkinson's and twin B does not, the region of their genome where they show differences is a target for further investigation to discover the basic genetic underpinnings of the disease.""

Identical Twins Not Identical After All

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Identical twins are like Slashdot dupes (Score:5, Funny)

by Daimanta ( 1140543 ) writes: on Thursday February 21, 2008 @05:03AM (#22500022) Journal

You think they are exactly the same, but they are always slighly different.

Hell that makes it worse (Score:4, Funny)

by MosesJones ( 55544 ) writes: on Thursday February 21, 2008 @05:04AM (#22500030) Homepage

I'm sure we've all had that embarrassing occasion of going out with one twin, getting drunk and waking up with the other. It used to be okay to claim you were drunk and couldn't tell them apart, you'd still get a slap but not a knee in the groin... now they can be told apart using simple genetic testing there really is no excuse.

In other news the part of the movie industry targeted with making crap movies aimed at teenage boys was shut down as plot lines had become "medically unsupportable".

So.... (Score:3, Funny)

by Anonymous Coward writes: on Thursday February 21, 2008 @05:05AM (#22500032)

What gene difference made those twins so different (Danny de Vito and Arnold Schwarzenegger)

News Flash! (Score:3, Funny)

by Strange Ranger ( 454494 ) writes: on Thursday February 21, 2008 @05:09AM (#22500050)

After the sperm penetrates the ovum [wikipedia.org], a zygote [wikipedia.org] is formed. After which, chaos [wikipedia.org] ensues.

Growth and development of one copy != growth and development of the other.

Re:Hell that makes it worse (Score:5, Funny)

by RuBLed ( 995686 ) writes: on Thursday February 21, 2008 @05:18AM (#22500098)

I'm sure we've all had...

Dude, you're still drunk... this is /. by the way.
Look behind you, that's your bed... and there are no twins...

Twins aren't Identical? (Score:4, Funny)

by Anonymous Coward writes: on Thursday February 21, 2008 @05:35AM (#22500164)

Well, duh. [wikipedia.org]

Amazing breakthough! (Score:5, Funny)

by brit74 ( 831798 ) writes: on Thursday February 21, 2008 @05:38AM (#22500182)

I'm sure this will explain why the evil twin is evil. It's an amazing breakthrough in the field of soap opera science!

Re:Hell that makes it worse (Score:5, Funny)

by cp.tar ( 871488 ) writes: <cp.tar.bz2@gmail.com> on Thursday February 21, 2008 @05:40AM (#22500188) Journal

Clearly this wholly explains all those evil twin plot lines.

Yeah, I've always wondered why it is that the evil twin has a pointy beard.

I'd never have thought that the cause was genetic.

Re:News Flash! (Score:5, Funny)

by Anonymous Coward writes: on Thursday February 21, 2008 @06:32AM (#22500392)

well its not chaos...

You clearly do not have a four-year-old. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go vacuum the bookshelf. Don't ask.

*AHEM* (Score:5, Funny)

by AlgorithMan ( 937244 ) writes: on Thursday February 21, 2008 @06:40AM (#22500424) Homepage

http://xkcd.com/263/ [xkcd.com]
;-)

Re:Wonder how this affects... (Score:3, Funny)

by XavidX ( 1117783 ) writes: on Thursday February 21, 2008 @07:03AM (#22500520)

you mean eating your veggies does not make you grow big and strong?

Re:Identical twins are like Slashdot dupes (Score:4, Funny)

by s74ng3r ( 963541 ) writes: on Thursday February 21, 2008 @07:09AM (#22500554)

You think they are exactly the same, but they are always slightly different.

Re:Identical twins are like Slashdot dupes (Score:3, Funny)

by Anonymous Coward writes: on Thursday February 21, 2008 @07:16AM (#22500590)

You think they are exactly the same, but they are always slightly diffenert.

Re:Hell that makes it worse (Score:3, Funny)

by menkhaura ( 103150 ) writes: <espinafre@gmail.com> on Thursday February 21, 2008 @08:02AM (#22500796) Homepage Journal

You must be a HIT at parties!

Re:Identical twins are like Slashdot dupes (Score:4, Funny)

by Thanshin ( 1188877 ) writes: on Thursday February 21, 2008 @08:17AM (#22500852)

You think they are exactly the same, but they are always slightly diffenert.
The reader concludes the similarities between both are absolute; however, by a negligible disparity, that is not so.

Re:Identical twins are like Slashdot dupes (Score:4, Funny)

by somersault ( 912633 ) writes: on Thursday February 21, 2008 @08:17AM (#22500854) Homepage Journal

You think they are exactly the same, but they are always slyly different.

Re:Wonder how this affects... (Score:3, Funny)

by somersault ( 912633 ) writes: on Thursday February 21, 2008 @08:24AM (#22500898) Homepage Journal

Actually, scientists aren't (universally) that dumb.
No, a scientist is smart. Scientists are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it.

