Monthly Archives: August 2017

Using health insurance claims data from more than 480,000 people in nearly 130,000 families, researchers have created a new classification of common diseases based on how often they occur among genetically-related individuals.

Researchers hope the work, published this week in Nature Genetics, will help physicians make better diagnoses and treat root causes instead of symptoms.

Understanding genetic similarities between diseases may mean that drugs that are effective for one disease may be effective for another one, says senior author Andrey Rzhetsky, professor of medicine and human genetics at the University of Chicago. And for those diseases with a large environmental component, that means we can perhaps prevent them by changing the environment.

The results of the study suggest that standard disease classificationscalled nosologiesbased on symptoms or anatomy may miss connections between diseases with the same underlying causes. For example, the new study showed that migraine, typically classified as a disease of the central nervous system, appeared to be most genetically similar to irritable bowel syndrome, an inflammatory disorder of the intestine.

Rzhetsky and a team of researchers analyzed records from Truven MarketScan, a database of de-identified patient data from more than 40 million families in the United States. They selected a subset of records based on how long parents and their children were covered under the same insurance plan within a time frame most likely to capture when children were living in the same home with their parents. They used this massive data set to estimate genetic and environmental correlations between diseases.

Next, using statistical methods developed to create evolutionary trees of organisms, the team created a disease classification based on two measures. One focused on shared genetic correlations of diseases, or how often diseases occurred among genetically-related individuals, such as parents and children. The other focused on the familial environment, or how often diseases occurred among those sharing a home but who had no or partially matching genetic backgrounds, such as spouses and siblings.

The results focused on 29 diseases that were well represented in both children and parents to build new classification trees. Each branch of the tree is built with pairs of diseases that are highly correlated with each other, meaning they occur frequently together, either between parents and children sharing the same genes, or family members sharing the same living environment.

The large number of families in this study allowed us to obtain precise estimates of genetic and environmental correlations, representing the common causes of multiple different diseases, says Kanix Wang, a graduate student and lead author of the study. Using these shared genetic and environmental causes, we created a new system to classify diseases based on their intrinsic biology.

Genetic similarities between diseases tended to be stronger than their corresponding environmental correlations. For the majority of neuropsychiatric diseases, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and substance abuse, however, environmental correlations are nearly as strong as genetic ones. This suggests there are elements of the shared, family environment that could be changed to help prevent these disorders.

The researchers also compared their results to the widely used International Classification of Diseases Version 9 (ICD-9) and found additional, unexpected groupings of diseases. For example, type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune endocrine disease, has a high genetic correlation with hypertension, a disease of the circulatory system. The researchers also saw high genetic correlations across common, apparently dissimilar diseases such as asthma, allergic rhinitis, osteoarthritis, and dermatitis.

The study received support from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Big Mechanism program, the National Institutes of Health, and a gift from Liz and Kent Dauten. Additional authors are from the University of Chicago, Microsoft Research, and Vanderbilt University.

Source: University of Chicago

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Insurance claims reveal new links among diseases - Futurity: Research News

Nine more graduates of Lockport High School have been named "Distinguished Alumni" by the LHS Foundation.

The 11th annual recognition ceremony for honorees will be held at 7 p.m. Aug. 24 at the high school auditorium. A reception precedes the ceremony at 6:30 p.m. in the art gallery and foyer. All community members are welcome.

The 2017 honorees are listed here.

Anthony Caridi

Anthony Caridi, class of 1980, is recognized as the state of West Virginias most popular sports voice.As the play-by-play announcer of the West Virginia University Mountaineers, he has described the action of some of the schools greatest athletic accomplishments including victories in the Orange, Sugar and Fiesta bowls, along with an NCAA Final Four appearance.

A multiple winner of the West Virginia Sportscaster of the Year award, Caridi has hosted his own nightly statewide sports talk show on the Metro News Radio Network since 1986.

As a founding member of Emmy Award-winning Pikewood Creative, Caridi is responsible for generating new business development, fostering client relationships and directing the Pikewood team in its creative trajectory.

Caridi was raised in his familys grocery business in Lockport. He attended Syracuse University and graduated from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication with a degree in broadcast journalism.

This past December, he released his first childrens book, Where, Oh Where, Oh Where Could we Go? which takes readers on a whimsical trek around West Virginia.

Tony and his wife Joan have three children: Michael, who has a degree in finance and works in Morgantown, and twins Andrew and Matthew, who just finished their freshman year at WVU.

