A new study, published in the journal Nature Genetics, has revealed that genetic differences between identical twins&nbsp;can begin in very early stages in embryonic development.

Identical twins, also known as&nbsp;monozygotic, originally come from a&nbsp;single fertilised egg and then get split into two. Scientists believe identical twins have&nbsp;minimal genetic differences, meaning the majority of behavioural differences emerge due to&nbsp;environmental factors.

Scientists explained through this study that while "the classic model has been to use identical twins to help you to separate the influence of genetics versus environment in analysis of diseases", there is a possibility that a disease was caused in one of the siblings due to an early genetic mutation in the affected twin.

"So if you take identical twins raised apart and one of them developed autism, the classic interpretation has been that that is caused by the environment," explained&nbsp;Kari Stefansson, co-author of the paper and the head of Iceland’s deCODE genetics, a subsidiary of the US pharmaceutical company Amgen. "But that is an extraordinarily dangerous conclusion."

To track genetic mutations, the scientists&nbsp;sequenced the genomes of 387 pairs of identical twins and their parents, spouses and children. In the process, they measured&nbsp;embryonic growth and concluded that identical twins differed by an average of 5.2 early developmental mutations, with nearly 15 per cent twins having higher number of diverging mutations.

In one of the twins, used for study, one sibling had all cells, whereas the other one did not have any of them. This helped scientists understand that&nbsp;it likely happened very early in development.

Stafansson explained out of the initial mass, which would form the individuals later, "one of the twins is made out of the descendants of the cell where the mutation took place and nothing else", but the other one had none.

"These mutations are interesting because they allow you to begin to explore the way in which twinning happens," he explained.

He also urged people to describe these twins as 'monozygotic' rather than 'identical'. "I am more inclined to call them monozygotic twins today than identical," he said.&nbsp;

This study has come years after few scientists discovered&nbsp;genetic differences between identical twins, concluding that twins are alike but not perfectly similar.

A new study, published in the journal Nature Genetics, has revealed that genetic differences between identical twins can begin in very early stages in embryonic development.

A new study, published in the journal Nature Genetics, has revealed that genetic differences between identical twins can begin in very early stages in embryonic development. Identical twins, also known as monozygotic, originally come from a single fertilised egg and then get split into two. Scientists believe identical twins have minimal genetic differences, meaning the majority of behavioural differences emerge due to environmental factors. Scientists explained through this study that while "the classic model has been to use identical twins to help you to separate the influence of genetics versus environment in analysis of diseases", there is a possibility that a disease was caused in one of the siblings due to an early genetic mutation in the affected twin. "So if you take identical twins raised apart and one of them developed autism, the classic interpretation has been that that is caused by the environment," explained Kari Stefansson, co-author of the paper and the head of Iceland’s deCODE genetics, a subsidiary of the US pharmaceutical company Amgen. "But that is an extraordinarily dangerous conclusion." To track genetic mutations, the scientists sequenced the genomes of 387 pairs of identical twins and their parents, spouses and children. In the process, they measured embryonic growth and concluded that identical twins differed by an average of 5.2 early developmental mutations, with nearly 15 per cent twins having higher number of diverging mutations. In one of the twins, used for study, one sibling had all cells, whereas the other one did not have any of them. This helped scientists understand that it likely happened very early in development. Stafansson explained out of the initial mass, which would form the individuals later, "one of the twins is made out of the descendants of the cell where the mutation took place and nothing else", but the other one had none. "These mutations are interesting because they allow you to begin to explore the way in which twinning happens," he explained. He also urged people to describe these twins as 'monozygotic' rather than 'identical'. "I am more inclined to call them monozygotic twins today than identical," he said. This study has come years after few scientists discovered genetic differences between identical twins, concluding that twins are alike but not perfectly similar.

Identical twins are alike, not perfectly similar: Study

Apple on Tuesday rejected allegations from Russia&#39;s state competition watchdog it may have been involved in fixing prices for iPhones, saying resellers set their own prices. 
 
Apple reacted a day after Russia&#39;s Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) said it had opened a case into the allegations after a consumer had pointed out that identical prices had been set for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus models, which appeared in Russia in October 2015, at 16 major resellers. 
 
Apple, in emailed comments, said it did not oblige Russian resellers to fix prices for its products. 
 
&quot;Resellers set their own prices for the Apple products they sell in Russia and around the world,&quot; the company&#39;s press office said. 
 
FAS said it was looking into the idea that Apple had somehow obliged Russian resellers to treat its recommended product prices as mandatory. It said an investigation had shown that retailers had set identical prices and kept them at that level for a certain time period, including for other models. 
 
FAS has the power to fine firms it finds guilty of price-fixing. 
 
(Reuters)

The Russian state watchdog had opened a case after a consumer pointed out identical prices had been set for the 6s and 6s Plus models

Apple on Tuesday rejected allegations from Russia's state competition watchdog it may have been involved in fixing prices for iPhones, saying resellers set their own prices. Apple reacted a day after Russia's Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) said it had opened a case into the allegations after a consumer had pointed out that identical prices had been set for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus models, which appeared in Russia in October 2015, at 16 major resellers. Apple, in emailed comments, said it did not oblige Russian resellers to fix prices for its products. "Resellers set their own prices for the Apple products they sell in Russia and around the world," the company's press office said. FAS said it was looking into the idea that Apple had somehow obliged Russian resellers to treat its recommended product prices as mandatory. It said an investigation had shown that retailers had set identical prices and kept them at that level for a certain time period, including for other models. FAS has the power to fine firms it finds guilty of price-fixing. (Reuters)

Apple dismisses iPhone price-fixing allegations in Russia

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