The current research talks about the benefits and dilemmas related to twin studies. It helps in understanding the genetic variability patterns. Additionally, it helps in understanding the effects of evolution better. However there are a number of dilemmas which further affects the pattern and correctness of the results produced.
Contribute Materials
Your contribution can guide someone’s learning journey. Share your
documents today.
Running head: TWIN STUDIES Twin Studies Name of the student University name Author’s note
Secure Best Marks with AI Grader
Need help grading? Try our AI Grader for instant feedback on your assignments.
1 TWIN STUDIES Table of Contents Introduction......................................................................................................................................1 Benefits of twin studies...................................................................................................................1 Ethical dilemmas related to twin studies.........................................................................................3 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................4 References........................................................................................................................................5
2 TWIN STUDIES Introduction The basic reason for twin studies is that it helps to know whether environment interact with the genes and give rise to variation. Therefore, the following essay involves the evaluation of benefits and dilemmas associated with twin studies for causes of variation. Benefits of twin studies Twin studies enable to make investigations into the environmental and genetic causes of variation in context to multi-factorial diseases. The monozygotic twins (identical twins) (MZ) have exactly same, identical genes. However, as they grow, there are striking developments of subtle differences between the twins despite of the fact that they share same genes. Although, MZ are similar, there is caveat to investigation of twin studies as epigenetic phenomenonanddynamictranscriptionalalternationsthatleadstochangesinthegene expression that is observed in MZ and dizygotic (DZ) twins. To understand the aetiology of illness, twin studies are beneficial that put special emphasis on genetic and environmental factors underpinning variations in susceptibility to various diseases. A study conducted by Naukkarinen et al.(2012) highlighted the fact that obesity is not only influenced by lifestyle factors, but also duetogeneticpredispositions.ThisuniqueexperimentrevealedthatMZtwinsthatare discordant for obesity are as ‘clonal controls’ of non-obese and obese individuals that has enabled the characterization of possible antecedents of acquired obesity. The study also pointed to the predisposing candidate genes that are novel to obesity. A number of studies were conducted in order to measure twin correlation. Form the different heritability studies conducted it was found that the monozygotic correlation was twice the dizygotic (Poduriet al.2014). As commented byKandleret al.(2015), the resemblance between parents and offspring are mainly
3 TWIN STUDIES due to additive genetic variation.As argued bySeyerle and Avery(2013), it is not the shared environment but the amount ofoverexpression of an allele which affects the overall growth pattern of an individual. Study through differentfilial generations have pointed towards the inheritance of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNIPS) to be oneof the prime causes of phenotypicvariations between twins.Autosomal single nucleotide polymorphism studies have supported the fact that 17% of the variance in BMI could be explained with the help of sequence variants in the genome (Kandleret al.2015). Myopia is one of the major reasons for impaired vision worldwide. Research and analysis have pointed at the importance of twin studies in establishing the hereditary link to myopia. Twin studies have reported high heritability for refractive error of up to 90%, whereas family studies have pointed that up to one –third of population variance is attributable to the effect of shared family environment (Schilit and Nitenson 2017). As mentioned byNordströmet al.(2016), ophthalmologist traits were found to have the highest heritability. Twin studies have been beneficial in relating factors such as corneal thicknesses between siblings. The tight correlation found between identical twins helps in understanding the genome wide differences and their expressivity in no-identical twins and the effect of different environmental factors (Seyerle and Avery 2013). Ethical dilemmas related to twin studies There are a number of ethical dilemmas in using humans as subjects for conducting of twin studies. First and foremost consent needs to be taken from the twins for involving them as a part of the stud as they should not be made participate forcefully. Additionally, while doing the analysisif an individual is given a more positive opinion compared to their siblings that might
Paraphrase This Document
Need a fresh take? Get an instant paraphrase of this document with our AI Paraphraser
4 TWIN STUDIES develop a feeling of inferiorityor low self esteem within the individual.As commented by Huppertzet al.(2014), conducting a twin studied often means that extensive family details are need to taken for drawing out a perfect correlation. However, often the participants are not willing enough to share the exact details which may hamper the quality of the study and the results. Additionally, there are privacy and confidentiality issues which need to be shared with the participants in an effective manner.While conducting the research the participants may come face to face with a number of serious health concerns of the patient.As per the research ethics the participants have the right to know regarding the test results and the researchers should not hide the required amount of details. Conclusion The current research talks about the benefits and dilemmas related to twin studies. The twin studies helps in understanding the genetic variability patterns. Additionally, it helps in understanding the effects of evolution better.However there are a number of dilemmas which further affects the pattern and correctness of the results produced. Twin studies provide powerful data to the researchers as it provides better determination of whether a particular illness, trait or disorder is influenced by genetic factors or due to environment.
5 TWIN STUDIES References Huppertz, C., Bartels, M., Jansen, I.E., Boomsma, D.I., Willemsen, G., de Moor, M.H. and de Geus, E.J., 2014. A twin-sibling study on the relationship between exercise attitudes and exercise behavior.Behavior genetics,44(1), pp.45-55. Kandler, C., Lewis, G.J., Feldhaus, L.H. and Riemann, R., 2015. The genetic and environmental roots of variance in negativity toward foreign nationals.Behavior genetics,45(2), pp.181-199. Nordström, P., Pedersen, N.L., Gustafson, Y., Michaëlsson, K. and Nordström, A., 2016. Risks of myocardial infarction, death, and diabetes in identical twin pairs with different body mass indexes.JAMA internal medicine,176(10), pp.1522-1529. Poduri, A., Sheidley, B.R., Shostak, S. and Ottman, R., 2014. Genetic testing in the epilepsies— developments and dilemmas.Nature Reviews Neurology,10(5), p.293. Schilit, S.L. and Nitenson, A.S., 2017. My identical twin sequenced our genome.Journal of genetic counseling,26(2), pp.276-278. Seyerle,A.A.andAvery,C.L.,2013.Geneticepidemiology:thepotentialbenefitsand challenges of using genetic information to improve human health.North Carolina medical journal,74(6), pp.505-508.