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Rare Semi-Identical Twins Discovered
LiveScience Staff LiveScience.com 
Mon Mar 26, 10:01 AM ET
 Twins can be identical, fraternal and apparently semi-identical, scientists now report.Researchers discovered twins who are identical on their mom's side of the equation but shareonly half their genes from dad. Here's how it happened: Twospermcells fertilized one egg—an event assumed to be very rare—then split into two embryos."Their similarity is somewhere between identical and fraternal twins," said geneticist VivienneSouter, of the Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona. "It makes me wonder whether the current classification of twins is an oversimplification."The finding, detailed in the Journal of Human Genetics, was reported today bynews@nature.com, the online site of the journal Nature.Identicaltwinsare created when one fertilized egg splits into two embryos. They share the sameplacenta and are always of the same sex. Fraternal twins result from two eggs being fertilized atthe same time, each by a different sperm. Each has its own placenta, and they can be the samesex or not.The semi-identical twins only came to the attention of Souter and her colleagues because onehad ambiguous genitalia. The child was born a "true hermaphrodite" with both ovarian andtesticular tissue. The other twin is a male, anatomically.The twins are now toddlers, according to the report. They were conceived and born normally andappear to be mentally normal and are growing normally.
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Original Story:Rare Semi-Identical Twins DiscoveredVisitLiveScience.com for more daily news, views and scientific inquiry with an original, provocative point of view. LiveScience reports amazing, real world breakthroughs, made simpleand stimulating for people on the go. Check out our collection of Science, Animal and Dinosaur Pictures,Science Videos,Hot Topics, Trivia, Top 10s,Voting, Amazing Images, Reader 
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