/oss/taxonomy/term/273/all en /oss/article/infographics/2023-year-review <p style="text-align:center"><img height="1603" width="500" class="media-element file-extra-large no-float" src="/oss/files/oss/styles/wysiwyg_extra_large/public/2023_year_in_review_infographic_0.png?itok=S5m4OctP" alt="" /><!--td {border: 1px solid #cccccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}--></p> Thu, 04 Jan 2024 15:32:55 +0000 Cat Wang, B.Sc. 9774 at /oss /oss/article/medical-health-and-nutrition/tale-two-twins-meets-tale-two-cities <p>Let’s start with the twins. Aimee and Nancy are identical twins who agreed to take part in an experiment organized by Panorama, an excellent British television documentary that often deals with scientific issues. In this case, the focus was on the impact of ultra-processed foods on health. For two weeks, Aimee consumed only ultra-processed food, while Nancy followed a diet of fresh fruits, vegetables and home-cooked meals. The meals were matched for calories, fat, sugar and fiber so that the only difference was processing.   </p> Thu, 20 Jul 2023 14:34:08 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9570 at /oss /oss/article/medical-student-contributors-did-you-know/how-have-twins-different-fathers <p>Yes, it is possible to have twins with different biological fathers. The scientific term for this anomaly is “heteropaternal superfecundation,” and it’s <i>super</i> cool. “Heteropaternal” signifies different fathers and “<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32343851/">superfecundation</a>” means the fertilization of two ova during the same menstrual cycle by separate mating actions. In other words, it is a phenomenon where a second egg is released, and two acts of sexual intercourse can lead to the fertilization of these eggs by two different sources of sperm.</p> Fri, 16 Jun 2023 15:19:35 +0000 Haleh Cohn 9547 at /oss /oss/article/general-science/identical-twins-are-not-identical <p>There is a common parental misunderstanding that arises when the term “identical twins” is paraded around. Identical twins are known scientifically as “monozygotic twins.” This Scrabble winner of a term refers to the fact that these types of twins arise when a single sperm fertilizes a single egg to form a zygote, and this zygote goes on to split into two masses of cells that give rise to the twins. By contrast, fraternal twins are essentially regular siblings that are born at the same time.</p> Thu, 21 Jan 2021 22:37:58 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8572 at /oss /oss/article/science-science-everywhere/nigerias-land-twins <div> <div> <div> <div> <p style="text-align:justify">Nope. You’re not seeing double. You’re just seeing twins. And they seem to be virtually everywhere in West Africa, especially in Igbo-Obra, a quiet farming community in Nigeria. A sign proclaiming “The Nation’s Home of Twins” welcomes visitors at the entrance of the town. According to the community leader, “There is hardly a family here without a set of twins.” He, himself, had three sets but only one pair survived, whereas his father had 10 sets of twins.</p></div></div></div></div> Mon, 20 Jun 2011 17:43:17 +0000 Melody Ko MD 1551 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/can-twins-same-genes-have-different-traits <p>Even though identical (monozygotic) twins may have the exact same genetic make-up, it is possible that they can have different features from one another. This is thanks to differences in the womb (also known as “developmental noise”, where individuals can develop differences due to noise in signalling and signal interpretation) and differences in environments encountered after birth. In fact, the genes – albeit identical – can actually be expressed differently, thereby leading to very different drug reactions and susceptibilities to disease.</p> Tue, 21 Feb 2017 04:35:58 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1497 at /oss