Possibly stupid question.....

[FionaJill]

Do identical twins do things like their hair grow at the same rate, cut teeth around the same time etc??

[Angel Babies 3]

Not necessarily. They are genetically the same but that doesn't mean they will do everything at the same time. For example, my friends ID twins eat more or less the same but one is heavier than the other.

Debbie

[kristy J]

Identical twins share 99.99% DNA and
faternal twins only share 50% DNA

[hoobley]

The short answer is "no". Identical twins are genetically identical, but genetics count for only part of how we are. There are so many variables within individual chemical balances and environmental elements that identical twins, though they look the same, are often no more alike than other siblings. There are plenty of examples of id. twins being genetically predisposed to something (short sightedness for example) but not suffering to the same extent.

Nature and nurture are both very important and it's likely there are things we haven't even thought of which make a difference.

Bx

[suse]

Not a stupid question at all FJ!! Actually a very smart one!

Identical (monozygotic) twins are created when a single fertilised zygote splits, so are genetically identical. Fraternal (dizygotic) twins are are created from different sperm and ovum, so whilst they share some genetic commonality, it is no more than any other siblings.

Although growth patterns are partially genetically determined, they are also influenced by environmental factors, which even in twins raised in the same environment, are subtly different enough to account for slight differences in growth patterns in identical twins.

I would imagine that in the case of teeth, they would cut in the same order, but not necessarily at the same time. Hair would grow at the same predetermined rate, but may be slower or faster depending on other factors like health, vitamin intake. Growth spurts may happen at slightly different times (particularly adolescent growth spurts - I recall studies which demonstrated a difference in the start of puberty/menstruation in identical twins).

HTH

[FionaJill]

hmm its interesting. I was watching U tube things on triplets etc & it just got me wondering.
I had another weird question I was going to post but can't remember it now LOL

[odette]

it is interesting
They are actually doing studies as they speak to try and answer this question
Its called the twin tooth emergence study
Twins are followed as they teeth come through to try whether there is a link in the order your teeth come through and genetics!
They have recruited 100's of sets of fraternal and ID twins around Australia. They offer a free DNA test to confirm whether they are in fact ID or not- and quite a few friends have had surprises to find that their twins are actually ID when they thought that they were in fact fraternal!!!!

My twin friends and i, both ID and fraternal have found that they tend to come through around the same time, but not at the same time usually - If that makes sense.
Usually onr twin would get a tooth through and as soon as they got over that one, the other twins would get one through! So it would be constantly someone teething- such fun!

If you are interested in their research further, jump on the AMBA web site for links to this research and other interesting things they are finding out by using twins for reseach purposes!
HTH
odette