Mary E. Poole Dale

The late Mary Elizabeth (Bette) Poole Dale, class of 1935, was a pioneer in the elder care field and her legacy lives on through the local not-for-profit Dale Association.

Dale was an early advocate for the elderly. She created the first senior center in the United States that provided direct mental health services for adults. Lockport Senior Centre became a national model of the multi-purpose senior center.Dale was an acclaimed speaker at conferences and seminarswell beyond the limits of New York state.In 1995, Lockport Senior Centre was renamed in her honor.

Dale died in 2007.

Jack J. Florio Jr.

Jack J. Florio Jr., class of 1979, and his wife Rebecca are the owners of Micro Graphics, a printing and sign company on Main Street. Florio founded the business in 1989, while he was attending college in Florida, studying computer engineering and working in the college computer lab.

Florio paid close attention to the graphic design classes taught in the lab and mastered the curriculum quickly. The college soon hired him as a technical adviser, to help instruct computer graphics. Seeing the industry's potential, Florio invested in a Xerox copier and a laser printer and landed clients includingShands Teaching Hospital, University of Florida and Daytona International Speedway.

Upon his return to Western New York, Florio went to work for Roswell Park Cancer Institute, developing the Gilda Radner Ovarian Cancer Registry and the AIDS Database Registry and utilizing his skills for various departments from radiology and pathology to medical illustration, marketing and the print shop. Simultaneously, he was rebuilding Micro Graphics, with which he eventually went full time.

While building up his business, it was normal for Florio to work two or three jobs at a time. He did CAD for General Motors and EDS and has worked as an auto mechanic for Texaco and Gulf Oil, a pre-press and web press operator for the Union-Sun & Journal, a software instructor for DuPont Paint, and a manager of CopyMax and the old Friendly's restaurant in Lockport.

Florio and his wife have been the sole organizers of the Mother's Day Breast Cancer Canal Walk for over 20 years. The walk has raised over $500,000 for cancer support. Florio also partners with the Salvation Army every year to send oversized Christmas cards to U.S. troops overseas.

The Florios' son Michael works in the computer animation field in New York City.

Ronald Franco

Ronald Franco, class of 1982, met his future wife and fellow Distinguished Alumnus, Deborah Qualiana, while attending track practice as an eighth grader.He graduated as senior class president, then attended the Air Force Academy and Syracuse University, and earned a degree in aerospace engineering.

A graduate of Officer Training School, Franco flew supersonic jets during his year at undergraduate pilot training and qualified for Fighter-Attack-Reconnaissance assignment. He returned to Western New York to serve with the Niagara Falls-based 328th Tactical Airlift Squadron and flew: combat missions to liberate Kuwait during Desert Storm and in Iraq and Afghanistan during Operation Iraqi Freedom; humanitarian aid flights to Somalia and the Kurds; UN support missions in Bosnia and Serbia; international cooperation missions in Egypt and Japan; and Special Forces support in Central and South America. He was awarded the USAF Air Medal and Aerial Achievement Medal.

In 1999, Franco was hired by American Airlines. He is a recipient of the Outstanding Checkride Award and recently upgraded to Captain on the Airbus 321 aircraft. He has over 8,000 hours of flight time in jet aircraft.

Last year, Francospent two months at NASAs Johnston Space Center in Houston taking part in the Human Exploration Research Analog. He and three other men completed a simulated deep-space mission to help facilitate the national space program's goal of sending a manned mission to Mars.

Franco is a past member for the Lockport Common Council, representing the 2nd Ward. Currently he serves on the board of directors of Challenger Learning Center and is a member of the Explorers Club in Manhattan.

Franco has completed two marathons was a member of the winning team in the Lockport 100 Mile Relay Race, which commemorated the 1967 world record. He also has volunteered with the disabled veterans sled hockey team.

Julie Zenger Hain

Julie Zenger Hain, class of 1980, is an expert in the field of genetics.

She's a graduate of St. Lawrence University, where she earned a degree in biology and psychology and was inducted in Phi Beta Kappa. Subsequently, she earned a Ph.D. in human genetics and a bachelor's degree in nursing at the Medical College of Virginia of Virginia Commonwealth University. Her post-doctoral work in medical genetics and cytogenetics was completed at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, and she achieved board certification from the American Board of Medical Genetics. From there she developed the genetics program at Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn, Michigan, which provides laboratory and clinical genetic services to the Oakwood Health System, now Beaumont Health.

