Twin Types: Variations and Common Themes/Twin Research Reviews: Birth Weight and Brain Development; Twinning and Vocabulary Knowledge; Fetal Loss in Twin Pregnancy; Twin-Family Olympic Medal Winners/Human Interest: Young Twin Soldiers; Twin-Run Laundry; Male-Female Pair and Politics; Twin-Based Graphic Novel; Twin Sisters’ Deliveries

Modern reproductive technology and revisions of conventional family structures have yielded a curious array of twin-like sibships. Many of these pairings pose the same rearing questions and educational issues for parents and teachers as do ordinary monozygotic and dizygotic twins. This article considers how we classify these sibships, given the important implications for the pair members, their families, their friends and the professionals who care for them. Next, reviews of research on twins’ birth weight and brain development, twinning and vocabulary knowledge, fetal loss in twin pregnancy and twin-family Olympic medal winners are presented. The final topic covers recent media attention to young twin soldiers, a twin-run laundry, a male-female pair’s political differences, a twin-based graphic novel and twin sisters’ deliveries.