Difference between identical twins

According to Live Science, identical twins aren't completely identical. identical twins share the same DNA but a new research project has found out that there are genetic changes within the DNA that make each twin unique. it is believed that these genetic changes occur during the early development of the children. the genetic changes are also thought to occur more often then people would expect. the discovery came from researching somatic mutations. the mutations can occur in any call except the sex cells and because they don't affect the sex cells, the individual can not pass it down to the next generation.



This new discovery helps scientists explain why one twin could get cancer and the other twin stays completely healthy and normal. another study showed that twins aren't completely identical because of potential epigenetic effects. these effects are not shown immediately, but are shown as the years go by more and more of these mutations will become more noticeable. it is not known how often these mutations occur.  the scientists who were researching the genetic differences between twins took DNA samples from 92 pairs of identical twins and studied their genomes. they researched the differences between base pairs but could only find the difference that occurred during the fetal development.

This research lead them to find out that DNA changes only occur once every 10 million to 10 billion bases when they are being copied for cell division. this shows that the average twin has 359 genetic differences that occurred during early development. one of the disadvantages that the researchers had during these experiments where that they could approximate more mutations then the actual amount. this is because some cells divide faster than others. knowing that identical twins aren't completely identical is mind boggling. everyone always believed that identical twins were completely identical in every way. to know that there is a way to distinguish twins is a great piece of knowledge. The mutations that make them different also can affect their health in a negative way is a great step in science. if we can identify were the mutations occur and how to prevent the mutations from occurring, then we could save many lives.