Identical twins + Identical twins = ?

Well, it doesn’t run as much as fraternal twins do, and I’d guess the splitting is still a matter of some “luck” even in those who are predisposed. Certainly it’s not a significant part of the identical twin population, but there are some families where in which identical twins seem to run.

I should also mention that, occasionally, an egg will split (with its polar body, I think) and be fertilized by two different sperm. These are called polar body twins or some variation on identical twins. The shared genetic material between such twins is between 50% and 75%, and it definitely runs in the family - the mother’s family, as the characteristic of egg-splitting is genetic.

I have friends who are twins, who also have twin sisters. Their mom might have the “weakness” you describe, but she must also have a ton of patience.

Sidebar - The offspring between the two couples would be double cousins and ignoring the twins aspect, it was fairly common in the 1800s. This makes for an interesting looking family chart.

Uh…how bout your brother/sister?:wink:

I want to make sure I have this straight:

Fraternal twinning is linked with a gene and may “run in families”, as it were.

Identical twinning is not.

Is this right? Does everyone agree with this?

None in his family either…:smiley:
Aside from my brother and I, there are no other twins.

If you could get everyone to agree with something-- anything on this board, you should get some sort of prize. But yes, this is the general understanding in the medical community.

i can’t believe no one starting the singing yet… so i guess i will. ah hem… meee,eee,eee meeee.

cousins, identical cousins…

Or perhaps Cecil and Ed are the siblings of two pairs of identical twins who decided to marry… :dubious:

The children would look different due to the randomness of recombination during meiosis - but they would probably look like siblings.

Oooh oooh! Here’s something funny I just thought of.

If a set of identical female and identical male twins had an orgy, there would be no way to figure out who the fathers are when both females give birth.

Identical twins + Identical twins = ?

whoa -

is this true?

[hijack]

If you look at any Staff Report, it says at the bottom

Although the SDSAB does its best, these articles are edited by Ed Zotti, not Cecil, so accuracywise you’d better keep your fingers crossed.

Why this disclaimer ? To throw us off track ? :dubious: