« Sleeping versus thinking | Main | The paradox that is America »
August 7, 2009
How unusual is this statistic?
The worldwide rate of twins is one in every 80 births. In India, the normal rate is lower, only one 250 births. But in the village of Kodinhi, in the Indian state of Kerala, there are at least 250 sets of twins in a population of 2,000 families. And the rate of twin births has been increasing over the past decades. Dr Krishnan Sribiju has been studying the phenomenon.Village of Twins“Without access to detailed biochemical analysis equipment I cannot say for certain what the reason for the twinning is, but I feel that it is something to do with what the villagers eat and drink.
We know that the number of children a mammal has is largely genetically determined. Given all the villages of the world, surely one would have an unusual allocation of genes in its residents such that they would have a large number of genes. In a world of growing plenty where more people can afford to raise two babies at a time and better medicine reducing the deaths of smaller babies, those carrying the higher likelihood for bearing twins could gradually outbreed those lacking those genes. There need be no exotic explanation.
Posted by OneEyedMan at August 7, 2009 5:49 AM
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)