Married couple struggling to conceive discover they’re twins!
Washington: A married couple in the US shockingly discovered that they were biological twins after getting a routine DNA test done at an IVF clinic because they were struggling to conceive naturally. The couple, who met in college, had attended the clinic in Mississippi in the hope that it help them have their own child.
A doctor at the clinic in Jackson, Mississippi, revealed the astonishing events and explained how the situation had come about. “It’s just a routine thing and we wouldn’t normally check to see if there was a relationship between the two samples, but in this case the lab assistant involved was shocked by the similarity of each profile,” the doctor told the Mississippi Herald.
“My first reaction was that they must have been less- closely related; perhaps they were first cousins, which happens sometimes. However, looking closer at samples, I noticed there were way too many similarities,” said the doctor, who was not named by the daily. The doctor consulted the patient’s files and noted that both had the exact same birth dates listed in 1984. “With this in mind, I was convinced that both patients were fraternal twins,” he said.
However, the doctor did not know if the couple were already aware of this or totally oblivious. When he brought up the issue at their next appointment, the doctor said they initially “burst out laughing” in disbelief. “The husband said that a lot of people remarked on the fact they shared the same birthdays and looked similar to each other, but he said it was just a funny coincidence and that the couple were definitely not related,” the doctor said. “The wife kept pleading with me to admit I was joking, and I wish that I was, but they had to know the truth,” the medic said.
After talking it through with the man and woman, the doctor was able to establish how this had all happened. The couple had met during college and instantly hit it off. “The fact they’d both been adopted, after their parents had died, meant they’d both experienced a similar childhood, and they felt they could really connect with each other,” the doctor said.
After processing the facts, it emerged that their biological parents had died in a car crash when the couple were infants. With no family willing to adopt them, they were put into the care of the state and adopted out into separate families. But neither of their new families were told that the child had a twin.
“I really hope they can work something out. For me, it’s a particularly unusual case because my job is all about helping couples conceive a child. This is the first time in my career that I’ve been glad I haven’t succeeded in that regard,” the doctor said. (PTI)
Oldest US polar bear dies at San Francisco Zoo
San Francisco: The oldest polar bear in the United States has died at the San Francisco Zoo. Uulu (OOH’-loo), a 545-pound female, died Friday at the age of 36. The zoo says her health had rapidly declined because of congestive heart failure and old age. The zoo rescued Uulu when she was 3. The San Francisco Chronicle says she’d been scheduled for euthanasia for repeatedly rummaging through a town dump in Manitoba, Canada. The zoo says Uulu had a curious nature and loved to dig in the dirt, which turned her white fur brown. In February, she frolicked in 10 tons of snow and ice brought in to celebrate International Polar Bear Day. Uulu had lived alone since, Pike, another female, died two years ago. (AP)
UK updates driving test to include satellite navigation
London: The UK government on Saturday introduced changes to the driving tests to include modern technology needs and “more real life scenarios”. From December 4 this year, learner drivers in the UK will have to be able to follow directions from a sat nav (satellite navigation) device and drive into a parking space to pass their test. Drivers will also be expected to answer vehicle safety questions while on the move and complete 20 minutes of independent driving rather than 10. The UK’s Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), which is in charge of running driving tests and approving instructors in the country, said it wanted the test to have “more real life scenarios” such as driving into and reversing out of a parking space. “Using a sat nav goes some way to addressing concerns that inexperienced drivers are easily distracted, which is one of the main causes of crashes. We’re moving with technology and the technology that new drivers will be using,” a DVSA spokesperson said. (PTI)
Polish sailor coaxed into leaving stricken yacht in Pacific
Wellington: A Polish round-the-world yachtsman had to be convinced of the “gravity of the situation” before he agreed to be rescued from his stricken craft in a remote part of Pacific Ocean on Saturday, New Zealand authorities said. A Polish speaker was taken on a four-hour flight from New Zealand to persuade him to abandon his craft. The sailor, identified by local media as 64-year-old Gregor Wegrzyn, had activated an emergency beacon on Thursday after the steering failed on his 10.6-metre yacht Reginar R. He was located by a New Zealand Air Force search aircraft 2,700 kilometres east of New Zealand and a cargo vessel was diverted to pick him up. But when the ship Key Opus arrived on Friday, the man was reluctant to leave, New Zealand search and rescue coordinator Dave Wilson said. The air force plane, with the Polish speaker onboard, had to return to the yacht and drop a radio to the sailor today to establish communication and convince him to abandon his yacht. “The man spoke little English, a hurdle we had to overcome for this operation,” Wilson said. “Once the Polish speaker, who was known to the man, made radio contact with him, he was able to convince him of the gravity of the situation and he agreed to leave his boat. “The fact it took two full days of sailing for the Key Opus to reach the man’s position underscores the remoteness of this rescue.” (PTI)