#Jeffrey Pedersen

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Jack Winstanley, Jack Wheatley, and Reed McMaster at MMFA:

As early voting gets underway in many states, far-right media outlets and personalities have begun promoting a conspiracy theory that Dominion voting machines have “switched” votes, which echoes the debunked conspiracy theory about Dominion voting machines that was heavily promoted by far-right and right-wing media, such as Fox News, in 2020.

Far-right commentators are reviving their conspiracist crusade against Dominion Voting Systems.

[sywtwfs]

Team USA for 2024 ISU Championships

World Championships

Men: Ilia Malinin, Jason Brown, Camden Pulkinen (Alt: Maxim Naumov, Andrew Torgashev, Jimmy Ma)

Women: Amber Glenn, Isabeau Levito (Alt: Ava Ziegler, Elyce Lin-Gracey, Starr Andrews)

Pairs: Emily Chan/Spencer Akira Howe, Ellie Kam/Danny O’Shea, Valentina Plazas/Maximiliano Fernandez (Alt: Chelsea Liu/Balazs Nagy, Isabelle Martins/Ryan Bedard*)

Ice Dance: Madison Chock/Evan Bates, Christina Carreira/Anthony Ponomarenko, Emily Bratti/Ian Somerville (Alt: Caroline Green/Michael Parsons, Eva Pate/Logan Bye, Emilea Zingas/Vadym Kolesnik)

Four Continents Championships (announced before Nationals)

Men: Tomoki Hiwatashi, Camden Pulkinen (WD), Andrew Torgashev (Alt: Maxim Naumov, Liam Kapeikis, Jimmy Ma)

Women: Amber Glenn (WD), Lindsay Thorngren, Ava Ziegler (Alt: Elyce Lin-Gracey, Audrey Shin, Starr Andrews)

Pairs: Ellie Kam/Danny O’Shea, Chelsea Liu/Balazs Nagy, Valentina Plazas/Maximiliano Fernandez (Alt: Isabelle Martins/Ryan Bedard, Maria Mokhova/Ivan Mokhov)

Ice Dance: Madison Chock/Evan Bates (WD), Christina Carreira/Anthony Ponomarenko, Caroline Green/Michael Parsons (Alt: Emilea Zingas/Vadym Kolesnik, Oona Brown/Gage Brown, Eva Pate/Logan Bye)

Junior World Championships

Men: Daniel Martynov, Jacob Sanchez (Alt: Beck Strommer, Taira Shinohara, Lucius Kazanecki)

Women: Josephine Lee, Sherry Zhang (Alt: Logan Higase-Chen, Sarah Everhardt, Elyce Lin-Gracey)

Pairs: Olivia Flores/Luke Wang, Naomi Williams/Lachlan Lewer, Adele Zheng/Andy Deng

Ice Dance: Leah Neset/Artem Markelov, Elliana Peal/Ethan Peal, Yahli Pedersen/Jeffrey Chen (Alt: Jenna Hauer/Benjamin Starr, Caroline Mullen/Brendan Mullen, Olivia Ilin/Dylan Cain)

*Pending TES minimums

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

[figureskatingfanblog]

2023/24 International Selection Pool

The International Selection Pool (ISP) includes junior- and senior-level athletes and teams who meet criteria approved by the U.S. Figure Skating International Committee. These athletes and teams are eligible to be considered for assignment to international competitions.    

List as of 8/13/2023

Men

William Annis

Lucas Broussard

Nicholas Brooks

Jason Brown

Lorenzo Elano

Goku Endo

Aleksandr Fegan

Kirk Haugeto

Jonathan Hildebrandt

Tomoki Hiwatashi

Liam Kapeikis

Lucius Kazanecki

Joseph Klein

Kai Kovar

Alexander Liu

Zachary LoPinto

Jimmy Ma

Ilia Malinin

Daniel Martynov

Samuel Mindra

Antonio Monaco

Daniil Murzin

Maxim Naumov

Nhat-Viet Nguyen

Yaroslav Paniot

Camden Pulkinen

Jacob Sanchez

Taira Shinohara

Beck Strommer

Andrew Torgashev

Michael Xie

Robert Yampolsky

Maxim Zharkov

Women

Starr Andrews

Sonia Baram

Mia Barghout

Juliana Barshay

Alena Budko

Annika Chao

Elsa Cheng

Ela Cui

Ting Cui

Sarah Everhardt

Alexa Gasparotto

Lilah Gibson

Amber Glenn

Gracie Gold

Hanna Harrell

Jill Heiner

Hannah Herrera

Sonja Hilmer

Logan Higase-Chen

Athena Huang

Jiaying Ellyse Johnson

Jessica Jurka

Mia Kalin

Ella Kim

Teryn Kim

Katie Krafchik

Josephine Lee

Michelle Lee

Soho Lee

Isabeau Levito

Elyce Lin-Gracey

Hannah Lofton

Cleo Park

Nicole Park

Maryn Pierce

Clare Seo

Katie Shen

Audrey Shin

Phoebe Stubblefield

Bradie Tennell

Lindsay Thorngren

Lindsay Wang

Wren Warne-Jacobsen

Sherry Zhang

Adele Zheng

Ava Ziegler

Pairs

Emily Chan and Spencer Howe

Olivia Flores and Luke Wang

Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea

Chelsea Liu and Balazs Nagy

Isabelle Martins and Ryan Bedard

Maria Mokhova and Ivan Mokhov

Valentina Plazas and Maximiliano Fernandez

Anastasiia Smirnova and Danil Siianytsia

Naomi Williams and Lachlan Lewer

Adele Zheng and Andy Deng

Ice Dance

Kristina Bland and Matthew Sperry

Emily Bratti and Ian Somerville

Oona Brown and Gage Brown

Helena Carhart and Volodymyr Horovyi

Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko

Madison Chock and Evan Bates

Amy Cui and Kenny Ekchert

Julia Epps and Blake Gilman

Isabella Flores and Ivan Desyatov

Caroline Green and Michael Parsons

Jenna Hauer and Benjamin Starr

Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker

Olivia Ilin and Dylan Cain

Raffaella Koncius and Alexey Shchepetov

Anya Lavrova and Jonathan Rogers

Angela Ling and Caleb Wein

Lorraine McNamara and Anton Spiridonov

Caroline Mullen and Brendan Mullen

Leah Neset and Artem Markelov

Eva Pate and Logan Bye

Elliana Peal and Ethan Peal

Yahli Pedersen and Jeffrey Chen

Katarina Wolfkostin and Dmitry Tsarevski

Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik

[sunskate]

