I really like Swedish twins because you can do almost anything with them. Established in 1960 in Stockholm the Swedish Twin Registry (STR) is the largest database of twins and multiplets in the world. It contains the data of virtually every twin born in Sweden since 1886. Today, researchers have access to the data of about 194,000 twins. The most important data about these twins is of course whether they are monozygotic (identical) twins or dizygotic (fraternal) twins. Monocygotic twins have the identical gene code, while dizygotic twins are no more similar than regular siblings. Yet, most of the time, twins grow up in the same household at the same time, i.e. they share the same environment. Thus, by comparing physiological traits or behaviours of monozygotic and dizygotic twins, medical researchers can estimate the impact genes have on a human. This way, it is possible to determine the heritability of diseases like cancer or schizophrenia, but also mental illnesses and propensity to take drugs etc.
The surprising importance of Swedish twins
The surprising importance of Swedish twins
The surprising importance of Swedish twins
I really like Swedish twins because you can do almost anything with them. Established in 1960 in Stockholm the Swedish Twin Registry (STR) is the largest database of twins and multiplets in the world. It contains the data of virtually every twin born in Sweden since 1886. Today, researchers have access to the data of about 194,000 twins. The most important data about these twins is of course whether they are monozygotic (identical) twins or dizygotic (fraternal) twins. Monocygotic twins have the identical gene code, while dizygotic twins are no more similar than regular siblings. Yet, most of the time, twins grow up in the same household at the same time, i.e. they share the same environment. Thus, by comparing physiological traits or behaviours of monozygotic and dizygotic twins, medical researchers can estimate the impact genes have on a human. This way, it is possible to determine the heritability of diseases like cancer or schizophrenia, but also mental illnesses and propensity to take drugs etc.