Your Doppelganger Is Out There and You Probably Share DNA With Them (nytimes.com) 27
That person who looks just like you is not your twin, but if scientists compared your genomes, they might find a lot in common. From a report: Charlie Chasen and Michael Malone met in Atlanta in 1997, when Mr. Malone served as a guest singer in Mr. Chasen's band. They quickly became friends, but they didn't notice what other people around them did: The two men could pass for twins. Mr. Malone and Mr. Chasen are doppelgangers. They look strikingly similar, but they are not related. Their immediate ancestors aren't even from the same parts of the world; Mr. Chasen's forebears hailed from Lithuania and Scotland, while Mr. Malone's parents are from the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas. The two friends, along with hundreds of other unrelated look-alikes, participated in a photography project by Francois Brunelle, a Canadian artist. The picture series, "I'm not a look-alike!," was inspired by Mr. Brunelle's discovery of his own look-alike, the English actor Rowan Atkinson.
The project has been a hit on social media and other parts of the internet, but it's also drawn the attention of scientists who study genetic relationships. Dr. Manel Esteller, a researcher at the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute in Barcelona, Spain, had previously studied the physical differences between identical twins, and he wanted to examine the reverse: people who look alike but aren't related. "What's the explanation for these people?" he wondered. In a study published Tuesday in the journal Cell Reports, Dr. Esteller and his team recruited 32 pairs of look-alikes from Mr. Brunelle's photographs to take DNA tests and complete questionnaires about their lifestyles. The researchers used facial recognition software to quantify the similarities between the participants' faces. Sixteen of those 32 pairs achieved similar overall scores to identical twins analyzed by the same software. The researchers then compared the DNA of these 16 pairs of doppelgangers to see if their DNA was as similar as their faces.
Dr. Esteller found that the 16 pairs who were "true" look-alikes shared significantly more of their genes than the other 16 pairs that the software deemed less similar. "These people really look alike because they share important parts of the genome, or the DNA sequence," he said. That people who look more alike have more genes in common "would seem like common sense, but never had been shown," he added. However, DNA alone doesn't tell the whole story of our makeup. Our lived experiences, and those of our ancestors, influence which of our genes are switched on or off -- what scientists call our epigenomes. And our microbiome, our microscopic co-pilot made up of bacteria, fungi and viruses, is further influenced by our environment. Dr. Esteller found that while the doppelgangers' genomes were similar, their epigenomes and microbiomes were different. "Genetics put them together, and epigenetics and microbiome pulls them apart," he said.
The project has been a hit on social media and other parts of the internet, but it's also drawn the attention of scientists who study genetic relationships. Dr. Manel Esteller, a researcher at the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute in Barcelona, Spain, had previously studied the physical differences between identical twins, and he wanted to examine the reverse: people who look alike but aren't related. "What's the explanation for these people?" he wondered. In a study published Tuesday in the journal Cell Reports, Dr. Esteller and his team recruited 32 pairs of look-alikes from Mr. Brunelle's photographs to take DNA tests and complete questionnaires about their lifestyles. The researchers used facial recognition software to quantify the similarities between the participants' faces. Sixteen of those 32 pairs achieved similar overall scores to identical twins analyzed by the same software. The researchers then compared the DNA of these 16 pairs of doppelgangers to see if their DNA was as similar as their faces.
Dr. Esteller found that the 16 pairs who were "true" look-alikes shared significantly more of their genes than the other 16 pairs that the software deemed less similar. "These people really look alike because they share important parts of the genome, or the DNA sequence," he said. That people who look more alike have more genes in common "would seem like common sense, but never had been shown," he added. However, DNA alone doesn't tell the whole story of our makeup. Our lived experiences, and those of our ancestors, influence which of our genes are switched on or off -- what scientists call our epigenomes. And our microbiome, our microscopic co-pilot made up of bacteria, fungi and viruses, is further influenced by our environment. Dr. Esteller found that while the doppelgangers' genomes were similar, their epigenomes and microbiomes were different. "Genetics put them together, and epigenetics and microbiome pulls them apart," he said.
Problematic science (Score:5, Interesting)
>Dr. Esteller also suggested that there could be links between facial features and behavioral patterns, and that the study’s findings might one day aid forensic science by providing a glimpse of the faces of criminal suspects known only from DNA samples.
WHOAH NOW. Delete this.
Phrenologists were right.