Yahli Pedersen & Jeffrey Chen USFS interview

speaking pretty emphatically of continuing together long term. senioring up next season into the very crowded US senior field

says MIDA coaches all do everything equally in their day to day, except that Greg makes the schedule. she's only 16, he's 21

[alexlacquemanne]

Aout MMXXIV

Films

Le Gendarme en balade (1970) de Jean Girault avec Louis de Funès, Michel Galabru, Jean Lefebvre, Christian Marin, Guy Grosso, Michel Modo, Claude Gensac, France Rumilly, Nicole Vervil et Dominique Davray

Ali (2001) de Michael Mann avec Will Smith, Jon Voight, Jamie Foxx, Mario Van Peebles, Ron Silver, Jeffrey Wright et Nona Gaye

Les Enchaînés (Notorious) (1946) d'Alfred Hitchcock avec Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Louis Calhern, Leopoldine Konstantin et Reinhold Schünzel

Lettre d'une inconnue (Letter from an Unknown Woman) (1948) de Max Ophüls avec Joan Fontaine, Louis Jourdan, Art Smith, Leo B. Pessin, Marcel Journet, Mady Christians, Howard Freeman et Sonja Bryden

Lucky Jo (1964) de Michel Deville avec Eddie Constantine, Pierre Brasseur, Françoise Arnoul, Georges Wilson, Christiane Minazzoli, Claude Brasseur, Jean-Pierre Darras et André Cellier

Borg McEnroe (2017) de Janus Metz Pedersen avec Sverrir Gudnason, Shia LaBeouf, Stellan Skarsgård, Tuva Novotny, Scott Arthur, Robert Emms et David Bamber

La Vérité (1960) de Henri-Georges Clouzot avec Brigitte Bardot, Sami Frey, Marie-José Nat, Charles Vanel, Paul Meurisse, Louis Seigner, René Blancard et Colette Castel

Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021) de Zack Snyder avec Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Ray Fisher, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jeremy Irons et Diane Lane

La Chèvre (1981) de Francis Veber avec Pierre Richard, Gérard Depardieu, Michel Robin, Corynne Charby, André Valardy, Pedro Armendáriz Jr. et Jorge Luke

Piège de cristal (Die Hard) (1988) de John McTiernan avec Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Alexander Godunov, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson, Paul Gleason et William Atherton

Le Samouraï (1967) de Jean-Pierre Melville avec Alain Delon, François Périer, Nathalie Delon, Cathy Rosier, Jacques Leroy et Jacques Deschamps

La Piscine (1969) de Jacques Deray avec Alain Delon, Romy Schneider, Maurice Ronet, Jane Birkin, Paul Crauchet, Suzie Jaspard et Steve Eckart

Forfaiture (1937) de Marcel L'Herbier avec Louis Jouvet, Lise Delamare, Ève Francis, Sylvia Bataille, Victor Francen, Sessue Hayakawa et Lucas Gridoux

The Batman (2022) de Matt Reeves avec Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, Colin Farrell, John Turturro, Andy Serkis

Plein Soleil (1960) de René Clément avec Alain Delon, Marie Laforêt, Maurice Ronet, Erno Crisa, Elvire Popesco, Frank Latimore et Billy Kearns

58 Minutes pour vivre (Die Hard 2) (1990) de Renny Harlin avec Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, William Sadler, Dennis Franz, Franco Nero, William Atherton, Reginald VelJohnson, Fred Thompson, Art Evans, John Amos, Tom Bower et Sheila McCarthy

Mort d'un pourri (1977) de Georges Lautner avec Alain Delon, Ornella Muti, Stéphane Audran, Mireille Darc, Maurice Ronet, Michel Aumont, Jean Bouise, Daniel Ceccaldi, Julien Guiomar et Klaus Kinski

The Layover (2017) de William H. Macy avec Alexandra Daddario, Kate Upton, Matt Barr, Matt L. Jones, Rob Corddry, Kal Penn et Molly Shannon

Une journée en enfer (Die Hard with a Vengeance) (1995) de John McTiernan avec Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons, Samuel L. Jackson, Larry Bryggman, Graham Greene et Colleen Camp

Séries

Le Coffre à Catch

#179 : Le festival de Kane ! - #180 : Jack Swagger repasse par la ECW ! - #181 : Les adieux de Tommy Dreamer (Colby en fil rouge) - #182 : Bret et Shawn font la paix et on termine le Homecoming!

Castle Saison 7

Sans relâche - Montréal - Une force invisible - Un problème enfantin - Un buzz foudroyant - De parfaits inconnus - Les Mystères de l'Ouest - Chevalier blanc - Action! - Un Noël dans la mafia - Castle, détective privé - L'affaire est dans le sac - Devant mes yeux - Résurrection - Règlement de comptes

The Durrells : une famille anglaise à Corfou Saison 3, 4

Episode 1 - Episode 2 - Episode 3 - Episode 4 - Episode 5 - Episode 6 - Episode 7 - Episode 8 - Episode 1 - Episode 2 - Episode 3 - Episode 4 - Episode 5 - Episode 6

Biography: WWE Legends Saison 3

Paige - Yokozuna

Le Comte de Monte-Cristo

Le Prisonnier du château d'If - Le Revenant - Les Scélérats - La Vengeance

Maguy Saison 7

Suzanne désespérément - OPA comique - Hallali conjugal - Qui l'eût "crue" ? - Dernier de Corday - La mégère à prix Boissier - Absence unique - Un monde chou, chou, chou - Flamme fatale - Le déchargé de mission - Ice-cream et châtiment - L'âge de déraison - Un ome peut en cacher un autre - Maguy rock - Direction assistée - La vie en roses - Le bazar et la nécessité - Le salaire du rappeur - Pas commode d'emploi - Maguyvaudages - Sauve qui puce - SOS vampires - Il est 5 heures, Maguy s'éveille - Certains l'aiment faux

Commissaire Moulin Saison 1

Petite Hantise - Cent mille soleils - Affectation spéciale

Commissaire Dupin

Une famille endeuillée - La morte rose

Affaires sensibles

Bambi, vedette de cabaret et femme ordinaire - Simone Weber, "la diabolique de Nancy"

Spectacles

Adele at the BBC (2015)

ABBA : Live at Wembley Arena (1979)

Bénabar : Live au Grand Rex (2004)

