Twin Studies

Even though twins have the exact same genes, their lives are different in many ways. In the study conducted the greater part of the twin couples, lived together, ate the same food and went to the same school for about the first 18 years of their lives. Every single twin got tested for diabetes, heart diseases and depression. In most cases, the genes that were “switched” on in one twin, were switched off in the other twin. The studies show that there is a 30% chance that if one twin has a heart disease, the other one will also have it. These results were found by looking at the differences between the twins, and not the similarities. A famine strikes, but you cannot instantly alter your genes. Epigenetic changes can allow you to produce/make children who are short or tall and whatever is best suited to the new conditions they will grow up and live in. These changes will last for at least two or three procreation, by which time you would hope the changes in the environment will have passed. It may not necessarily. If nothing else, the idea of epigenetic shifts explaining the differences found in twin behavior and illness.