If identical twins married identical twins...

Dear Mr. Alice: I was wondering, if a set of identical twins married another set of identical twins of the opposite sex, and each couple had a child, would the two children look alike? — Alison Gove, Anijet@aol.com

UCSD’s medical genetics department I’m sure has bigger fish to fry, but they took time out from the important stuff to say that the children of your hypothetical lovebirds would look about as much alike as do any siblings. As the great genetic wheel of fortune spins, each pair having one child would be roughly the same as two single births from one couple. Over some infinite number of pregnancies, the couples could produce kids who were genetically identical, but that scenario has more to do with statistics than reality. And it would just compound the confusion for all the relatives anyway.