Eddy Mitchell : Ma dernière séance (2011) à l'Olympia

Livres

Les Disparus de Trégastel de Jean-Luc Bannalec

Nota Bene, tome 6 : La Vie au Moyen Âge de Benjamin Brillaud, Phil Castaza, Christian Paty et Mathieu Mariolle

Les Schtroumpfs, tome 11 : Les Schtroumpfs olympiques de Peyo

Astérix, tome 12 : Astérix aux jeux Olympiques de René Goscinny et Albert Uderzo

[princessalmost]

Books Read in 2023

Before I say anything else, this list does not include ebooks, comics, or fanfiction. While those are all valid forms of reading and I love them all (never let anyone tell you that listening to an audiobook isn't really reading!), I just didn't happen to record them. Most of these are books I checked out from my local library. I love libraries, and encourage anyone who wants to read a book but is low on money or unsure how much they will actually like it to check if their library system has it. Libraries also provide far more than just books, like movies, magazines, music, online subscriptions, research tools, etc. In case you can't tell, I love libraries.

I know reading can be a challenge for some people, but I've never wanted to become someone who reads less than a book per year. Some of these books I loved, some I did not. Some books were by the same author, and I did not enjoy them all equally, but I DID enjoy them enough to read them through before returning them. Some I picked up because I read the author before or were recommended to me, and some I liked the title or cover. Regardless, I met my goal of averaging two books per month.

These books are listed in the order I completed them this year, so fiction and nonfiction are mixed together.

A Treacherous Curse, Deanna Raybourne

Tracers in the Dark, Andy Greenburg

Sully, Chelsey B. "Sully" Sullenburger III with Jeffrey Zaslow

The Shore Road Mystery, Franklin W. Dixon

The Thursday Murder Club, Richard Osman

All Things Wise and Wonderful, James Harriot

Remarkably Bright Creatures, Shelby Van Pelt

The Soviet Sisters, Anika Scott

The Man Who Died Twice, Richard Osman

Whose Body, Dorothy, L. Sayers

Run, Rose, Run, Dolly Parton and James Patterson

The Godmother, Barbie Latza Nadeau

The Bullet that Missed, Richard Osman

The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson

Brotherband: Return of the Temujai, John Flanagan

In the Garden of Beasts, Erik Larson

Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything, Lydia Kang, M.D., and Nate Pedersen

City of Dreams: The 400-Year Epic History of Immigrant New York, Tyler Anbinder

Finlay Donovan is Killing It, Elle Cosimano

The Confidence Men: How Two Prisoners of War Engineered the Most Remarkable Escape in History, Margalit Fox

The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, Brandon Sanderson

Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead, Elle Cosimano

Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun, Elle Cosimano

The Last Devil to Die, Richard Osman

Murder Your Employer, Rupert Holmes

Conan Doyle for the Defense: The True Story of a Sensational British Murder, a Quest for Justice, and the World's Most Famous Detective Writer, Margalit Fox

To finish, something a librarian told me once that stayed with me is this: Every book has it's reader, and every reader has their book. You don't have to like or dislike a book just because someone else does. Find your books, and just enjoy them like mad!

Happy New Year!

[engarde-unlp]

Final Junior Grand Prix: Se dan a conocer las duplas clasificadas

Con el Junior Grand Prix en Armenia ya finalizado, se puede hablar de que todas las categorías ya tienen a sus clasificados, en especial, la de danza sobre hielo.

El último Junior Grand Prix finalizó en la capital de Armenia concluyó con el evento de danza sobre hielo. Elizabeth Tkachenko y Alexei Kiliakov se quedaron con el primer lugar, además de obtener un puesto en la final, también se convirtieron en la primera pareja israelí en ganar un evento junior desde 2003.

Posterior a la entrega de medallas, y teniendo en cuenta los puntos que se sumaron gracias a los rankings, ISU hizo oficial el listado de participantes para el evento final que se dará en la mitad de la temporada. Las duplas que participarán son:

Celina Fradji / Jean-Hans Fourneaux (FRA)

Darya Grimm / Michail Savitskiy (GER)

Elizabeth Tkachenko/ Alexei Kiliakov (ISR)

Mariia Pinchuk / Mykyta Pogorielov (UKR)

Leah Neset / Artem Markelov (USA)

Yahli Pedersen / Jeffrey Chen (USA)

El Final Junior Grand Prix se llevará a cabo entre el 06 de diciembre y el 10 del mismo mes en Beijing junto con la división mayor de patinadores.

Publicado por Florencia Arce

[nhacaitangtienvip]

Soi kèo bóng đá Bayern Munich vs Augsburg, 21h30 ngày 11/3/2023

Soi kèo bóng đá Bayern Munich vs Augsburg, 21h30 ngày 11/3/2023 tại nhà cái onebox63. Dự đoán tỷ số bóng đá Đức giữa Bayern Munich vs Augsburg, 21h30 ngày 11/3/2023.

Bayern Munich tiếp đón đội khách Augsburg tại Allianz Arena trong cuộc đụng độ Bundesliga 1 vào thứ Bảy.

Cuộn xuống để xem tất cả các dự đoán, thăm dò ý kiến và số liệu thống kê cho trận Bayern Munich vs Augsburg (bao gồm tỷ lệ cược trận đấu hay nhất).

Bayern Munich sẽ tìm kiếm một chiến thắng nữa sau chiến thắng 2-0 tại Champions League trước Paris Saint-Germain.

Trong trận đấu đó, Bayern Munich có 45% thời gian cầm bóng và 12 lần dứt điểm, trong đó có 5 lần trúng đích. Đối với Bayern Munich, những người ghi bàn là Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (61') và Serge Gnabry (89'). Đối với đối thủ của họ, Paris Saint-Germain đã có 10 lần dứt điểm với 4 lần trúng đích.

Bayern Munich đã không thể ngừng ghi bàn, ghi 100% vào lưới trong 6 trận gần đây nhất của họ.

Họ đã ghi được 13 bàn trong thời gian đó và để thủng lưới tổng cộng 4 bàn. Chúng ta sẽ sớm xem liệu xu hướng đó có thể tiếp tục trong trận đấu này hay không.

Bước vào giải đấu này, Bayern Munich đã bất bại trong 18 trận đấu trên sân nhà trước đó. Một kỷ lục sân nhà tuyệt vời.

Augsburg sẽ bước vào cuộc đụng độ sau chiến thắng 2-1 tại Bundesliga 1 với màn vùi dập Werder Bremen trong trận ra quân gần đây nhất của họ.

