Semi-identical twins discovered
November 5, 2007
Scientists have revealed details of the world’s only known case of “semi-identical” twins.
The journal Nature says the twins are identical on their mother’s side, but share only half their genes on their father’s side.
They are the result of two sperm cells fertilising a single egg, which then divided to form two embryos - and each sperm contributed genes to each child.
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US family tries life without toilet paper
September 21, 2007
By Kim Ghattas
BBC News, New York
It is mid-afternoon in an airy, lower-Manhattan flat, on the ninth floor of a posh-looking building with a doorman.
It is a bit dark and there are no lights on. There is a strange quiet feel to the flat, perhaps due to the lack of any appliances - no fridge humming, no TV interference, even no air conditioning, though it is hot and humid outside.
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Yellow Death
March 10, 2007
When vodka is your poison
By John Sweeney
BBC News, Russia
Thousands of Russians may have been poisoned by bootleg alcohol containing medical disinfectant causing drinkers’ skin to turn yellow before they fall dangerously ill or die.
Pskov is the end of the line. I got off the Moscow overnight express and the earth started to buckle in front of me.
On the Pskov express I had played chess with a couple of Russians, the vodka bottles had come out, and soon every move of a pawn was celebrated with a toast.
If you’re interested, I was about to win when the Russian bloke nicked my queen - anyway, I had had enough to drink to kill a small horse.
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