How Do Researchers Use Twins to Estimate Heritability?
Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:””; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Monozygotic (MZ) twins, commonly known as identical twins, arise from the splitting of a single early embryo; therefore, these twins are genetically identical. On the other hand, dizygotic (DZ) twins, also called fraternal twins, arise from the simultaneous fertilization of two separate eggs. DZ twins are thus no more related genetically than full siblings, but they do share an identical prenatal environment. By measuring how well a set of twins correlates for a specific phenotypic measurement (such as IQ), researchers