Trong trận đấu đó, Augsburg có 38% thời gian cầm bóng và 9 lần dứt điểm trong đó có 5 lần trúng đích. Đối với Augsburg, những người ghi bàn là Dion Drena Beljo (5') và Arne Maier (46'). Ở đầu bên kia, Werder Bremen có 20 lần dứt điểm với 7 lần trúng đích. Jens Stage (16') là người ghi bàn cho Werder Bremen.

Trong sáu trận đấu gần đây nhất, Augsburg của Enrico Maaßen đã chứng kiến nỗ lực ghi bàn của họ thành công 6 lần - mang lại cho họ trung bình 1 bàn thắng mỗi trận.

Nhìn vào các lần đối đầu trong quá khứ kéo dài đến ngày 20/01/2021 cho thấy Bayern Munich thắng 4 trận và Augsburg thắng 2, với tỷ số hòa là 0.

Tổng cộng có 20 bàn thắng được ghi giữa hai bên trong những lần đụng độ đó, trong đó có 13 bàn cho Bayern và 7 bàn do Augsburg ghi. Đó là giá trị bàn thắng trung bình mỗi trận là 3,33.

Manuel Neuer (Gãy xương cẳng chân) và Lucas Hernández (Đứt dây chằng chéo) sẽ không thể thi đấu cho HLV Julian Nagelsmann của Bayern Munich.

Chúng tôi đang nghĩ rằng Bayern có thể sử dụng đội hình 3-4-2-1 cho trận đấu, bắt đầu hiệp một với Yann Sommer, Benjamin Pavard, Dayot Upamecano, Matthijs de Ligt, Serge Gnabry, Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Joao Cancelo, Thomas Müller, Sadio Mané và Eric Choupo-Moting.

Huấn luyện viên Augsburg Enrico Maaßen phải chọn từ một đội hình có một số lo ngại về thể lực. Reece Oxford (Các vấn đề về bắp chân), André Hahn (Tổn thương sụn), Tobias Strobl (Đứt dây chằng chéo), Elvis Rexhbecaj (Rách xơ cơ) và Felix Uduokhai (Chấn thương gân kheo) không được xem xét.

Chúng tôi cho rằng Augsburg có nhiều khả năng sẽ chơi với sơ đồ 4-4-2, với Rafal Gikiewicz, Robert Gumny, Jeffrey Gouweleuw, Maximilian Bauer, Mads Pedersen, Arne Maier, Arne Engels, Niklas Dorsch, Ermedin Demirovic , Dion Beljo và Mërgim Berisha.

Cảm giác của chúng tôi là Bayern Munich rất có thể sẽ tạo ra nhiều cơ hội tốt và các cú sút trúng đích.

Ngược lại, Augsburg sẽ không dễ dàng tìm được mành lưới đối phương nhưng chúng ta có thể thấy họ cũng xoay sở để ghi tên vào bảng tỷ số.

Do đó, đá gà Thomo dự đoán tỷ số chiến thắng 3-1 khá thoải mái cho Bayern Munich cả trận.

[dear-indies]

hi, hello! first off, you're always so much help and the first place i go when i need fc help or just wanna look at new faces. currently, i'm looking to add some age diversity to my potential fc lineup so i was wondering if you had any favorite faces that could portray 50+?

Non-binary - no resources at time of posting!

John Cameron Mitchell (1963) - non-binary.

Justin Vivian Bond (1963) - non-binary - they/them/she.

Two-Spirit - resources at time of posting:

Tomson Highway (1951) Cree - he/him - two-spirit.

Storme Webber (1959) Aleut, Choctaw, African-American, Unspecified White - she/they - two-spirit.

Alec Butler (1959) Métis of Mi'kmaq - two-spirit intersex trans man.

Women - resources at time of posting:

Judi Dench (1934)

Lily Tomlin (1939) - lesbian.

Helen Mirren (1945)

Tyne Daly (1946)

Tantoo Cardinal (1950) Metis of Cree, Dene, Nakoda Sioux, and French.

Sheri Foster (1957) Cherokee.

Angela Bassett (1958) African-American.

Michelle Yeoh (1962) Malaysian Chinese of Hokkien and Cantonese descent.

Ming-Na Wen (1963) Macanese.

Jeanne Tripplehorn (1963)

Marisa Tomei (1964)

Viola Davis (1965) African-American.

Michelle Gomez (1966)

Michael Michele (1966) African-American / European.

Miranda Otto (1967)

Laura Dern (1967)

Melora Hardin (1967)

Jeri Ryan (1968)

Gina Torres (1969) Afro-Cuban.

Neslihan Yeldan (1969) Turkish.

Mädchen Amick (1970)

Octavia Spencer (1970) African-American.

Lee Byung Hun (1970) Korean.

Men - resources at time of posting:

Tobin Bell (1942)

Joe Mantegna (1947)

Wes Studi (1947) Cherokee.

Steven Williams (1949) African-American.

Jonathan Banks (1949)

Gil Birmingham (1953) Comanche.

Mark Boone Junior (1955)

Ernie Dingo (1956) Yamatji.

David Alan Grier (1956) African-American.

Hiroyuki Sanada (1960) Japanese.

Christopher Meloni (1961)

Emilio Rivera (1961) Mexican.

Grant Show (1962)

Kamel El Basha (1962) Palestinian.

Mat Fraser (1962) - has thalidomide-induced phocomelia.

Hiro Kanagawa (1963) Japanese.

Dermot Mulroney (1963)

Benjamin Bratt (1963) German, English, Sudeten German / Quechua Peruvian.

Paterson Joseph (1964) Saint Lucian.

Keanu Reeves (1964) Kānaka Maoli, Portuguese, English, Scottish, at least 1/16th Chinese, remote Dutch / English.

Kadeem Hardison (1965) African-American.

Jeffrey Wright (1965) African-American.

Zahn McClarnon (1966) Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux and Irish.

Michael Greyeyes (1967) Plains Cree.

Ian Harvie (1968) - trans.

Ken Watanabe (1969) Japanese.

Aaron Pedersen (1970) Arrernte and Arabana.

Let me know if you want suggestions without resources too! 