Re: (Score:3)
That's not phrenology. That's using AI to find patterns between DNA and faces by training the algorithm with known DNA and pictures of faces.
Phrenology is linking physical features to intelligence.
Re: (Score:2)
That's not phrenology. That's using AI to find patterns between DNA and faces by training the algorithm with known DNA and pictures of faces.
Phrenology is linking physical features to intelligence.
the article is a load of sensationalist nonsense, what do you expect? let's at least make good jokes from it!
I've seen my Doppelganger twice (Score:3, Interesting)
I saw the guy while I was at the Bellagio in Vegas with friends, sipping a drink I made up on the spot with Goldschlager mixed with a Tom Collins. And I saw a dude walking through the crowd who looked exactly like me, to the point my friends thought it was me. I followed him a bit, but lost him in the crowd. It was erie.
And then there's a restored video from like 1020 San Francisco that ends at the Ferry building, and there's a guy at the building who looks just like me. My friends joke that I time traveled, but yeah, it's strange to see yourself like that.
Re: (Score:2)
Sorry, 1920 San Francisco
My Father... (Score:2)
Re: I've seen my Doppelganger twice (Score:2)
An industry built around them (Score:3)
If you look like somebody famous you can make good money. Sometimes to great effect [youtube.com]. Who would have thought Lady Gaga and Greta would hit it off so well? And just what were 007 and Putin cooking up in the corner?
I have a clone. Partly because people have reported seeing me in places I knew I wasn't, and a couple of times people thought I was her. I've also seen advertising campaigns at places like H&M with models who are clearly selected for their resemblance to more famous (expensive) models.
...laura
Self Discovery... (Score:1)
>Mr. Brunelle's discovery of his own look-alike, the English actor Rowan Atkinson.
This is a nice way of finding out you're on the 'goofy' side of ugly, and so you better have a good sense of humor to balance it out.
holy smokes! (Score:2)
This chimpanzee and I make a bunch of the same proteins. And use exactly the same structure of DNA to encode them. What are the odds!
He's long gone. (Score:2)
Peter Lorre, we hardly knew ye'!
Re: (Score:2)
Your doppelganger is out there. (Score:2)
Ha. Made me think if this exchange on Cougar Town [wikipedia.org], "Saving Grace" (s4e11):
[The group meets Bobby's new surf buddy.]
Travis: You got yourself a doppelganger.
Bobby: (Laughs) Sorry. Is it peeking out of my shorts again?
Travis: Not a word for "penis."
Pointless trivia (Score:4, Interesting)
I've seen my Doppelganger and not only that, went to the same University as he did and not only *that* but he shared my same name.
Shame his grades were better than mine, I used to get his report cards all the time...
Re: (Score:2)
I've seen my Doppelganger and not only that, went to the same University as he did and not only *that* but he shared my same name.
Shame his grades were better than mine, I used to get his report cards all the time...
Sounds like an opportunity there.
Bet your Doppelganger would not have let that go to waste.
I hope not! (Score:1)
Rowan Atkinson is his own doppelganger! (Score:2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Re: (Score:2)
the uploader of that video refused to allow it being watched in my country.
the uploader of that video is full of shit.
please consider not sharing any more videos from that uploader.
anyway, thanks for the effort.
Police abuse in 3...2...1... (Score:2)
You look a lot like this known criminal. Although they are white and you are black. Science proves that since two people who look alike share most of the same DNA and therefore are likely to commit the same crimes (intentional misread/bad logic). Therefore, you are a criminal and we have decided to make your life miserable. Sign this confession now or we'll spend the next 72 hours hounding you in a tiny room until we tire you out and coerce you into signing the confession.
Should be obvious (Score:2)
Despite all the possible combinations, there are only so many the simulation running this world can use and still keep us looking human. It's why, on occasion, we get something like this [fox10phoenix.com]. Still human, but the random feature generator rolled a 2 instead of 20.
Dopplegangers are no different. It's bound to happen from time to time.
Dopplegangers galore... (Score:1)
I just missed my doppelganger once. (Score:2)
Dur? (Score:2)
First we found people that looked almost identical.
Second we eliminated the ones that were not REALLY REALLY identical.
Third, we found that they shared a lot of DNA!
BRILLIANT!
Next study is getting the people in the world who have enlarged mammaries in adulthood and seeing if THEY have a genetic link!
*what? Been done???? No way!*
Are they really that similar? (Score:1)
I have 4 doppelgängers in my area (Score:2)