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May 8, 2009

Strange But True!

Q. “Conjoined twins” are the rarest of the rare, occurring only once every 100,000 births, with many dying within one day of being born. What's their biological basis?

A. Although most experts believe they arise from the division of a single embryo, some still maintain they result from the partial rejoining of two previously separate twins, says behavioral neuroscientist Mark Blumberg in “Freaks of Nature: What Anomalies Tell Us About Development and Evolution.” While most conjoined twins are joined at the chest and abdomen, the world's most famous pair are Abigail and Brittany Hensel, born in 1990, with two heads, spinal cords, hearts, but only one pair of legs. Each twin primarily controls her own arm (a third awkward arm was removed soon after birth). “Watching these girls swim, ride a bike, and dribble a basketball, my friends were as stunned as I was when I first saw them in action.” Reportedly, when the two sisters cannot agree on a destination, paralysis sets in.


 
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