Since her career at Oakwood, Zenger Hain has worked to educate physicians, patients and the public regarding the power of genetics in health care. She has been an active participant with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services genetic and genomic initiatives, volunteering her time to assist the development and implementation of public policy aimed at enhancing genetic services to all Michigan residents.

Zenger Hain is co-chair of the Michigan Cancer Genetics Alliance, a collaborative network of genetics professionals, patient advocates, oncology experts, health plan employees, state and local public health workers and others with an interest in cancer genomics. She has collaborated on multiple state and community grants aimed at delivering genetic services to underserved populations and served on the Wayne State Institutional Review Board to foster safe research practices for human study participants.

She is also a mentor for the Womens Institute for National Global Success, which provides guidance to young women seeking to enter careers in the sciences.

Zenger Hainand her husband, Jon, have a son and daughter. They currently reside in Troy, Michigan.

Cindi McEachon

Cindi McEachon, class of 2000,defied the odds as a teenage mother. After giving birth to her daughter, Emilee, in her sophomore year, she stayed in school and earned her diploma, then went on to complete post graduate studies. Today she's a volunteer youth mentor with numerous organizations and serves as the executive director of Peaceprints of WNY.

After high school, McEachon earned an associate's degree from Niagara County Community College, a bachelor's degree from the University of Buffalo and a Master of Business and Science degree from Medaille College.

According to her nominator, McEachon is passionate and often bull-headed; when she sets her mind to something, she never looks back. When she was 17, she moved out on her own and balanced full-time work, school and parenting, motivated by the "teen parent" stigma that she carried.

McEachon was appointed director of Peaceprints in 2014. Peaceprints works with incarcerated men, youths and their families. McEachon hopes to raise awareness about the U.S. epidemic of mass incarceration and put a stop to "school-to-prison pipeline" in Buffalo.

Currently, McEachon is the executive vice president of the Junior League of Buffalo and board secretary of Homespace Corporation and For Our Daughters Inc. She's an active member of Women on the Rise and the Erie County Reentry Task Force, a volunteer coach for Girls on the Run Buffalo, a teen mentor for Homespace Corporation and coordinator of the annual Christmas cookie drive for Buffalo City Mission. She has been a Kenan Center youth soccer coach, a Brownie troop leader and a life coach mentor; and enjoys running marathons and half marathons.

McEachon has two daughters, Emilee, 19, and Lily, 12. She and Christopher Summers will be married on Sept. 9.

James Sansone

James Sansone, class of 1960, is a local attorney, accomplished musician and tireless civic booster.

Sansone earned a bachelor's degree in linguistics from SUNY at Buffalo in 1964, then went to Buffalo Law School where he received a Bachelor of Laws degree and, in 1968, a Juris Doctorate. He has been a practicing attorney ever since; and has been a confidential law clerk to the Niagara County and Surrogates Court judges, an administrative law judge for New York State. Currently he's the Newfane town attorney and town prosecutor, mortgage counsel to Cornerstone Community FCU and pro bono counsel to Olcott Volunteer Fire Company and EquiStar Therapeutic Riding in Newfane.

Sansone, an accomplished trumpet player, has played professionally since he was 12 years old. He has been a volunteer bugler for American Legion and VFW since 1953, playing Taps on Veterans Day and Memorial Day and at servicemen's funerals. He's a teacher and mentor to young trumpet players and has played in many high school musicals throughout Western New York. Every year, with his trumpet, he leads the (July 4) Patriots Day children's parade in Olcott. He organizes the summertime Olcott Beach Gazebo Concert Series and volunteers his music services for an array of charitable organizations including Olcott Beach Carousel Park, Olcott Lions Club,Batavia School for the Blindand Lawyers for the Arts.

Sansone has been a member of the Newfane Tourism Board since 2003. He's a member of Olcott Lions Club,a life member of Local 97-106 of the musicians' union,a past Eucharistic Minister for St. Josephs church in Lockport and Niagara USA Chamber's 2012 Small Business Person of the Year.

Jack B. Walters

Jack B. Walters, class of 1946, is an engineer, retired Iowa state public servant and the author of four books.

Waltersenlisted in the Army Air Corps when he turned 18, on July 30, 1946, and served in Japan for three years. He was the lead enlisted officer of a statistical control unit where he advanced to the rank of staff sergeant. Using the G.I. Bill, he obtained a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering at the University of Buffalo.

