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July 22, 2005

Strange But True!

Q. From a Saskatoon, Saskatchewan reader: "Had my parents waited five minutes or maybe half an hour or longer before having sex that led to my conception, how might I differ from the person I am today?"

A. There may have been no fertilization at all. Or if so, likely it would have been the same egg by a different sperm, meaning "you" could have wound up of a different sex, of different physical appearance, personality traits, susceptibility to diseases, and on and on, says Southern Illinois University School of Medicine physiologist Andrzej Bartke. Still, the two you's would probably resemble each other more closely than just siblings, because half of the genes would have been contributed by the same egg.


 
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