[nanshe-of-nina]

History Articles Masterpost

I was going the files on my external hard drive today and found a bunch of journal articles and dissertations I downloaded and decided to upload them for people who are interested. They're mostly about the Middle Ages, women's history, troubadours, the Soviet Union, and/or historical figures I find interesting because ... that's just how I roll. MEDIEVAL HISTORY — GENERAL

The Armagnac Faction: New Patterns of Political Violence in Late Medieval France – Timur R. Pollack-Lagushenko

Exemplar King and Doting Parent: Examining the Role of Fatherhood in the Life of Edward III, c.  1320-1377 – Nicole Harding

Harold of England: The Romantic Revision of the Last Anglo-Saxon King – María José Gómez

Jews and Cathari in Medieval France – John M. O’Brien

King Henry III and Saint Edward the Confessor: The Origins of the Cult – D.A. Carpenter

Memory and Collective Identity in Occitanie: The Cathars in History and Popular Culture – Emily McCaffrey

Murder, Mayhem, and a Very Small Penis: Motives for Revenge in the 1375 Murder of William Cantilupe – Frederik Pedersen

The “Sale” of Carcassonne to the Counts of Barcelona (1067-1070) and the Rise of the Trencavels – Fredric L. Cheyette

Stephen of Blois, Count of Mortain and Boulogne – Edmund King

MEDIEVAL HISTORY — WOMEN

The Anglo-Norman Card of Adela of Blois – Kimberly A. LoPrete

The Campaigns of Matilda of Tuscany – Valerie Eads

“Désirant tout, envahissant tout, ne connaissant le prix de rien”: Materiality in the Queenship of Isabeau of Bavaria – Yen M. Duong

Gender and the Language of Politics in Thirteenth‐Century Queens’ Letters – Anaïs Waag

Heavy Is the Head That Wears the Crown: Contemporary Reputations and Historical Representations of Queens Regent – Jessica Donovan

Isabeau of Bavaria, Queen of France (1385-1422): The Creation of an Historical Villainess – Rachel Gibbons

Negotiating Princely Power in Late Medieval France: Jeanne de Penthièvre, Duchess of Brittany (c.1325-1384) – Erika Maëlan Graham-Goering

The Piety, Power, and Patronage of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem’s Queen Melisende – Helen A. Gaudette

The Politics of Queen Philippa’s Mottoes: Five English Words – Melissa Furrow

The Reputation of the Queen and Public Opinion: The Case of Isabeau of Bavaria – Tracy Adams and Glenn Rechtschaffen

Studies in the History of Queen Melisende of Jerusalem – Hans Eberhard Mayer

Valentina Visconti, Charles VI, and the Politics of Witchcraft – Tracy Adams

The War of the Two Jeannes: Rulership in the Fourteenth Century – Katrin Sjursen

MEDIEVAL CULTURE

The Autumn of the Middle Ages by Johan Huizinga (review) – Max Staples

The Avatars of Orable-Guibourc from French chanson de geste to Italian romanzo cavalleresco. A Persistent Multiple Alterity – Philip E. Bennett, Krupina Zarker Morgan

Critical Analysis of the Roles of Women in the Lais of Marie de France – Jeri S. Guthrie

A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara W. Tuchman (review) – Bernard S. Bachrach

Managing Medieval Misogyny – M. Wendy Hennequin

The Minor Trobairitz: An Edition with Translation and Commentary – Deborah Perkal-Balinsky

Poetry of Exclusion: A Feminist Reading of Some Troubadour Lyrics – Simon Gaunt

Private Desire and Public Identity in Trobairitz Poetry – Laurel Amtower

Writing Beneath the Shadow of Heresy: The Historia Albigensis of Brother Pierre des Vaux-de-Cernay – Christopher M. Kurpiewski

BYZANTINE HISTORY AND RUSSIAN HISTORY — MEDIEVAL AND TSARIST

Attacking the Empire’s Achilles Heels: Railroads and Terrorism in Tsarist Russia – Frithjof Benjamin Schenk

Kinship and the Distribution of Power in Komnenian Byzantium – Peter Frankopan

Lamentation, History, and Female Authorship in Anna Komnene’s Alexiad – Leonora Neville

Muscovy and the Mongols : What's What and What's Maybe – David M. Goldfrank

The Revolutionary, His Wife, the Party, and the Sympathizer: The Role of Family Members and Party Supporters in the Release of Revolutionary Prisoners – Katy Turton

RUSSIAN HISTORY — SOVIET

Agency and Terror: Evdokimov and Mass Killing in Stalin’s Great Terror – S. Wheatcroft

Between Right and Left: G. Ia. Sokolnikov and the Development of the Soviet State, 1921-1929 – Samuel A. Oppenheim

Bukharin and the Social Study of Science – Constantine D. Skordoulis

Did Stalin Kill Kirov and Does It Matter? – Matt Lenoe

First Russian Biographies of Trotsky: A Review Article – Ian D. Thatcher

“A Grand Bloodbath”: The Western Reaction to Joseph Stalin’s 1930s Show Trials as Foreign Policy – Jeffrey L. Achterhof

The Legacy of Lunacharsky and Artistic Freedom in the USSR – Howard R. Holter

Lunacharsky, the “Poet-Commissar” – A. L. Tait

Lunacharsky and the Rescue of Soviet Theatre – John J. Von Szeliski

Maria Spiridonova’s “Last Testament” – Alexander Rabinowitch

Marketing for Socialism: Soviet Cosmetics in the 1930s – Olga Kravets and Özlem Sandikçi

On the “Letter of an Old Bolshevik” as an Historical Document – Robert C. Tucker

Patronage and Betrayal in the Post-Stalin Succession: The Case of Kruglov and Serov – Timothy K. Blauvelt

“Socialism of Science” versus “Socialism of Feelings”: Bogdanov and Lunacharsky – Georgii D. Gloveli, John Biggart

Stalin and the Politics of Kinship: Practices of Collective Punishment, 1920s-1940s – Golfo Alexopoulos

Stalin’s Falsification of History: The Case of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty – Sydney D. Bailey

The Terrorist and the Master Spy: The Political Partnership of Boris Savinkov and Sidney Reilly, 1918-25 – Richard B. Spence

Trotsky’s Interpretation of Stalin – Robert H. McNeal

Tukhachevsky in Leningrad: Military Politics and Exile, 1928-31 – David R. Stone

Zinoviev: Populist Leninist – Lars T. Lih

Zinoviev’s Revolutionary Tactics in 1917 – Myron W. Hedlin

HISTORY — MISC.

