Identical Twin Brothers With Same DNA, Mohammed Asghar and Aftab Asghar Accused of Rape

A pair of identical twins who can't be told apart by their DNA have appeared in court charged over the rape of a woman. 

Mohammed and Aftab Asghar were arrested after DNA evidence taken from the scene linked the alleged crime with one - or both - of them.

Prosecutors have charged both of the two lookalike siblings in a bid to find out who the alleged culprit is. 

'It may mean that only one of the defendants faces trial.'

No details were divulged about the circumstances of the alleged offence, which is alleged to have occured on November 5, 2011.

She confirmed a trial date had already been set for the pair for December 2.

Mr Recorder Laurence West QC, hearing the case, said told the defendants: 'This matter is listed for trial on December 2.

'I am going to continue your bail. The conditions are exactly the same as before.'

He ordered them to continue living and sleeping at their address in Reading, Berkshire, to report to Reading Police Station three times a week, not to contact the complainant and not to go to a particular village in Berkshire.

Although identical twins share the same DNA – essentially carbon copies of each other – scientists discovered new evidence that tiny genetic changes can occur on a cellular level early in development, allowing for differences as twins grow older.

The genetic alterations can occur early in foetal development, researchers said, and are essentially copy errors -- otherwise known as somatic mutations.

The findings, presented in November at the American Society of Human Genetics in San Francisco, California, may offer a glimpse into why one identical twin will develop a disease like cancer, while the other will stay healthy, according to LiveScience.com. 

Previous studies have explored genetic differences between twins caused by chemical modifications, also known as epigenetic effects. But nobody knows how often such mutations occur.