Walters married fellow LHS graduate Carolyn Highhouse in 1954 and began a lengthy career with Firestone. He was a staff engineer in Akron, Ohio, a senior engineer in Pottstown, Pa., a plant engineer in Hamilton, Ontario, and a plant manager in Calgary, Alberta, Akron, Ohio, and Firestone's largest tire factory in Des Moines, Iowa. The Walters had three children, Amy, Andy and Steve, who died in a plane accident in 1997.

Walters became director of general services for the state of Iowa in 1983, upon appointment by Gov. Terry Branstad. Hismost notable efforts included starting exterior restoration of the Capitol building and design and construction of the $25 million Historical and Library Building. He served in the post for eight years, until his wife died from cancer.

Walters retired to Tucson, Arizona, where he discoveredthe Southern Arizona Hiking Club. The goal of members is to climb to the top of 315 area mountains and Walters did it in five years. Afterward, he became a guide and helped others in their quest. Later, the club set a 400-peak goal; and with encouragement from his friend Roxanna Baker, he accomplished the new goal in 2008, at age 79. Walters still hikes today.

Copies of Walters' four published books are available at Lockport Public Library.

Edward C. Weeks

The late Edward C. Weeks, class of 1953, was an innovator in the adult care field in New York state.

At LSHS, Weeks played football and was a member of the swim team. He went on to the University of Buffalo, where he earned a degree in physical therapy, andmarried Margaret Reddington in 1958. (They had four children, Sean, Patricia, Bridge and Mark. Margaret Weeks died in 1979.)

Weeks did a tour of duty with the Army from 1958 to 1960, serving as a physical therapistat the 98th General Hospital in Neubrucke, Germany.After his discharge, he worked as a physical therapist at Mercy Hospital in Buffalo, St. Josephs Hospital in Cheektowaga and Niagara Lutheran Home, where he established a physical therapy department. Impressed by his leadership skills, home management persuaded him to move into an administrative role.

After three years at Niagara Lutheran, Weeks was appointed administrator of Carlton House Nursing Home; and when that facility was sold to becomepart of what is now Roswell Park Cancer Institute, he became the administrator of Newfane Health Care Facility. In 1976, Weeks took over as administrator of Episcopal Church Home, where he rose to president and chief executive officer.

As an administrator, Weeks was always looking for better ways to care for elderly with illness and dementia. He developed many "firsts" in Western New York and New York state: respite care, long-term home health care, HIV/AIDS home care, restraint-free nursing home care, adult day health care, inter-generational child care and, ultimately, the first Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) in the state.

Weeks lobbied for state legislation to permit operation of life-care communities, which resulted in him developing Canterbury Woods in Amherst. The project introduced the area to continuing care, which offers a range of options from independent living to skilled nursing, all on one campus.

Weeks married Alana Parisi in 1997 and added five stepchildren to his family: Jason, Cale, Aron, Matthew and Ryan. His hobbies included golfing and sailing. He died in 2015.

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LHS Foundation names 9 more Distinguished Alumni - Lockport Union-Sun & Journal

From the opening scene, questions of identityboth existential and scientificprovide the shows narrative thrust.

BBC America

This article contains spoilers about the series finale of Orphan Black.

After five seasons of clone cabals, the BBC America/Space series Orphan Black has come to a mostly happy end. Yet an ellipsis follows wrapping of the show, hinting at bigger questions that transcend the characters storylines. Orphan Blacks conspiracies, camp, and Tatiana Maslanys riveting performances as a dozen different clones make it easy to overlook its prescience and profundity. From the opening scene in which Sarah Manning sees her clone kill herself by stepping in front of a train, questions of identityboth existential and scientificprovide the shows narrative thrust. Who created the clones? How? Why? How much control do their creators have over them? The shows final season provides answers while raising questions that transcend science fiction. What role should ethics play in science? Do scientific subjects have the right to self-determination?

If you stopped watching a few seasons back, heres a brief synopsis of how the mysteries wrap up. Neolution, an organization that seeks to control human evolution through genetic modification, began Project Leda, the cloning program, for two primary reasons: to see whether they could and to experiment with mutations that might allow people (i.e., themselves) to live longer. Neolution partnered with biotech companies such as Dyad, using its big pharma reach and deep pockets to harvest peoples genetic information and to conduct individual and germline (that is, genetic alterations passed down through generations) experiments, including infertility treatments that result in horrifying birth defects and body modification, such as tail-growing.

