The Twinstitute

In the heart of Birmingham, doctors Chris and Xand van Tulleken have set up a unique centre for science. But theirs is no ordinary lab because inside it is crammed with 30 pairs of identical twins! Thanks to their matching DNA, identical twins are the perfect candidates for scientific comparison. Chris and Xand use this principle in The Twinstitute to put contrasting health theories to the test. Pairs of twins are split into two groups and each challenged to carry out a task. The results, from diet tips to health tricks, reveal ways we could all make lifestyle improvements. This is New Year New You tested scientifically! First up is one of the biggest questions of them all - is there a best way to lose weight? The Twinstitute pits diet against exercise. With over 60 per cent of Brits currently either overweight or obese, losing weight is a priority for many of us, but which is the healthier way? To find out, two pairs of identical twins are going to go head to head for science. On Chris's team are Ken and Lyn, who are going to be spending a month hitting the gym for two hours every single day. The goal is that they burn 1,000 extra calories each day for a full month. Meanwhile, their identical twin siblings, Graham and Jen, have paired up with Xand. Their month-long regime is to lower their calorie intake by the very same 1,000 calories. Thanks to expert Professor Susan Jebb, Graham and Jen are given a tailor-made diet that they must follow for the full month. And this is where the unique twist of The Twinstitute comes in - thanks to their identical DNA, the only difference between twins is the regime that they are on. But after a month of two seriously demanding regimes, which twins will return to the Twinstitute having lost more weight? Will they all be able to stick to the program and will our twin doctors find a weight-loss regime that may work for all of us? Next is a story that is all about pain where Chris and Xand put their own identical twin bodies

One of the biggest complaints that doctors hear is that their patients feel tired all the time. So common that it even has its own doctor's acronym: TATT. So two pairs of twins are going to find out if there is a way to combat exhaustion with two popular sleep regimes. First, Hugo and Tina are testing the traditional technique - getting an early night. Sleep scientists call it sleep banking and the idea is that when you are tired, you are running a 'sleep debt'. To overcome tiredness you need to pay back that debt back by getting more sleep than you usually do. But it goes further than this - if you know that in the future you will feel tired, sleep banking can let you store up excess sleep for use later on. It is a controversial theory that our twins are going to test out in one of the most extreme experiments of the series - that is going to require them to stay awake for close to 36 hours. Meanwhile their identical twin siblings will also experience the same 36-hour challenge but will be testing a technique popular with pilots, truckers and doctors - power-napping. The theory is that a 20-minute micro-sleep can give the brain sufficient rest that the onset of tiredness can be kept at bay. But will it work? Once the challenge is over, the tests can begin. A lack of sleep affects risk taking, communication, memory, coordination and reaction time, so Chris and Xand have found the ultimate way to test everything - in a 747 simulator. All our sleep-deprived twins must attempt to land a 747 while being talked in by air-traffic control. As their tiredness levels get dangerously high, will either regime be able to combat exhaustion or will all our twins crash and burn? Next is a story about the future of learning where Chris and Xand put their own identical twin bodies on the line to learn a new skill pitting real-world learning against the virtual world. Astronauts, engineers and even sports-stars are now training using virtual reality and it is touted a

Chris and Xand are asking how to get fit fast. To find out, two pairs of twins who currently don't exercise but want to are putting two government-advised fitness regimes head to head. Fran and Jess are busy mothers with five young kids between them. For the last few years neither of them have had the chance to think about going to the gym let alone actually attend. They are being joined by Pete and Jem, who are almost 60 years of age and admit the last time they went into a gym was when they were at school! Team Xand are going for the slow and steady approach - 150 minutes of exercise a week at a moderate pace where their heart rates get to about 60% of their maximum. Meanwhile team Chris are going all in - their exercise is going to be intense but the advantage is that they only have to do 75 minutes per week, 45 of which is at maximum effort. It is tortoise versus hare - both regimes are known to improve fitness but which will improve fitness the most? Next, a story that is all about motion sickness, where a multitude of brave identical twins are putting their bodies on the line! Millions of Brits suffer from motion sickness but because many leading remedies can have significant side effects - including drowsiness - our want to find a way of treating nausea without pills - a way that could work for everyone! Half of the twins are going to be taking ginger, which has been used by sailors for centuries. Moreover, there are a number of research papers suggesting that it might just work. Meanwhile, our other twins are going to be using acu-pressure bands. These simple bracelets push a plastic stud into a certain acupressure point on the wrist which a recent study in the US revealed could reduce post-operative nausea by as much as two-thirds. So which will work? Finally in this episode, it is time for Chris and Xand to put their own identical twin brains on the line! This week, they have been inspired by the Bradley Cooper movie Limitless. The plot of this film

