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Insight: March 15

What can the latest research on twins tell us about ourselves, and humanity at large?

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This week on SBS, Insight asks what the latest research on twins  can tell us about ourselves, and humanity at large?

Fittingly, this is a special, double episode feature.

Brenton Gurney was experiencing chronic headaches but an MRI showed nothing malicious. When his twin brother, Craig, who showed no symptoms, went in for a scan – it revealed a rare brain tumour the size of a lemon.

Angela Ralph and Marlene Crockett are mirror identical twins. They developed breast cancer – at exactly the same time.

Reining winners of Australia’s ‘Most Identical Male Twins’ competition, Phillip and Douglas Griffiths are (unsurprisingly) visually inseparable. But Phillip is gay, and Douglas is straight.

Anna and Lucy Decinque are identical, but they also eat the same things, exercise the same amount, dress in the same clothes – and even share a boyfriend. They’re both convinced they’ll be pregnant at the same time.

For social and scientific researchers, twins are ‘the perfect natural experiment’.
Identical twins share 99.9 per cent of the same DNA, and fraternal twins share half.

Changes between twins (or lack thereof) can tell us much about the impact of genetic versus environmental factors in health, sexuality, intellect or behaviour.

Tuesday at 8.30pm on SBS.

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