In the final season, we meet the man behind the curtain: P.T. Westmoreland, who claims to be 170 years old thanks to life-extension treatments such as parabiosis (transfusions of young blood). Westmoreland wants to harness the healing powers of the particular LIN28A gene mutation found in the fertile clones kids. (Real-world studies suggest that while LIN28A mutations are linked to cancer, its RNA-binding protein promotes self-renewal of embryotic stem cells.)

Westmorelandultimately discovered to be a fraud who assumed the original Westmorelands identity after he diedpersonifies one of the shows messages: that pseudoscience and megalomania can masquerade as science. Just because someone has a genetic sequencer and a lab coat doesnt mean hes legitimate, and just because someones a scientist doesnt mean hes ethical.

Orphan Black demonstrates Carl Sagans warning of a time when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few. Neolutionists do whatever they want, pausing only to consider whether theyre missing an opportunity to exploit. Their hubris is straight out of Victor Frankensteins playbook. Frankenstein wonders whether he ought to first reanimate something of simpler organisation than a human, but starting small means waiting for glory. Orphan Blacks evil scientists embody this belief: if theyre going to play God, then theyll control not just their own destinies, but the clones and, ultimately, all of humanitys. Any sacrifices along the way are for the greater goodreasoning that culminates in Westmorelands eugenics fantasy to genetically sterilize 99 percent of the population he doesnt enhance.

Orphan Black uses sci-fi tropes to explore real-world plausibility. Neolution shares similarities with transhumanism, the belief that humans should use science and technology to take control of their own evolution. While some transhumanists dabble in body modifications, such as microchip implants or night-vision eye drops, others seek to end suffering by curing human illness and aging. But even these goals can be seen as selfish, as access to disease-eradicating or life-extending technologies would be limited to the wealthy. Westmorelands goal to sell Neolution to the 1 percent seems frighteningly plausibletranshumanists, who statistically tend to be white, well-educated, and male, and their associated organizations raise and spend massive sums of money to help fulfill their goals. Critics raise many objections to transhumanism, including overpopulation and the socioeconomic divide between mortals and elite immortals, which some think might beget dystopia. Researchers are exploring ways to extend the human lifespan whether by genetic modification, reversing senescence (cellular deterioration with age), nanobots, or bio-printed tissues and organs, but in the world of Orphan Black we dont have to speculate about the consequences of such work.

The show depicts the scientists dehumanization of the clones from its first scene, when Beth, unable to cope with the realities of her cloned existence, commits suicide. When another clone, Cosima, tries to research her DNA, she gets a patent statement: This organism and derivative genetic material is restricted intellectual property. It doesnt matter that Cosima is sick or that shes in love. Shes not a person: Shes a trademarked product, as are the other clones.

Orphan Black warns us that money, power, and fear of death can corrupt both people and science.

The shows most tragic victim is Rachel, the evil clone. Shes the cautionary tale: Frankensteins monster, alone, angry, and cursed. The only one raised with the awareness of what she is, Rachel grows up assured of her own importance and motivated to expand it by doing Neolutions dirty work. Westmoreland signs a document giving Rachel sovereignty, but later she sees computer files in which shes still referred to by her patent number. Despite her leadership, cunning, and bravery, even those working with her never regard her as human. Her willingness to hurt her sisters and herself shows what happens to someone whose experience of nature and nurture is one and the same.

We, the viewers, also dehumanize Rachel by writing her off as one of them. When she lands on the side of her sisters, she does so not out of morality but out of vengeance. At the end, Westmoreland, the closest thing she has to a father, taunts her: its fitting you return to your cage. All lab rats do. But her childhood flashbacks suggest she doesnt want others to experience what she has. When Neolutionists take 9-year-old Kira from her home at gunpoint, Rachel initially supports the plan to load Kira with fertility drugs and then harvest her eggs to access her mutated gene. But when Kira gives Rachel a friendship bracelet (and perhaps her first friendship), Rachels haunted expression suggests that beneath her usually unflappable demeanor, shes still a frightened little girl. When Kira asks, Who hurt you? Rachel responds, They all did.

Whether motivated by retaliation, morality, or both, Rachel helps save Kira and takes down Neolution. Yet its unclear whats left for her as shell never be welcomed into Clone Club. Her last act is to provide a list of clones around the world so Cosima and former Dyad researcher Delphine can cure them. Rachel gives the clones control over their livesand in so doing, asserts control over her own.