Re:That was known for quite a while (Score:4, Funny)

by Spacezilla ( 972723 ) writes: on Thursday February 21, 2008 @08:35AM (#22500944)

My identical twin IS a chimp, you insensitive clod!

Re:Wonder how this affects... (Score:3, Funny)

by zappepcs ( 820751 ) writes: on Thursday February 21, 2008 @09:00AM (#22501086) Journal

The rest comes from the fact that you'd want to fucking be different too if they called you a "discordant monozygotic twin"

Re:That was known for quite a while (Score:2, Funny)

by Spacezilla ( 972723 ) writes: on Thursday February 21, 2008 @09:39AM (#22501302)

No, I mean... Ah, damnit, I walked right into that one, didn't I? :(

Yeah, DNA is identical, but... (Score:4, Funny)

by Mandovert ( 1140887 ) writes: on Thursday February 21, 2008 @11:11AM (#22502426)

...do MD5 match?

Re:Identical twins are like Slashdot dupes (Score:3, Funny)

by Zencyde ( 850968 ) writes: <Zencyde@gmail.com> on Thursday February 21, 2008 @11:26AM (#22502686)

Yeah? Well, I read Slashdot for the articles.

Re:Mothers (Score:4, Funny)

by ToxikFetus ( 925966 ) writes: on Thursday February 21, 2008 @11:30AM (#22502776)

Could this be why mothers can tell apart their twin offspring?
I find that a few well-placed scars do the trick.

Now excuse me while I meet with Child Services.

Re:Identical twins are like Slashdot dupes (Score:2, Funny)

by cyphergirl ( 186872 ) writes: on Thursday February 21, 2008 @11:35AM (#22502840) Homepage Journal

I seriously thought about modding this redundant, but decided not to burn my karma on people who wouldn't get the joke.

(Dupes? Redundant? A Redundant Dupe? Ha Ha)

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Identical Twins Not Identical After All 159

Identical Twins Not Identical After All More Login

Identical Twins Not Identical After All

Identical twins are like Slashdot dupes (Score:5, Funny)

Hell that makes it worse (Score:4, Funny)

So.... (Score:3, Funny)

News Flash! (Score:3, Funny)

Re:Hell that makes it worse (Score:5, Funny)

Twins aren't Identical? (Score:4, Funny)

Amazing breakthough! (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Hell that makes it worse (Score:5, Funny)

Re:News Flash! (Score:5, Funny)

AHEM (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Wonder how this affects... (Score:3, Funny)

Re:Identical twins are like Slashdot dupes (Score:4, Funny)

Re:Identical twins are like Slashdot dupes (Score:3, Funny)

Re:Hell that makes it worse (Score:3, Funny)

Re:Identical twins are like Slashdot dupes (Score:4, Funny)

Re:Identical twins are like Slashdot dupes (Score:4, Funny)

Re:Wonder how this affects... (Score:3, Funny)

Re:That was known for quite a while (Score:4, Funny)

Re:Wonder how this affects... (Score:3, Funny)

Re:That was known for quite a while (Score:2, Funny)

Yeah, DNA is identical, but... (Score:4, Funny)

Re:Identical twins are like Slashdot dupes (Score:3, Funny)

Re:Mothers (Score:4, Funny)

Re:Identical twins are like Slashdot dupes (Score:2, Funny)

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Identical twins are like Slashdot dupes (Score:5, Funny)

Hell that makes it worse (Score:4, Funny)

So.... (Score:3, Funny)

News Flash! (Score:3, Funny)

Re:Hell that makes it worse (Score:5, Funny)

Twins aren't Identical? (Score:4, Funny)

Amazing breakthough! (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Hell that makes it worse (Score:5, Funny)

Re:News Flash! (Score:5, Funny)

*AHEM* (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Wonder how this affects... (Score:3, Funny)

Re:Identical twins are like Slashdot dupes (Score:4, Funny)

Re:Identical twins are like Slashdot dupes (Score:3, Funny)

Re:Hell that makes it worse (Score:3, Funny)

Re:Identical twins are like Slashdot dupes (Score:4, Funny)

Re:Identical twins are like Slashdot dupes (Score:4, Funny)

Re:Wonder how this affects... (Score:3, Funny)

Re:That was known for quite a while (Score:4, Funny)

Re:Wonder how this affects... (Score:3, Funny)

Re:That was known for quite a while (Score:2, Funny)

Yeah, DNA is identical, but... (Score:4, Funny)

Re:Identical twins are like Slashdot dupes (Score:3, Funny)

Re:Mothers (Score:4, Funny)

Re:Identical twins are like Slashdot dupes (Score:2, Funny)

Related Links Top of the: day, week, month.

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AHEM (Score:5, Funny)