Cracked: The twin code

Published Apr 30, 2015

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London – A DNA technique which allows scientists to tell the difference between identical twins has been discovered.

With DNA profiling, police can identify a suspect with a strand of hair or a drop of blood – but it falls apart with twins, who share 100 per cent of their genes.

But researchers at the University of Huddersfield claim they can now distinguish between the two.

As twins grow their different life experiences create a variation in the hydrogen bonds within their DNA.

This could be caused by such things as smoking, sunshine, exposure to chemicals or diet.

Dr Graham Williams, who leads the Forensic Genetics Research Group at Huddersfield, has created a method of heating DNA until the hydrogen bonds break – identifying minute differences between twins.

He said: ‘We have demonstrated substantial progress towards a test for differentiating between identical twins in forensic case work.’

Daily Mail

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