Decipher the phenomenon of strangers alike

The results of the study show that two people with very similar faces are also more likely to share common genes (and can be turned on or off) to have similar behaviors, but their bacterial ecosystems are still different. separate.

Decipher the phenomenon of strangers alike Picture 1

The twins participating in the experiment had never met. These people were invited to participate in the study through François Brunelle, a Canadian artist and photographer who has been collecting photos of the same people since 1999.

Participants will complete a lifestyle and biometric questionnaire in their mother tongue. The identical pairs will be scored the same by 3 different face recognition algorithms. Half of them were recognized by all three algorithms as duplicates.

The team conducted DNA analysis to find out the genetic structure of 16 pairs with high similarity. The result is 9/16 pairs that are so "super similar" that they appear to be closely related, sharing 19,277 common genetic variations (called single nucleotide polymorphisms - SNPs) in 3,730 genes.

Not only are the genomes of many pairs similar, but there are also many other surprising similarities such as similar smoking habits, education levels and similar weight. According to the team, the findings provide clues to the genetic makeup of the face, personality and many other physical traits.

The researchers say their findings could have applications in areas such as evolution, biomedicine and forensics. However, the study still has some limitations because the participants are quite small and mostly of European origin, so it is difficult to say whether the results are true for the larger similar population or not, or not for those who come. from other parts of the world.

David Pac

Update 28 February 2023