Informative Speech-Mya Spivey

Mya Spivey

20 September 2013

2nd Block

Twindividuals

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Ashton Kutcher, Vin Diesel, Scarlett Johansson, Gisele Bündchen, and Billy Dee Williams all have a something in common. “What is it?” one might ask. All of these individuals have a fraternal twin, but what about Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen? Many people assume that they are identical but they’re not. According to the authors of the Better Health website, fraternal twins develop from two separate eggs fertilized by different sperm, which leads to the development of two separate placentas. Mary-Kate and Ashley had their own placenta inside their mother’s womb, thus making them fraternal, not identical, twins. Fraternal twins may already be different, hence the term “fraternal”, but what we all don’t know is what makes them different, so we’re going to try to comprehend. We’ll examine which qualities distinguish fraternal twins from one another.  In order to do this, we must take a look at the differences between their intelligence quotient, physical appearance, and personality traits.

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(Fraternal twins are known for not being same and aren’t very similar). The first major difference between them is their intelligence quotient. Most of the time, identical twins have the same intellectual function, but fraternal twins do not. Studies have shown that fraternal twins have a lower correlation in IQ, showing a 60-70% correlation compared to that of identical twins.  “We found that differences in frontal gray matter were significantly linked with differences in intellectual function” states the authors of the New Scientist website. Intellectual function also determines how well each twin performs academically and explains how each twin comprehends information. Further, the brain structure of twins is tightly linked with individual differences in IQ. It affects verbal and spatial working memory, along with attention tasks, verbal knowledge, and motor speed. After viewing this information, we all can conclude that intelligence is a key factor used to differentiate fraternal twins.

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 (Intelligence is not the only quality that makes fraternal twins different.)  A second quality is their physical appearances, which differ with very few similarities. Unlike identical twins, fraternal twins are m ore likely not to have the same features and body type is one of them. Sometimes, one twin can have a small percentage of body fat which causes him or her to be thin, while the other has a large percentage of body fat that causes him or her to be slightly larger than his or her twin. This can be due to high metabolism or the inheritance of their genes. Fraternal twins usually have the same hair color, but sometimes they do not. One of the twins could have blonde hair and the other has brown or black or any other different color. This happens when both parents a recessive gene and when they mix together they both act as dominant genes causing the twins to have different hair color. Along with hair color, fraternal twins may have a different skin complexion. A woman in London gave birth to twins in 2007, but one of them happened to be white while the other one was black. A genetics expert at Oxford University states that “the genes that cause skin color normally mix together”. In this case, the genes didn’t combine and the twins inherited different genetic codes. The physical appearance of fraternal twins is rarely the same and is almost always different from one another.[pic 6]

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