YOUR 15 MINUTES: It's Not All Black and White

19 year-old Kylie Hodgson and her partner 17 year-old Remi Horder beat incredible odds when they popped out their first children -- twin daughters! Kylie and Remi are both of mixed race. Both of their mothers are white and their fathers are black. Here's where the story gets interesting: their twin daughters have remarkably different skin tones -- one is black while the other is white! The amazing conception happened after two eggs were fertilised at the same time in the womb. According to the Multiple Births Foundation, one baby inherited the black genes from both sides of the family, while the other little girl inherited the white ones. The twins were born by caesarean in April last year because one of the girls was lying in an awkward position in the womb. "I didn't see them at first," said their mother. "They were both whisked away to be checked over and then the midwife came back and placed them both in my arms. I noticed that both of them had beautiful blue eyes, but whilst Remee was blonde, Kian's hair was black and she had darker skin. It seemed strange, but I was feeling so ill that I didn't really take it in at that stage." The next day she mentioned the color difference to her mother, who told her that Remee's skin would darken as she grew older. But as the weeks passed, Remee became lighter still while Kian went darker. And while Remee's eyes stayed blue, Kian's turned brown.

Here's the science behind it: the odds against of a mixed race couple having twins of dramatically different color are a million to one. Skin color is believed to be determined by up to seven different genes working together. If a woman is of mixed race, her eggs will usually contain a mixture of genes coding for both black and white skin. Similarly, a man of mixed race will have a variety of different genes in his sperm. When these eggs and sperm come together, they will create a baby of mixed race. But, very occasionally, the egg or sperm might contain genes coding for one skin color. If both the egg and sperm contain all white genes, the baby will be white. And if both contain just the versions necessary for black skin, the baby will be black. For a mixed-race couple, the odds of either of these scenarios are around 100 to one. But both scenarios can occur at the same time if the woman conceives non-identical twins, another 100 to one chance. This involves two eggs being fertilized by two sperm at the same time, which also has odds of around 100 to one. If a sperm containing all-white genes fuses with a similar egg and a sperm coding for purely black skin fuses with a similar egg, two babies of dramatically different colors will be born. The odds of this happening are 100 x 100 x 100 - a million to one. Whatever the case, they’re lucky to have a beautiful, healthy family and an interesting story! [source]