Clones, twins or just two of a kind ?

 

The closest we can ever get to being "identical" is through cloning. Ask Dolly the sheep. As a clone she is an exact replica! However, the only natural way to being identical is to be born as a so called 'identical twin' - (monogotic) who emerge from one zygote that splits at conception.

These twins have exactly the same genotype; their genetic relatedness is 100 percent. But are they really two of a kind? To what extent does our genteic makeup predetermine 'who we are'? Are our personality, intelligence and ability all hard-wired into our genes so that we can truly say, "well, I was born that way!"?

Time magazine a few years back ran a summary of some major twin studies. As a result the University of Minnesota Center for Twin and Adption Research tested over 40 rare pairs of identical twins separated early in life.

The results were both startling and uncanny.

Identical twins Oskar Stohr and Jake Yufe were separated soon after birth. Oskar was sent to a Nazi-run school in Serbia, while Jack was raised in a Jewish home on a Caribbean island. When they were reunited for the first time during middle age, they showed up wearing similar mustaches, haircuts, shirts and wire-rimmed glasses. A pair of previously separated female twins both arrive at the Minneapolis airport wearing seven rings on their fingers. One had a son named Andrew Richard and the other had a son named Richard Andrew!

A pair of sisters had the same phobia of bodies of water and dealt with it the same way. Another pair of twins were habitual gigglers, a pair who were gunsmith hobbyists, a pair who obsessively counted things, a pair who had both been married five times, and another pair who had captained their volunteer fire department.

One amazing story is how a pair of twins after being reunited, exchanged birthday presents that crossed in the mail and the gifts turned out to be identical, in spite of being purchased independently in separate cities.

An what about Jim Lewis and Jim Springer who were separated almost at birth, lived only 70 kilometers apart in Ohio. When they were reunited discovered they both drove the same model blue Chevrolet, chain-smoked the same brand of cigarettes, chewed their fingernails, and owned dogs with the same name "Toy". They also spent their vacation at the same place in Florida.

I have a twin sister called Roslyn. We gave all our own sons, totalling five between us biblical names. Three with names from the disciples. We have three daughters between us none of which have biblical names. We both live in two-storey houses in rural locations on the same areas of land. We are both very artistic and have been involved in people-caring professions. We both have very similar taste.

But what is really interesting with twin research are the results which show that identical twins who were reared apart are still more similar to fraternal twins raised together (like Roslyn and myself) in the following areas: 1. Positive emotionality (extraverted, achievement oriented, having a sense of well being). 2. Negative emotionality (anxious, angry, alienated). 3. Constraint (inhibited, cautios, deferential, conventional).

This research seems to confirm that genetic blueprints shape the contours of our personality. But the debate still continues over the 'degree' to which personality is shaped by heredity. Environmental factors certainly do contribute.

Now that human cloning is a scientific possibility we might all end up looking like Dolly and all end up with the brains of sheep!

Check out the "Two of a kind" quizz question and give your view.

The interest was so high in last week's Life Tip "In two minds" that I am including a recommended reading list this week.