Why do fraternal twins often look alike?

Asker: Derek, 13 years old

Answer

Dear Diederick,

Fraternal twins arise from the fertilization of two different eggs and not from the splitting of a single fertilized egg, as is the case with identical twins. Unlike these identical twins, fraternal twins do not have the same genetic material. Fraternal twins are basically like regular siblings, but they were conceived on the same menstrual cycle and are (usually) born on the same day. As a result, they can be very similar or very different from each other like regular siblings.

Regards,

Ilse Delbaere

Answered by

dr. Ilse Delbaere

Obstetrics, midwifery, human embryo implantation, placentation, multiple births

Why do fraternal twins often look alike?

university of Ghent

http://www.ugent.be

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