Co-Twin Control Studies: Natural Events, Experimental Interventions and Rare Happenings/Twin Research: Cancer Risk in Overweight Twins; Prognosis After Fetal Loss of One Twin; Twin Concordance for Parkinson’s Disease; Neuroanatomy of Musically Discordant MZ Twins/News Articles: Twin Birth with Two Wombs; Twins’ Prenatal Interactions; Switched-at-Birth Twins; Fetus-in-Fetu; Unsolved Paternity

Abstract

Co-twin control is a well-known methodological twin research design, but its variations and complexities are less well known. Various issues and illustrations are presented with reference to studies involving natural events, experimental interventions and rare happenings that underlie monozygotic (MZ) twins' environmental differences. This discussion is followed by summaries of recent twin research pertaining to cancer risk in overweight twins, the physical risk to surviving twins after fetal loss of a co-twin, a 20-year update of twin concordance for Parkinson's disease, and neuroanatomical differences in musically discordant MZ twin pairs. Several twin-related items that have attracted attention in the news are also summarized.