What
happens when a crime is committed and the suspect blames it on an
identical twin? The fact that they look alike throws a monkey wrench
into eyewitness accounts, and their DNA is identical, too. Often such
cases -and there are plenty of real-life cases- end up with no one
convicted. But that might change with new advanced chemical tests that
delve even further into a twins genetic makeup.
A new
kind of genetic evidence may come to play a role in these cases.
Epigenetics refers to chemical modifications to DNA that may change how
genes are expressed. A study released earlier this year showed that the
epigenetic profiles of identical twins differ at birth, presumably
because of small differences in the twins’ uterine environments. While
no prosecutor has yet used epigenetic evidence to distinguish a guilty
twin from his innocent sibling, the findings should put would-be
criminal twins on notice.
Being an identical twin was
never a "get out of jail free card," anyway. Don't do the crime, because
science will eventually catch up with you.
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