ABSTRACT
This article opens with the brief life histories of reared-apart monozygotic (MZ) male twins. A New York City program that helped childless couples conceive via artificial insemination from the 1930s to the 1950s is examined as it related to these twins. The frequency with which pregnancies following assisted reproductive technology resulted in MZ twin pairs is also provided. Next, summaries of twin research concerning selective resuscitation, gene editing, sexual arousal and jejuno-ileal atresia are presented. The article ends with media reports of twin girls' efforts to find a bone marrow donor for their father, possible parasitic twinning in a puppy, identical female twins' business venture, the surgical separation of craniopagus twins, a twin-themed magazine cartoon and tragic events involving identical male twins.
Subject(s)
Bone Marrow Transplantation , Diseases in Twins/genetics , Twin Studies as Topic , Twins, Monozygotic/genetics , Bone Marrow/growth & development , Diseases in Twins/history , Female , Gene Editing , History, 20th Century , Humans , Male , Sexual Behavior/history , Tissue Donors , Twins, Monozygotic/historyABSTRACT
The lives of the illustrious monozygotic (MZ) twins, Victor A. and Vincent L. McKusick, are described. Victor earned the distinction as the 'Father of Medical Genetics', while Vincent was a legendary Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Court. This dual biographical account is followed by two timely reports of twinning rates, a study of MZ twin discordance for Russell-Silver Syndrome (RSS) and a study of twins' language skills. Twin stories in the news include babies born to identical twin couples, a case of switched identity, the death of Princess Ashraf (Twin) and a new mother of twins who is also Yahoo's CEO.