Why is the word “great” part of the phrase Natures Great Experiment?
Scientists say “great” because we view nature’s gift of twins as awesome. It is amazing that people who are twins live here among us. It is marvelous that scholars like Gregor Mendel worked out the laws of inheritance years ago, so that we can now understand the genetic differences between MZ and DZ twins. It is terribly lucky that twinning gives science a unique window on the fundamental mysteries of human health and behaviour. Perhaps the most wonderful, fantastic part is that twins (and their families) are generally willing to let we scientists intrude deeply into their private lives. We researchers consider this a sacred trust between twins and science. For us, it is a great privilege. My research team’s particular intrusion into the lives of twins is a study called TEDS-Environment. This short name stands for Twins Early Development Study, with a special focus on features of the twins’ environment that affect them while they grow up. Our research has been funded by the Medical Res