Dark Religion? Aztec Perspectives on Human Sacrifice – Ray Kerkhove

The Empress Elisabeth of Austria and Her “Untidy” Collection – Beth Muellner

Isotta Nogarola: The Beginning of Gender Equality in Europe – Luka Borsic and Ivana Skuhala Karasman

Love (and Marriage) Between Women – Alan Cameron

Pari Khan Khanum: A Masterful Safavid Princess – Shohreh Gholsorkhi

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Jack Winstanley at MMFA:

Right-wing and far-right media have amplified a baseless claim that touch screen voting machines in Kentucky are flipping votes from former President Donald Trump to Vice President Kamala Harris, with similar claims emerging from Texas. Local election officials in each state have rebutted the claims, with one Kentucky official saying, “There is no scenario in which a voter would be forced to cast a ballot that they believe did not reflect their intentions.”

Election officials in several states have rebutted social media posts claiming that voting machines are flipping votes

Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams debunked a widespread TikTok video that purports to show a voter in Laurel County, Kentucky, unable to select Trump on a touch screen voting machine. The video, which also showed the machine selecting Harris, has received 6.1 million views, with right-wing figures sharing it across other social media platforms as well. According to Adams, “There is no ‘vote-switching.’ The voter confirmed that her ballot was correctly printed as marked for the candidate of her choice. Get your voting information from legitimate sources.” [The Dispatch, 10/31/24; TikTok, 10/21/24, 10/21/24; Louisville Courier Journal, 10/31/24; PolitiFact, 11/1/24]

Kentucky election officials suggested that the video showed an isolated incident, with one Laurel County official stating, “Nobody complained before her, nobody complained after her.” Laurel County officials reported the issue to the attorney general’s office “just to cover all our bases,” and took their own video “showing that the machine is working and it is not flipping votes,” but were ultimately “unable to replicate the woman’s issue.” A spokesperson for the company that provides voting equipment for Laurel County confirmed that the touch screen devices print paper ballots that can be reviewed by voters prior to submission, adding, “There is no scenario in which a voter would be forced to cast a ballot that they believe did not reflect their intentions.” [The Dispatch, 10/31/24]

The Tarrant County, Texas, elections office stated that it has “no reason to believe that votes are being switched by the voting system,” after a right-wing X (formerly Twitter) influencer claimed that machines were switching votes. Right-wing commentator George Behizy claimed that “Voters in Tarrant County, Texas are reporting that the voting machines are flipping their votes from Trump to Kamala Harris.” Local officials confirmed, however, that the voter who believed his vote had been miscast “was issued a new ballot and able to vote." [PolitiFact, 10/24/24; Twitter/X, 10/21/24] 

In the run-up to Election Day, right-wing and far-right media figures have been pushing baseless claims and conspiracy theories, seemingly attempting to undermine the election results. Several of these claims have involved voting machines, but experts say that voting machines are safe and difficult to hack or interfere with, and that errors are generally remedied by poll workers and local officials who have backup systems to ensure accurate votes are cast. [Bloomberg, 10/30/24; ABC News, 10/31/24; CBS News, 10/24/24; Brennan Center for Justice, 3/1/24, 10/25/24; Media Matters, 10/24/24, 10/30/24]

Election denialist right-wing media mouthpieces push the BS lie that touch screen voting machines are “flipping” votes from Donald Trump to Kamala Harris to push the lie about how the upcoming elections are “rigged.”

[thesportssoundoff]

Playoff Droughts And Who Can Break Theirs

Joey

Baseball season is approaching and in the interest of breaking up the monotony of what figures to be a LONG and painful spring training, I wanted to take a peek whimsically while looking backwards. There's no more enjoyable story than when a team that's been excluded from the postseason dance for quite some time gets their invite. Sometimes it's years of hard work and team building and other years its due to ownership just throwing money around and sometimes? It's just a fluke luck circumstance not to be repeated for quite some time. For the sake of doing something of a bit of a project, I decided to take a brief look at teams that have not made the playoffs in over five years. I chose five years arbitrarily I suppose because to me five years or more without a playoff run is a genuine drought whereas four or less just feels like a lull regardless of expectations. Yankees fans may consider three years without the playoffs to be a drought whereas that's if anything a lull or a break in tradition. Teams that have been out of it for five years or more are teams that are either mired in long term BAD baseball or embracing mediocrity at best and so five years just felt right. Also I wanted to do it since the invent of the two game wild card but then it would be literally just three teams and nobody wants that.

Of the eight teams who have missed the playoffs for five years straight or longer, who are most likely to break that streak and join the dance? Well...

1- Philadelphia Phillies Last Playoff Appearance: 2011

Last year's darling picks, the Phillies have been out of the playoffs since 2011. For fun facts, 2011 was also the first year of the Chromebook, snapchat and the release of Elder Scrolls: Skryim. If you read this space for MMA? 2011 was the year Jon Jones beat Shogun for the LHW title, the Strikeforce HW Grand Prix started and Alistair Overeem's UFC debut. It's been a while and to the credit of Philadelphia, they've tried a multitude of ways from riding out the final years of aging veterans to rehauling their farm system to spending and spending big. It's not for a lack of trying they haven't made it back to the playoffs! Last year they seemed armed to roll through a perceived weak NL East with big names and big money across the board. Of course little did we know the Nationals would be better without Bryce Harper and the Phillies wouldn't even crack the top two of the division. Out goes Gabe Kapler and in comes Joe Girardi who will be tasked with VETERAN MANAGING his way through this ultra talented and underachieving roster that has added the likes of Zach Wheeler, Didi Gregorious as well as Andrew McCutchen who was lost early into 2019 with a torn ACL. The Phillies boast an insane line up as if Didi and Cutch are healthy and productive then you've got a core of Jean Segura, JT Realmuto, Didi, McCutchen, Rhys Hoskins and Bryce Harper. The rotation is pretty damn spiffy (health permitting) with Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Zach Eflin and Jake Arrieta plus flostam as a fifth if need be. The Phillies are always going to be a team that has slumps magnified and streaks glorified (such is life with Bryce Harper) but I can't see them not cracking the playoffs in some form or fashion this year. If they don't make the playoffs, we may need to try and discuss if there's some kind of a curse out there on the Phanatic.

