siblings

Health & Safety

When an adoptee reunites with birth siblings abroad: 'There's no instruction manual'

7:23pm May 31, 2024

by Kamala Thiagarajan

Reuniting with birth siblings after an international adoption is a challenging — and emotionally charged — mission. Here are stories from four families.

Eddie Almance (left) and his sister Leila pose for their cousin Ailem Villarreal on the rooftop of the Marriott Hotel in downtown Odessa, Texas, before heading to prom. Their grandmother says that for seven generations, the family members have forged close bonds.

Health & Safety

We asked, you answered: What's the secret to a close relationship with siblings?

3:27pm May 17, 2024

by Gisele Grayson

As part of our series on "the Science of Siblings," we looked at how some brothers and sisters are best friends. Here are some of the stories you shared of close ties with siblings.

Ltesekwa Lekuuk, Paris's half-brother and a fellow moran, heads toward the mountain campsite where Paris had been living until a few weeks ago.

Health & Safety

Kenya's Samburu boys share a sacred bond. Why one teen broke with the brotherhood

5:48pm May 12, 2024

by Nurith Aizenman

After initiation rites – including circumcision – the boys leave their families to take charge of the herds, driving them high into the mountains. It's a way of life that climate change is testing.

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Tommy Trenchard picks up coins with his toes.

Health & Safety

Siblings can share the darndest quirks — like picking up coins & keys with their toes

3:31pm May 03, 2024

by Ari Daniel

Siblings — especially twins — sometimes share the strangest traits, like throwing a ball with their head or picking up keys and crayons with their toes. Researchers want to know what's up with that.

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Siblings may not be obvious fodder for the therapist's office, but experts say maybe they should be. "People just don't perceive those relationships as needing the type of attention and tending one might bring to a spouse or child," says Kelly Scott of Tribeca Therapy in New York.

Health & Safety

All grown up, but still fighting? Why more siblings are turning to therapy, together

5:18am April 29, 2024

by Carrie Feibel

Plenty of people go to couples therapy — why not siblings therapy? Experts say the long, complicated relationships between siblings are worth exploring and tending to.

Got brothers or sisters? Warm sibling bonds help boost happiness as you age

10:44am April 27, 2024

by Allison Aubrey

Researchers have found that a warm, close bond with a sibling in early adult life is predictive of good emotional health later in life, with less loneliness, anxiety and depression.

An illustration of our solar system, with the sun surrounded by planets. Clouds of space dust curl around the solar system, dotted by various glowing star siblings.

Science

COMIC: Our sun was born with thousands of other stars. Where did they all go?

12:25pm April 18, 2024

Our sun was born in a cosmic cradle with thousands of other stars. Astrophysicists say they want to find these siblings in order to help answer the question: Are we alone out there?

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Gay people often have older brothers. Why? And does it matter?

7:00am April 15, 2024

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

Studies worldwide show that queer people tend to have more older brothers than other kinds of siblings. Justin Torres, a queer novelist and the youngest of three brothers, asks: Should it matter?

Simone Elliot holds a childhood photo of she and her sister with their mother.

Sisters make peace with dark memories through art, science and each other

7:00am April 13, 2024

by Gabriel Spitzer

Two sisters found they had different recollections of a traumatic childhood experience and learned that human memory is a lot less reliable than we tend to think.

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While not an official holiday, National Siblings Day on April 10 has gained momentum on social media in recent years.

National Siblings Day is a celebration born of love — and grief

4:50pm April 10, 2024

by Maria Godoy

Claudia Evart, a woman who lost both her sister and her brother in separate accidents, created the day to honor the special relationships between siblings. It is on April 10 every year.