Types of twins

Scientists are very interested in twins because it helps us identify the differences between genetic and environmental factors that influence health and behaviour. As a result, there’s been a lot of research on them, and this has uncovered some unusual types of twinning… such as sesquizygotic twins.

Three Things I Don’t Know (Part III): Eyes

So, I asked myself, what unanswered scientific questions do I have, and are there answers out there for me? I had a think. And I came up with a list of three questions – and did my research. So here is the first of my three “Things I don’t/didn’t know” – let’s find out whether there’s an answer!

Why were my baby’s eyes indigo at birth?

Baby with dark blue eyes. Wiki Commons.

I’ve never heard of purple eyes before, but I know that the colour you’re born with can change. So, you can imagine when I looked into my baby daughter’s face and saw her eyes were a deep, dark purple that I was surprised – but I accepted it would be temporary. And temporary it was. Over the first year of her life, the time scientists say it takes eye colour to settle down, they have lightened to a medium blue, with that reminiscent darker blue round the edges.

I don’t have very clear pictures of the first month or so of her life: she kept her eyes mostly shut, and those I do have simply show their darkness, but me and her father remember that deep indigo colour – a bluish, purplish darkness, which looked indigo both under the artificial lights of the midwife unit, and under natural light from the window at home.

I turned to the internet…

Three Things I Don’t Know (Part II): ‘Flu

So, I asked myself, what unanswered scientific questions do I have, and are there answers out there for me? I had a think. And I came up with a list of three questions – and did my research. So here is the first of my three “Things I don’t/didn’t know” – let’s find out whether there’s an answer!

 

Why do we get colds and ‘flu more in winter?

In places with temperate climates, like the UK, colds and ‘flu are more common in winter. There’s a predictable seasonal pattern. Vaccines come out each year to help tackle new strains. But what drives this? Since we know about the germ theory, it’s clear that we don’t catch colds from chill winds, but instead from microbes that are passed from person to person. Since microbes thrive in the 37 degree environments of our bodies, why, I wonder, do they transmit more when it’s cold?

I turned to the internet…