2- Cincinnati Reds Last Playoff Appearance: 2013

Gotta admit I had no idea the Reds had a playoff cameo back in 2013. Guess that's just one of those years lost to time. Fun facts of 2013? Grand Theft Auto 5 came out that year, Yahoo purchased this hell site and the UFC brought women into the organization for the first time ever. The Reds spoke openly about wanting to spend a bit in the offseason and so they did, flexing some financial muscle with deals for Mike Moustakas, Shogo Akiyama and Nick Castellanos to help out a lineup featuring the likes of Joey Votto, Nick Senzel and Eugenio Suarez. If the Reds are going to make a serious run of things, it'll likely be on the arms of a rejuvenated Sonny Gray, mercurial Trevor Bauer and the league's best kept secret to casual fans Luis Castillo. There's obviously going to be concerns about a team that hits a lot of dingers but strikes out a bunch and a somewhat unheralded bullpen but the Reds have power, they've gotten better and they've got a cadre of arms to flex at any time. Also? The NL Central figures to be up in the air as the Cubs seem to coast with the core they have until the rebuild comes around, the Cardinals and Brewers underwent massive changes and the Pirates figure to be flat out bad. There's never been a more clear path for the Reds to make some October noise.

3- Los Angeles Angels Last Playoff Appearance: 2014

The year is 2014. In the real world,  Colorado legalizes the purchase of wacky tobacky, selfies became "a thing" in need of forever going away and the occulus rift creates a youtube grift genre. Sports wise? The MLB struggles through record rating woes, the Cowboys finally break through in the Jason Garrett tenure with a 12-4 record, the UFC is undergoing massive upheaval as stars retire or are suspended for PEDs, Bellator hosts its first PPV which in turn leads to the ousting of Bjorn Rebney for Scott Coker and LeBron James leaves Miami to go back where it all began in Cleveland. That's the last time the Angels saw a playoff game and it's been beaten to death at this point. "WHY DON'T THE ANGELS MAKE THE PLAYOFFS DURING MIKE TROUT'S PRIME?!" is tired and done to death but for those of you who feel the same way, 2020 marks the BEST chance for that to become a fad question (or perhaps just morph into "WHY CAN'T THE BEST PLAYER IN BASEBALL WIN THE WORLD SERIES ON HIS OWN?!") since the Angels are pretty damn loaded for bare. With the Astros about to endure a pretty weird season and the A's always lurking, the Angels will roll into the year with three bonafide superstars in Anthony Rendon, Shohei Otani and Mike Trout. The pieces around them aren't bad shakes either as Andrelton Simmons is a defensive whiz, David Fletcher is one of those solid under the radar types and the rotation isn't flashy but it should be competent with minor league depth to make moves if they see a big fish out there. The Angels would've been higher up had they gotten Ross Stripling and Joc Pedersen in a deal but since that fell off, I feel like 3rd behind the Reds and Phillies is a fine spot to put them in.

4- Chicago White Sox Last Playoff Appearance: 2008

2008 will probably best be known as the year of change headlined by the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States. It was the year Fidel Castro stepped down in Cuba. China got the olympics in Beijing and people were TOTALLY cool about that with nary any controversy whatsoever. Beyond that? 2008 was the year I got into MMA and that was a special time, dudes. It was also the year where the White Sox saw their last real sustained succeed with its last postseason appearance. The White Sox feel like they've been in a rebuild since pretty much the end of the Ozzie Guillen tenure and despite multiple managers, multiple attempts to figure it out, rebuilds aplenty and some damn good talent coming through the organization, it's been a rough go of it for the majority of 2010 to 2019. Put it this way, the LAST time the White Sox made the playoffs, Chris Sale was a 22 year old rookie and Paul Konerko was still an active player. They've got a chance to kick off this next decade as a bit of a sleeper team in the Central. This team can hit and one can assume that another year of development for phenom talents like Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jiminez can only help. Tim Anderson for better or worse has a style and swagger that generates attention but it is fair to remember that for at least one half a season, he was a phenomenal player worthy of the acclaim. The White Sox have tried hard to secure elite free agents (Manny Machado and Zack Wheeler) but it's been a bust so at this point it's going to be up to them to draft, develop and trade for it. It would not surprise me if the White Sox are good enough in June and July to make a big deal to try and push them over the hump and chase for the second wild card.

5- San Diego Padres Last Playoff Appearance: 2006

The Padres last made the playoffs in the year of the Nintendo Wii. Floyd Mayweather hadn't even come up with his Money Mayweather gimmick yet! Lost to baseball obscurity, the Padres had at the very least an interesting team out west. The likes of Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr, arguably the worst defensive outfield in the history of the universe and freakishly good young arms like Chris Paddack and Joey Luchessi at least made them fun to watch. They weren't "good" but this is a team that was still struggling to balance expensive veterans with clout (Machado, Eric Hosmer, Will Meyers) with really good young talent trying to figure things out. The Padres figure to be better with a full season of Tatis Jr, more production from guys like Hosmer and Machado plus improvements in the outfield with Tommy Pham and Trent Grisham (hold your jokes, Nats fans) figure to give this team a chance. There's a pretty good bullpen (Emilio Pagan is a sneaky nice pick up) and plenty of talent in their 26 man roster. The NL West has so much legit top talent with the D-Backs and Dodgers figuring to be really good that it's hard to make an argument for the Padres to be a playoff contender but they figure to try and trying is truly half the battle.

6- Miami Marlins Last Playoff Appearance: 2003

It's kind of a bummer that we didn't get our decennial Marlins "The fuck?" World Series win but they made up for it by giving us Jeffrey Loria and David Samson fucking things up for most of the decade leading to Derek FUCKING Jeter opting to get into the management game much to the chagrin of most folks on all sides. The Marlins are in the midst of rebuilding....again. Don't expect them to compete but they've got some good talent to at least want to see play. Brian Anderson, Caleb Smith, Jorge Alfaro and a bundle of veteran signings that will at the very least make the Marlins a fun trade partner in July will keep this team relevant. Wouldn't surprise me if the Marlins flirt with a 20 win swing from where they were last year.

7- Seattle Mariners Last Playoff Appearance: 2001

My god man. The Mariners were SO close in 2018, winning 89 games and finishing a few spots out of a Wild Card spot. As if they decided that this core couldn't do it, the Mariners went to work tearing their team apart and were rewarded with a pretty blegh squad that was once again picked apart at the deadline. To their credit they have some spiffy talent worth watching, namely the infield duo of JP Crawford and Shed Long. They’ve also got some fun young arms who might take the next step. Just don't expect them to win many games.

8- Detroit Tigers Last Playoff Appearance: 2014

The Tigers are aways away from being contenders. They're not trying to be contenders. They're in the midst of what could best be described as a multiple year rebuild after riding out the end days of the core from the start of the 2010's. They will be bad but god bless 'em for embracing it.

