Babies in the News: Infant Twins Have Different Skin Colorby Heather Long | More from this Blogger 28 Oct 2006 09:58 AM This is an interesting story and for those of you fascinated by twins and their development, be sure to take note. In Great Britain, there are a pair of twin boys who were born with different skin colors. According to experts, this is a rare genetic occurrence. According to fetal and development experts, there is only a one in a million chance for twins to be born with different skin colors. In an interview, aired on British Sky News, Kerry Richardson, the mother stated that both boys were born white, but as they have aged, one twin developed darker skin as the other grew lighter. Today, though the twins look very similar, they are distinctly different in skin coloring. The mother, Richardson, is of mixed race descent coming from both English and Nigerian heritage. The father is Caucasian. According to Oxford University, these types of births are extremely rare but not unheard of. The genes that result in skin color are often combined and mix together in order to determine the color of the skin. In this case, the genes for skin color apparently did not combine in these twins. Each boy may have inherited a different genetic code for skin color from their mother that resulted in their current condition. Though both boys are remarkably noticeable in their different skin colors, they are very healthy and there seems to be nothing wrong with them, though their mother indicates they attract a lot of attention wherever they go. While this seems almost like a soap opera plot device, the reality is that we are still far from understanding the genetic code fully and even when twins look identical, they may not contain identical genetic coding. The Richardson twins favor each other in bone structure and looks and the only major differences in their appearance seems to be their skin color and hair. For my part, I think they are both beautiful and a beautiful testament to the brotherhood of man, literally. Have you ever met twins with different skin colors? Related Articles: In the News: Moms Spend As Much Time With Kids Today As They Did 40 Years Ago Happy Ending to the Newborn Baby Kidnapping Driveway DangersLearn more about Heather Long  Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago. Relevantbaby tags User Comments  Valorie Delp (49340) 28 Oct 2006 11:04 AMI was totally thinking about writing about this! Great blog Heather! There were also some born in Australia that someone sent me the link for but now I can't find it. Totally weird!  Lisa P (24013) 04 Nov 2006 07:46 AMHey, Vin Diesel has a twin with blonde hair and blue eyes. It happens. I would imagine that as time goes by, the human race will become more and more racially ambiguous. Community Tags british amusement, babies in the news, rare genetic difference, twins Discuss this article
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