Ultimately, Orphan Black is all about choice. Theres much in life we cant choose: our parents, the circumstances of our birth, our DNA. Its no surprise that a show that espouses girl power (the future is female is both spoken and seen on a T-shirt in the final two episodes) dwells on the importance of choice. The finale flashes back to Sarah in front of Planned Parenthood debating whether to have an abortion. Reckless, rough Sarah surprises herself (and Mrs. S, her foster mother) by deciding to keep the baby. Years before she learns how many decisions others have made about her body, she makes a decision for herself.

On Orphan Black, denial of choice is tantamount to imprisonment. That the clones have to earn autonomy underscores the need for ethics in science, especially when it comes to genetics. The shows message here is timely given the rise of gene-editing techniques such as CRISPR. Recently, the National Academy of Sciences gave germline gene editing the green light, just one year after academy scientists from around the world argued it would be irresponsible to proceed without further exploring the implications. Scientists in the United Kingdom and China have already begun human genetic engineering and American scientists recently genetically engineered a human embryo for the first time. The possibility of Project Leda isnt farfetched. Orphan Black warns us that money, power, and fear of death can corrupt both people and science. Once that happens, loss of humanityof both the scientists and the subjectsis inevitable.

In Carl Sagans dark vision of the future, people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority. This describes the plight of the clones at the outset of Orphan Black, but as the series continues, they challenge this paradigm by approaching science and scientists with skepticism, ingenuity, and grit. The lab rats assert their humanity and refuse to run the maze. Freedom looks different to everyone, Sarah says in the finale. As she struggles to figure out what freedom will look like for hershould she get her GED? Sell the house? Get a job?its easy to see how overwhelming such options would be for someone whose value has always been wrapped in a double helix. But no matter what uncertainties their futures hold, the clones dismantle their cages and make their own choices, proving what weve known all alongtheir humanity.

This article is part of Future Tense, a collaboration among Arizona State University, New America, and Slate. Future Tense explores the ways emerging technologies affect society, policy, and culture. To read more, follow us on Twitter and sign up for our weekly newsletter.

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Orphan Black Was Never About Cloning - Slate Magazine

Imagine the moment, youve just been told youre expecting twins. You are trying not to think about The Shining.

You are wondering why you, specifically, have somehow ended up doubly pregnant. Allow Techly to shed some light on the subject.

Now while that clip from the late 80s buddy comedy Twins isnt the most scientific thing youll see today, its always fun to see Arnie acting in the rare scenes when he isnt mowing down foot soldiers and it does raise a significant point. There is a large difference between identical (or monozygotic) twins and fraternal (dizygotic) twins, here demonstrated ably by DeVito and Schwarzenegger.

In the case of identical twins, as the medical term monozygotic may suggest, they occur when one zygote (essentially a fertilized egg) splits into two halves during early development, meaning both embryos have identical genetic information. Fraternal twins, on the other hand, develop from two separate zygotes and are therefore made up of differing, while similar, genetic information.

So, is there a genetic reason for the occurrence of twins? Could there be some genetic predisposition to carrying twins? Well according to this post on The Stanford Tech forum its kind of yes and no territory. To be more specific, the post states identical twins do not run in families and a history of fraternal twins only helps if it comes in on the mothers side. Furthermore, it says that a female fraternal twin is 2.5 times more likely to give birth to a further set of twins and that goes up to 3-4 times when the woman already has already given birth to a set of fraternal twins.

According to the Sciencemag site scientists from eight countries found two genes that increase a womans chance of having twins. A team of researchers in Amsterdam, where the Nederlands Twin Register which currently contains 75,000 cases, started in 1987 collated data from databases in the Nederlands, USA and good ol Australia.

The researchers, working on a sample of over 2000 births, examined the genetic information of the mothers to see if there was a common link between the mothers of fraternal twins. They eventually narrowed it down to two SNPs (essentially single stretches of DNA that signpost genetic differences between people) and subsequently reported in the American Journal of Human Genetics that having a copy of each of them will increase that persons chances of giving birth to fraternal twins by a huge 29%. The first SNP relates to the production of the follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), which, if the levels remain quite high while the ovaries mature, can lead to the production of more than one egg. The other SNP is a little more mysterious, SMAD3 has been noted to change how ovaries respond to FSH, at least in mice but in terms of its role in human fertilization, research is ongoing.

So there you have it, of course, a full genetic analysis is not necessarily available to everyone, so whether or not you are genetically predisposed to have your own DeVito/Schwarzenegger caper may have to remain a surprise for now. Having said that, youre family history can, of course, be a handy indicator when considering your own genetic make-up, so Auntie Jane should be able to give you some idea!

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Techly Explains: Are twins genetic? - Techly