[figureskatingfanblog]

JGP Final Qualifiers - Ice Dance

Leah Neset / Artem Markelov (USA)

Darya Grimm / Michail Savitsky (GER)

Elizabeth Tkachenko/ Alexei Kiliakov (ISR)

Mariia Pinchuk/ Mykyta Pogoreilov (UKR)

Yahli Pedersen / Jeffrey Chen (USA)

Celina Fradji / Jean-Hans Forneaux (FRA)

Alternates -

Elliana Peal / Ethan Peal (USA)

Iryna Pidgaina / Artem Koval (UKR)

Sara Kishimoto / Atsuhiko Tamura (JPN)

[sunskate]

JGP Budapest ice dance - Sept 20-23, 2023

this is a very young field, overall, compared to Bangkok or Linz or Osaka - look at all the ice dance babies ☺️

Yahli Pedersen/Jeffrey Chen 🇺🇸 USA (16/21 yo) they won silver in JGP Istanbul 2 weeks ago and won the jr club competition at Lake Placid in August. she has never ice danced before (was a solo dancer), has nice qualities in her movement. she's starting with big assignments from the start, but they look quite good for being so new. have had a couple falls in competitions and still finding each other on the ice at times. when the woman partner is inexperienced, it helps the team’s trajectory if the man is the stronger partner (see Z/K). much harder to do the other way around, if the man is new and the woman more experienced in ice dance. they have a good shot at making the JGP Final here. they're a MIDA team and have a Phantom FD, which is interesting considering D/W's 2010 Olympics Phantom and Marina giving KanaDai Phantom last season as well. Jeffrey even mimes the mask over the face with his hand like in Daisuke's program

Ashlie Slatter/Atl Ongay-Perez 🇬🇧GBR (14/16 yo) 4th at JGP Austria a couple weeks ago, this team has a following for their high energy and performance quality. at home, they've been on Dancing on Ice and have already been skating together for 7 years

Iryna Pidgaina/Artem Koval 🇺🇦UKR (14/19 yo) she skates and performs like she's older than just 14. they have some acrobatic lifts and choreography from Nazarova/Nikitin. they were 6th at JGP Austria. the sound system in that rink was awful, so looking forward to seeing all the teams from that event in an arena where we hopefully can hear the music

Olivia Ilin/Dylan Cain 🇺🇸USA (14/15 yo) another very young team, they were US Champions in novice and 7th at US junior nats last season. they've been training seriously from a young age. her dad is their coach

Dania Mouaden/Theo Bigot 🇫🇷 FRA (13/14 yo) the youngest team here, they have some nice fundamental skating skills. they train in Champagne and their RD is Walk Like an Egyptian

Dana Sabatini-Speciale/Nicholas Buelow 🇨🇦 CAN (17/16 yo) Mitch Islam's team, Alex Paul was one of their choreographers. they have a large height difference which can be a challenge for lines, but they do quite a good job at matching free legs. they're musical, kind of have a sweet quality

[fumpkins]

Identical twins carry genetic modifications no one else has | Science

Identical twins are living proof of how genetics shapes our looks and traits. Now, researchers have found they carry a molecular signature on their DNA that no one else has—one that becomes fixed in their cells early in development and stays with them into adulthood.

This signature doesn’t seem to influence a twin’s health, but it could offer insights into how identical twinning happens. “It is a starting point” for solving “what is really an enigma,” says Jenny van Dongen, a twin genetics researcher at Free University (VU), Amsterdam. The signature could also be used to test whether a person had a “vanishing twin,” an identical twin that died in the womb.

Identical twins occur when an egg splits soon after it is fertilized, resulting in two embryos with the same DNA. Scientists have some idea how fraternal twins, which result when two eggs are fertilized, happen: Both genetics and age may tip ovulating women toward producing two or more eggs at once. But experts don’t really understand what factors lead to identical twins, which make up about four of 1000 births.

An international team led by van Dongen and VU twin genetics researcher Dorret Boomsma looked for clues in what’s known as the epigenome. Patterns of chemical tags called methyl groups glom onto genes, turning them on or off. (Such epigenetic changes are responsible for everything from enabling Peruvians to live at high altitudes to helping the placenta develop.)

Using blood and cheek cell samples, the researchers scanned the epigenomes of more than 3000 identical twins, as well as a comparable number of fraternal twins and some twins’ parents. They looked at 400,000 different places on each person’s genome. About 800 locations had differences in methylation that set identical twins apart from everyone else, the team reports today in Nature Communications. “It’s likely something established very early on that is propagated to subsequent cells,” van Dongen says.

Some of the methylated or unmethylated spots made sense, such as tags on genes involved in cell adhesion that might influence how easily a fertilized egg splits into two embryos. But changes in other locations, such as the ends of chromosomes, don’t have an obvious explanation. These regions have been associated with aging, yet identical twins’ life spans are similar to other people’s.

Understanding the epigenetic changes and whether they are a cause or effect of an egg splitting will require lab studies using embryolike structures made from stem cells or early animal and human embryos (with appropriate ethical review), says Jeffrey Craig, a twin researcher at Deakin University, Geelong Waurn Ponds. For now, the findings offer “fascinating insights into potential mechanisms in [identical] twinning,” says twin researcher Nancy Pedersen of the Karolinska Institute, who like Craig wasn’t involved with the research.

The work could shed light on some rare disorders involving epigenetic changes, the VU-led team says. The growth disorder Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, for example, is more common in identical twins than in single births. It could even help firm up a hypothesis that such disorders only occur in identical twins, which would be “big news if proved true,” Craig says.

An epigenetic test might also be useful to determine whether a person once had an identical twin that vanished in the uterus, perhaps because it didn’t have enough room or nutrients to grow. Sometimes a twin fetus appears in an ultrasound before vanishing, but other times it may be absorbed without leaving a trace. As many as 12% of pregnancies start out as multiples (including fraternal twins), according to some estimates, but only 2% of twin pairs survive.

Using a separate data set, the epigenetic signature could predict whether someone was an identical twin in 70% to 80% of cases, van Dongen says. With data from a large enough group of people, the test would get even better, she says, and it could also help “predict the exact rate” of vanishing twins. That figure would be useful not only for researchers, but also “of broad interest” to twins themselves and to families who are mourning the loss of an identical twin, Boomsma says.

New post published on: https://livescience.tech/2021/09/29/identical-twins-carry-genetic-modifications-no-one-else-has-science/