Semi-Identical Twins Announced
Scientists Are Now Reporting that Twins Can Be Semi Identical
"Their similarity is somewhere between identical and fraternal twins," a geneticist, Vivienne Souter, of the Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona said and added. "It makes me wonder whether the current classification of twins is an oversimplification."
There are 5 main combinations of twins. Identical twins that are both males and identical twins that are both females are two of the combinations. When one fertilized egg splits into two embryos identical twins are created. They are always the same sex and share the same placenta.
Fraternal twins make up the other three combinations of twins, a set of twins that are both female, a set of twins that are both males and a set of twins where one of them is a male and the other is a female. When two eggs are fertilized at the same time, each with a different sperm, the result is fraternal twins. They can be the same sex or opposite and they each have their own placenta.
Fraternal twins where one of the twins is a male and the other is a female is the most common result for twins, this combination makes up about 40% of all twins that are born.
A 6th combination that is extremely rear, estimated one in 200,000 births, that can occur in twins is when they are conjoined. This occurs when the zygote of identical twins fails to completely separate. Sadly about have of conjoined twin pregnancy end in stillbirths.
The semi identical kind of twin occurs when two sperm cells fertilized one egg, this is said to be also extremely rare, and then split into two embryos. No studies have been done that can provide statistics of how many twin births result in these kind of twins.
The individuals that this study is based off of are now toddlers. One of them is said to be a "true hermaphrodite" because they have both ovarian and testicular tissue. The other one is a complete male, anatomically. They were conceived naturally and born normally and there are no signs that they are not growing normally.
Published by Chey Conner
I'm a mom with a 4 year old boy. My articles are inspired by my interests that continue to grow. Thank you for taking the time to read my profile, I hope you find some articles to enjoy below. View profile
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- "Their similarity is somewhere between identical and fraternal twins,"
11 Comments
Post a CommentI think my older brothers are semi-identical, but it may never be known for sure. They are 46 now. Growing up, it was hard to tell them apart, but as they got older, you could tell some differences. They often got confused with each. My mother said they're fraternal, but they look so much alike, they could very well be semi-identical.
Thanks. This was new information for me.
My girls are semi- identical twins. i think its wonderful!! they are a little different but still the same in so many ways
A very explicit explanation of the different types of twins. Well done!! I have twin grandchildren- boy and girl.
Twins are fascinating. Interesting article!
It makes me wonder about my own girls. They do have some identical features, but are fraternal.
This is very interesting.....
Wow, really interesting!
This is a very interesting and informative article! Thanks for writing it.
This was a well-written and interesting article. The knowledge of genetics seems to be expanding everyday.