First in this episode, three pairs of identical twins are putting their brains on the line. They find out if it is possible to improve your cognitive function by pitting two regimes with claims to do just that, head to head. It is creativity versus brain food. Geraldine, Zoe and Brian are 'Team Creative' and spending a month finding out if doing creative tasks can lower their 'brain-age'. Can an hour's worth of painting for a month really improve their cognitive abilities? It sounds far-fetched but as brain expert Dr Bradley Elliot explains, there is real science to this story. The theory is embarking on new creative tasks can cause actual physical changes to the brain allowing people to get better at recall and memory - their brain seemingly gets rewired as new neural pathways form. Meanwhile their identical siblings spend the month watching what they eat. Annemarie, Gay and Jeremy follow a 'brain-food diet' designed by nutritionist Priya Tew. As Chris explains, there is very strong evidence that what we eat does affect our brain function but drill into the science papers and it is hard to pin point specific foods and their effects. Next Chris and Xand put their own bodies on the line to take on the dreaded mosquito! The number of British people travelling on long haul flights to hot countries has risen dramatically over the last decade, meaning more contact with these pesky insects. A survey by the London School of Tropical Hygiene and Medicine found that 60% of British tourists heading on holiday shun insect repellent. So what else can you do to avoid getting bitten? Chris and Xand try out two alternative methods to find the most convenient solution. Finally we test a new theory that sounds too good to be true - apparently it is possible to lose weight while watching TV by tuning in to either comedy or horror! The theory is that both genres increase your resting metabolic rate so much that your level of calorie consumption goes up. The comedy does this by g

In this episode, identical twins explore two regimes for quitting smoking. Chris and Xand meet Gareth and Mason, 23-year-olds from London. They are '10-a-day' smokers and have been for so long that their lungs actually resemble those of a 40-year-old. They need to quit!. Chris has arranged for Mason to spend a month undertaking an intensive course in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. CBT is a technique pioneered in the 60s to help patients understand what is known as 'automatic thoughts'. In Mason's case - these thoughts fuel his desire to smoke. By enabling him to understand those thoughts, he and his therapist can build a mental tool kit that might allow him to change his behaviour and quit the nicotine. CBT does have a proven track record when it comes to quitting cigarettes, but will it work for Mason? Meanwhile Xand is introducing Gareth to acupuncture. Unlike CBT, there is plenty of controversy in the medical world with many physicians doubting its efficacy. As a smoking treatment, it's no longer available on the NHS. Yet there is evidence that shows it does work for some people. Xand explains that this could be down to the placebo effect - so Gareth will be testing this out. The twins will spend a month following their regimes yet their biggest challenge is their lifestyle. Gareth and Mason like to party and there's a huge correlation between alcohol consumption and willpower reduction. Next it's a focus on hand hygiene. In recent years, there's been a growing trend to replace traditional soap and water with alcohol gels. If you're a surgeon or a chef, alco-gels are the right thing to use but research suggests the rest of us should stick with soap and water. Half of our twins spend four days washing their hands with soap, while the other half use alcogels. The bacteria from their hands is taken to the lab and bacterial colonies allowed to grow. Which regime will win out? Finally Chris and Xand look at concentration by putting two anti-distracting regime

In this episode, two pairs of identical twins are finding out the best way to learn a language - putting the two most popular styles of learning head to head in self-taught versus taught. With 65% of us saying we would like to be able to speak another language, this test will determine the best way to go about it for you! Chris has arranged for Des and Tina go back to school to learn a language from scratch. With 30 hours of scheduled lessons over four weeks with a language teacher, they are going to have to make space in their busy schedules for this real-time contact. The pros to this process? Des and Tina are safe in the knowledge that the guidance they are receiving is pre-planned, and they get real time feedback on their pronunciation and progress, but is it all a bit old fashioned? To find out, Xand has set Nick and Lia loose to see if self-teaching is now advanced enough to take on the teachers. In addition to phrase books, there is now an abundance of options available for the budding linguist, via smart phones, online videos and internet radio. Apps now offer the flexibility to learn whenever and wherever they choose and with millions of us now using them every day, we find out if they can really hold their own against the tried and tested method of face-to face communication. But without a teacher it will take dedication and self-discipline for our twins - is this just too much to achieve alone? Next is a story that sees Chris and Xand put their identical twin bodies on the line in a quest to look younger. A recent survey suggested that the average woman in Britain spends £1,300 a year trying to reduce the effects of ageing, But in an industry cursed with bad science and outlandish claims, is there a technique that could work? Chris and Xand opt to put two techniques head to head that come from opposite ends of the spectrum. Xand is going to spend a month doing an hour of facial yoga every single day for a month. Although the science of facial yo