Identical twins may have more differences than meet the eye
Identical twins lose some fundamental similarities as they grow older, a new study reports. Researchers report in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that these differences may stem from changes in the epigeno...UCLA scientists discover immune response to HIV differs, even in identical twins
In findings illustrating the difficulty of developing an AIDS vaccine, UCLA AIDS Institute researchers report the immune systems in two HIV-positive identical twins responded to the infection in different ways. ), the findings show that the body's defenses against the v...How can identical twins be genetically different?
They sleep together, eat together, and most people find it impossible to tell them apart. Identical twins who grow up together share just about everything, including their genes. But sometimes only one twin will have health problems when genetics predicts both of them should. Scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School are just beginning to understand how two people who are so...Study finds that a woman's chances of having twins can be modified by diet
An obstetrician well known for his care of and research into multiple-birth pregnancies has found that dietary changes can affect a woman's chances of having twins, and that her overall chance is determined by a combination of diet and heredity. By comparing the twinning rate of vegan women, who consume no animal products, with that of women who do eat animal products, Gary Steinman, MD, PhD, an...Breast cancer risk seen in twins
According to a research in cancer, women with an identical twin who develop breast cancer have three times the average risk of also developing the disease. Professor Julian Peto, a scientist for Cancer Research UK, has been analyzing data from US female twins. These were identical and non-identical twins where one twin already had breast cancer.// The twins without cancer were then followed up fo...Marijuana 'gateway' theory strengthened by study of twins
A new study of 311 sets of same-sex twins in which only one twin had smoked marijuana before age 17 has bolstered the fiercely debated "gateway theory" that pot can lead to harder drugs. The study included 136 sets of identical twins who shared the same genetic makeup and all the participants were 30 years of age, on an average, when they were asked about their teenage drug use. The researchers f...Twins Less Prone to Suicide Than Others
Twins are less likely to commit suicide than other people, scientists said on Friday. Researchers in Denmark looked at the records of more than 20,000 same-sex twins who died between 1943 and 1993 and compared their rates of suicide with the wider population. They found that the suicide rate was lower for twins, regardless of their sex.// The findings came as a surprise because other s...Pre-pregnancy folic acid intake does not increase rate of having twins
Folic acid is also known as folate or a form of vitamin B. this vitamin if taken before a pregnancy is said to increase the chances of having a twin baby or to avoid //neural tube defect. A new study published in journal Epidemiology says that there is no proof for this common belief. The study was conducted to monitor the possible adverse effects of this vitamin, especially because t...