Science / Medicine : Siamese Twins and Electricity
<i> Compiled from staff and wire reports</i>
Siamese, or joined, twins could develop in the early stages of embryonic growth after exposure to electric currents as weak as those from a toaster, a Canadian researcher said Monday.
Dr. Alexander Martin, a neuroembryologist at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, said he exposed 400 fertilized chicken eggs to low-frequency electromagnetic fields but stressed that although anatomical discoveries in chickens do not necessarily apply to humans, the basic process of embryo twinning is similar.
The low-frequency electromagnetic fields used were similar to those emitted by toasters and electric blankets. About one in 60 embryos developed into joined twins, most of them connected at the head.
