From time to time, we may encounter people who look like a celebrity or someone we know while on the screen or walking on the street. Although this is considered by many to be a coincidence, a new study published has revealed a much more striking fact.
According to new research published in the journal Cell Reports, people who are physically similar to each other actually carry similar genetic variations in their DNA. Although the research has only been done with a certain number of similar people for now, it has reached very important data.
More than 19,000 genetic variations were present in similar individuals:
Using three different face recognition algorithms in their research, the scientists discussed a photographer’s gallery of like-minded people since 1999. The task assigned to the algorithm was to categorize how similar people were, limited to 32 pairs.
While the algorithms classified half of the 32 pairs as ‘exactly the same’, the research continued with these 16 pairs. Scientists observed the DNA of these people and detected 19,277 common genetic variations in a total of 3,730 genes in the DNA of similar people. The majority of these variations were related to the body and facial features of the individuals.
Not only their DNA, but even their habits are similar:
After the scientists got this result, they conducted a survey with similar people. The survey revealed that identical people look alike, even on independent issues such as their smoking habits, weight, and education level. This showed that similar people can resemble each other not only physically but also in personality.