The group uncovered five distinct genes that build the face and reported their work in Plos Genetics. Then, they compared the genes between the groups. By taking measurements such as eye-width and distance from the nose and mouth they were able to group the similar looking participants objectively. Looking for proof in patterns, an international team of researchers examined more than 15,000 faces, all of European ancestry. This means genes are at the helm of the processes that shape our face. Studies into unrelated look-alikes paint a blurry picture, but researchers know that genes play the most important role for one simple reason: identical twins look more alike than fraternal ones, and siblings often look more alike than strangers. In this way, we all see each other differently, making the credibility of doppelgängers a bit suspect. The brain gets the same signals, but the scrambled order places emphasis on the nose instead and adjusts the perception of the rest of the face. Another person might interpret these features in the order: nose, mouth, eyes. The size and placement of her eyes dictate the way you see the rest of her face. You might read someone’s face in the order: eyes, mouth, nose. This system of face recognition would be an efficient way of telling one human from another, except for one glitch, explains Podini. Here’s what actually happens when your brain recognizes someone: It becomes a small, squishy computer programmer and every aspect of a person’s face represents a code. He points out that even so, there is a bias in claiming that someone looks exactly like someone else, because our perception is “filtered by our own experiences.” He says that based on the number of humans, and the fact that our genes combine randomly, it is likely that a few of us look similar. Podini isn’t convinced that true doppelgängers exist, but he acknowledges that statistically it is possible. “People tell me I look like Tom Cruise and all I can say is, yeah I wish!” says Daniele Podini, a forensic scientist and expert in facial recognition at George Washington University in Washington D.C. How many times do people say, oh, you look like that actress and you think, that doesn’t look like me at all? Wouldn’t it be nice to think one of the world’s most attractive people was your doppelgänger? Are those genes in my Tetris? Amy Nordrum
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