HEALTH
Your doppelgänger behaves like you, too
WORDS BEN TURNER
Human genetic variation is far from infinite
Somewhere out there, there’s probably a person who has your face – and this unrelated lookalike may have more in common with you than just appearances. The surprising research, based on 32 pairs of unrelated doppelgängers from around the world, shows that two people who have a strong facial similarity to each other are also likelier to share significantly more of their genes and be more likely to share similar behaviors; but the genes that get switched on or off, and the microbial ecosystems in the two people’s bodies, still differ.