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See/download the final announcement! Meet the Professor Tim Spector The use of twins in genetic research Topics to be covered Twins are a unique natural genetic experiment that allows us to answer many fundamental questions about ourselves. They have been used since the 1920s in formal experiments to test the relative importance of nature versus nurture in a wide variety of human diseases, traits and behaviours. In the traditional or classic twin study a group of identical twin pairs sharing all of their genes are compared with a group of non-identical or fraternal twins sharing only half of their genes. If there is greater similarity for the trait or disease within the identical twins than the non-identical twins then the trait has a genetic component. There are formal tests of this which provide estimates of the additive genetic, common environmental, and unique environmental components, the latter of which includes error variance. Twin research has accelerated in the last few years with most European countries having large twin registers and productive research groups (www.genomeutwin.org). As well as bone density and osteoporosis traits our group has studied a wide variety of common disease traits over the years and the vast majority are strongly heritable. In addition, behavioural and personality traits, smoking habits, beliefs, and sexuality were also heritable. Twins are also used to answer other key questions in genetics – such as epigenetic and gene expression phenomena within identical twin pairs, or by using twins for genome-wide linkage or genome-wide association and expression studies –which are currently ongoing. Educational goals
Target audience Anyone interested in learning more in general about twins, heritability or the genes underlying human behaviour Teaching methods Interactive seminar
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